Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: Hull Trip

  • 2022 Hull Trip – Day 1 (Over the Humber and Into Brewdog Hull)

    2022 Hull Trip – Day 1 (Over the Humber and Into Brewdog Hull)

    20220902_171333

    I like the Humber Bridge. Not in a fanboy kind of sense as I’m not that much of a fan of any road, but it is still exciting as it’s a gateway to another place. Obviously it’s not the Severn Bridge leading to a different country, although I suppose in reality Hull is effectively in Yorkshire and so that’s nearly the same thing.

    20220902_171426

    Ryan Taylor climbed this a few years ago, I think it’s fair to say he’s somewhat braver than I am. At a push, I might be able to sit on the concrete bit on the left for a brief while. Not in terms of an environmental protest I’d better add there.

    20220902_171457

    Very scenic. I quite like the idea of walking across this bridge, which I understand is allowed, although I have no idea why I’d be needing to be at either end of it.

    20220902_172944

    There’s still social interaction required here at the Humber Bridge tolls. Not from me, that was Liam’s problem, but there’s a new system being rolled out in the future which might automate matters more.

    20220902_182049

    Being an automobile expert I mentioned to Liam just how many white cars there were in Hull. Always fascinated by car related facts he spent some time counting them and I think that we agreed that my observation was accurate. The Boddingtons we each had were our welcome drinks at the Ibis Hull just in case anyone was confused why I had gone to Hull to drink that.

    20220902_184545

    Back to one of my favourite shopping centres, Princes Quay, because it’s built on stilts. I’m easily pleased.

    20220902_191617

    Then a quick visit to Brewdog, the first time that I’ve been to this one so that’s another ticked off my list.

    20220902_184822

    I had my new Brewdog Plus account but then a team member said that they were having problems with it and they might not be accepting it all in the future. A manager came over who was personable and engaging, apologising for the issues and she decided to give me my drinks for free. I hadn’t asked for that, but I was very pleased with her suggestion and I agreed with it. I approve of this bar being card only as well, as it’s becoming more common, but there are a few angry reviewers who aren’t pleased at their decision.

    20220902_185842

    It’s a large venue and I liked the ambience of the whole arrangement. I’ve never played Shuffleboard, despite being in many Brewdogs and other pubs where they have it, I’ll have to fix that at some point. I expect it’ll just annoy me, but best to be sure. The team members in the venue were friendly and engaging, it all seemed competently run.

    20220902_190012

    I was delighted to see that there was a Funky Fluid beer, they’re from Warsaw and are one of my favourite breweries. This is their Splash Red, a delightful pomegranate and blackcurrant double fruited gose. I also went for Just Desserts brewed by Brewdog themselves, a very credible pastry stout.

    20220902_191519

    The manager explained that the bar is one of a small franchise of four which are based around the Red’s BBQ restaurant theme, which is the food option here. They’ve got an on-site smoker (cooking apparatus I mean, not a troublesome chef) so they can smoke their own meats, it all sounds quite delicious and I’m sure I’ll eat here at some point in the future. The venue feels all suitably on-trend and that meant it was attracting a younger audience, although firmly of legal drinking age I’d better confirm there. Brewdog aren’t the cheapest of venues, but this seems to be a good iteration of its rollout programme.

    I certainly left happy though, I had received two drinks for free, so I considered that to be a very positive visit. Liam and I had to leave at this point as I wanted to see if the health and safety version of him was still on the docks area.

  • 2022 Hull Trip – Day 1 (Raymond Mays to a Quick Stop in Brigg)

    2022 Hull Trip – Day 1 (Raymond Mays to a Quick Stop in Brigg)

    20220902_144535

    Having ticked off the JD Wetherspoon in Bourne, we (well, I more accurately) thought that we might as well pop into their venue in Brigg, the White Horse. Opened by the chain in 2015, it has some history, as is noted on the sign on the pub:

    “Noted as ‘a building of local interest’, this was originally a farmhouse, dating from the mid 18th century, with stables and gardens to the rear. The farmhouse and outbuildings were later bought by the Britannia brewery, in Wrawby Street, and converted into licensed premises. The brewery closed in 1924, but the Britannia public house has survived”.

    It’s a well reviewed pub, which unfortunately means there aren’t many entertaining reviews. Although there’s this one:

    “We were then met by a member of staff, who asked my daughter for ID as it was nearly 9pm and under 18s need to go. My daughter is a few months off 18. Surely a bit of discretion should be used in this situation. She was extremely rude and unprofessional to us when I said she wasn’t drinking She told us we had 5 mins to drink up and leave and we couldn’t eat. My point is I get the children bit about being out st 9 pm, but surely use a bit of common sense with a nearly 18 year old sat with 5 other adults”.

    I love the idea of discretion in licensing law. I’m not sure their license says “all under 18 year olds must leave the venue by 9pm, unless they’re sort of nearly 18”.

    Although I also liked:

    “Shocking customer service. My wife just rang to book a table for tomorrow tea as we are taking our little girl to see Santa in Brigg and the guy on the phone point blank refused. I appreciate there is only 3 of us but we just wanted to make sure”.

    I can imagine how surprised and delighted staff at Wetherspoons would be if they had to manage table reservations as well as everything else. Seems very harsh to give a 1/5 review because they refused to take a table booking, but there we go…..

