Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: York

  • Cross Country : Sheffield to York

    Cross Country : Sheffield to York

    The image above is of the beautiful York railway station, it’s always a delight to arrive into this glorious location. This was the second part of my trip from Chesterfield, having changed at Sheffield. The service was the 11:29 from Sheffield into York on Cross Country, a trip which was going on to Newcastle.

    This is the train after it arrived into York. I had a reserved seat but I, and others as I could hear the confusion, were struggling to work out which of the five coaches was which. There is an electronic display on the side of each carriage, but it’s hard to read and I have no idea why Cross Country don’t just have a clear sheet of paper at least in each carriage. This incompetence moderately annoys me, is it not beyond the wit of any Cross Country manager to change this situation, rather than have tens of people standing confused at the platform? This was the second Cross Country service of the day where I had experienced this problem, so I can’t imagine it’s an isolated incident.

    Fortunately my seat was waiting for me, with no-one in it most importantly, and was the table seat that I had requested. There was a power point at the table which worked fine and although a staff member did come through collecting rubbish, the carriage could have been cleaner. But, the train was on time, the staff member was happy and helpful with everything so I wasn’t displeased with the experience. Especially since it had cost around £5.

  • York – Brigantes

    York – Brigantes

    I’ve walked by this pub on many occasions in the past (well, obviously not in the future), but I don’t recall ever going in, but since it’s in the Good Beer Guide I had a moral duty to change that. It was all very comfortable and relaxed when I visited in the afternoon, a nice separate area for diners and a friendly barman who was keen to engage about the selection of dark beers. It’s operated by Market Town Taverns, a small local chain who specialise in pubs with a strong food offering.

    A decent selection covering various beer types, with the prices being reasonable. Although it’s clear that there is a food orientation to this pub, well – bistro, they still seem very welcoming to drinkers and there are seats at the bar to cater for this.

    My half pint of the Brass Castle Bad Kitty beer, which doesn’t have huge initial flavours but there are some pleasant afternotes of vanilla and chocolate. I liked it, especially as it’s a local beer to here, with Brass Castle being located at Malton.

    The reviews of this bar are positive, other than when the chef forgot to put someone’s chicken burger in the, well, chicken burger meal. No doubt a genuine mistake, but the reviewer rushed to give them a 1/5 rating because of it. Mind you, one person left a 1/5 rating with the review:

    “There were no pies. At 7:30pm. Enough said.”

    It’s not exactly the fall of the Roman Empire is it?

    Or this review, which I copy in its entirety:

    “I have no idea why they are so slow with bangers and mash but I have been waiting for 50 mins now with no explanation. It is appalling.”

    How do people possibly cope with such trauma?

    Anyway, I didn’t order any food here, but I’m confident that it would have been of a decent quality. The staff were friendly and I liked that I was thanked when I was leaving, always nice to get some form of acknowledgement. I’d say that this is a very deserved entry into the Good Beer Guide.