    “Glasses are absolutely disgusting and the carling is atrocious”

    I agree about the Carling, but I think it’s meant to taste like that.

    20220902_144910

    I’m always pleased to see power available at tables. The beer is Tamar from Summerskills Brewery from Plymouth seemed to be a reliable session ale.

    20220902_152620

    Another view of the pub, all rather well presented and looked after.

    20220902_152702

    The High Street in Brigg. This town in North Lincolnshire has a long history, with evidence of human settlement in the area dating back to the Bronze Age as it was a crossing point for the River Ancholme. Negatively impacted financially by the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the town was also the site of a battle during the Civil War when the Parliamentarians relieved it from the Royalist en route to Hull. Quite oddly, the town has a railway station which is served solely by trains on Saturdays, which doesn’t seem entirely ideal, but British Railways scrapped the weekday services in 1993.

    20220902_152939

    The Buttercross Bell was, well, a bell that was located on the Buttercross building, but at some stage in the early twentieth century it was taken down. It was put on its little plinth in front of the still standing building by the Rotary Club a few years ago. Back in the day when it was used, the bell sounding marked the beginning of trading in the market place. It’s a pleasant area this now it has been pedestrianised.

    20220902_162510

    After a little perambulation that was enough of Brigg as we had to cross the Humber to get to Hull before the pubs shut and also allow time for Liam to find a car charging facility. We only just made this one, the transport Gods were on our side and I’m not entirely sure what we would have done if the charging machines here weren’t working. Although Liam takes charge of these sort of mechanical and engineering issues (I have a rule that any problem that can be dealt with by duct tape or superglue is something that I can manage, but anything else needs an engineer to intervene in the arrangements), I would have likely had a little sleep in the car whilst he worked it all out.

  • 2022 Hull Trip – Day 1 (A Road Trip from Norwich to the Raymond Mays)

    2022 Hull Trip – Day 1 (A Road Trip from Norwich to the Raymond Mays)

    20220902_094356

    Much as I am always surprised and delighted by travelling by rail, primarily surprised they’re running at the moment, there’s something exciting about a road trip. Back in early September 2022, my friend Liam and I decided to go to Hull for the weekend and so the next few posts will all be about that trip. What a treat for my two readers. And yes, it was ages ago, but I took rather too long writing about the US. But back to the trip, our first stop was about three minutes into the adventure to get a Greggs to sustain us for the journey. That was my idea.

    20220902_094605

    Some al fresco dining. I can be very continental at times.

    20220902_120508

    Our next port of call was Bourne, a town that I don’t think I’ve visited before. Founded in Roman times, during the Middle Ages Bourne was a centre of the wool trade and the town prospered as a result. In the 12th century, an Augustinian priory was established in Bourne and the town might have been where Hereward the Wake was born in around 1035. Its economy was boosted with the arrival of the railways in the nineteenth century, but they were withdrawn in the late 1950s and now the nearest railway station is twenty miles away in Grantham. Which brings me onto why we were here which is that a new JD Wetherspoon pub opened here in the spring of 2022 and I can’t easily get to it by public transport.

    The pub is named the Raymonds Mays and above is the memorial plaque to him. Raymond Mays was an English racing driver and engineer who was active in motorsport in the mid-20th century. He is best known for his association with the ERA (English Racing Automobiles) racing team, which he co-founded and for which he also drove. Mays was a talented driver, who competed in several major races and events, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Mille Miglia. He also played a significant role in the development of the ERA racing cars, working on the design and engineering of the vehicles.

    In addition to his racing career, Mays was also a successful businessman, and he was involved in the development of several innovative technologies, including the high-performance engines that powered the ERA racing cars. He is remembered as one of the pioneers of British motorsport and is widely regarded as one of the most talented and innovative drivers and engineers of his generation. And, yes, it was my idea to come to this pub.

    20220902_121048

    Here we are standing opposite the pub with Liam surveying the scene. This was two separate shops until around 2012 when they closed, with the buildings being left boarded up for several years until JD Wetherspoon came along. Provincial towns once on the route of major roads are I think fascinating, so much history with the old coaching inns and various hostelries.

    20220902_121606

    The interior is open plan and it’s quite cavernous, but it felt ordered and comfortable. It’s also got a long beer garden at the rear with various car related items to add some character. I had a quick half of Bear Island from Newby Wyke Brewery, a well kept hoppy blonde ale, keenly priced as ever.

    Being quite dull, I’ve established that it’s possible to get a measure of a JD Wetherspoon pub’s operation by looking at their Google Reviews scores. They nearly all fall within the range of 3.8 to 4.1 out of 5, so any one of their venues outside of that range is likely either doing very badly or very well. I should publish a treatise on this fascinating piece of research and observation of mine. This one is sitting at 4.0 out of 5, so things seem to be going well. One reviewer summed up the pub’s beer policy:

    “They serve larger in ale glasses, ale in larger glasses and they pour the ales flat with no head other than that it’s ok”

    I’m sure the management will consider this carefully….. There’s nothing else memorable that I can much mention about the pub, but it seemed relatively busy and it’s another one ticked off my list. We then had to make some progress as I had decided that we had time to pop to Brigg next.