23/07/24 - Greater Manchester RIngway - Stage 9

Pink Tram Line Down, Thank God for Flying Horses 

Bless me father for I have sinned. It's been 9 months since I have been on the Greater Manchester Ringway.

In that time, I have watched with interest as knowledge of the route increases. A number of YouTube Vloggers (my favourite is a railway employee). There have been proper way marking signs laid. Blimey, I even find a fellow Ringway traveller on this stage.

Of course, I have an excuse for getting "lost"

A deceptively gentle start on the Huddersfield Narrow canal, before a stiff climb to pretty Dobcross. Stolen from West Yorkshire in the 1974 Local Government re-organisation. Certainly wouldn't let the Yorkshire Dales down in anyway.

Don't be fooled by this easy walking at the start

Dobcross - Last Pint Saloon at the Swan

Another climb up Long Lane where I catch up and walk alongside a fellow rambler. It takes us a while to get our breath to begin a conversation, but when we do, we determine we are both on the same odyssey. Alas, like a true Brit, we didn't swap any useful details (like our names), yet it was great to have company. My companion, better prepared than me, pointing out the Castle Shaw Roman hill fort below.

I have a staggering amount of photos like this

We split up on the Pennine Way as I geocache, only for re-acquaintance with him lunching at Moor Lane. He provides me one extra piece of critical information. There is a pub coming up!

Technically, I didn't get lost. I had downloaded the GPX files when I started this about 4 years ago. My route took me on the Oldham Way to the wonderfully named New Years Bridge Reservoir. This is the first time I have encountered bad paths on any stage. Fair play to the route planners, who have acknowledged the badly overgrown section and have rerouted through Denshaw.

Home of the much needed boozer.

All water guzzled, but I did meet the beast of the Oldham Way

A rather dry traverse of Crompton Moor - superb views over Manchester - leading to a more sedate country park containing a rather impressive waterfall.

Photos didnt do the waterfall justice, so here's distant Manchester

The section end is Newhey Tram station - the Pink Line normally able to whisk me back to the Metropolis. We have a landslide, so its the longest 2 miles as the crow flies bus trip for a first visit to Rochdale.

Four Good Beer Guide Pubs available if you get the hours/days correct and I pick an absolute gem at the first attempt.

I'd be amazed if the Flying Horse is not Mappiman's 2024 Pub of the Year.

Scaffolding doesn't present it in the best light - but you get the idea

The Flying Horse, known as the "Flyer," is a historic pub and music venue in the heart of Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Dating back to the 17th century, it is one of Rochdale's oldest establishments. Located near Rochdale Town Hall, the pub offers a welcoming atmosphere with traditional decor, including exposed wooden beams.

The Flying Horse is renowned for its extensive selection of real ales, frequently earning accolades from CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) and appearing in their guides. The pub boasts an impressive range of beers, with up to 10 cask ales and 8 keg ales available at any given time. This variety includes a mix of local and regional brews that attract ale enthusiasts from near and far. Additionally, the pub is a vibrant music venue, hosting live performances from local bands, tribute acts, and open mic nights. This dedication to supporting local musicians makes the Flyer a key part of Rochdale's cultural scene, blending history, quality ales, and live music.

I couldn't tear myself away - a multiple pint stop - taking in traditional Bass, craft and very exotic German Keg. The Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkels are on me!

Enough time to work out the midweek GM Day Ranger ticket presents a couple of issues. OK, I should have known that there is a peak hours hiatus in afternoon rush hour. But I couldn't have guessed that National Rail's own website wants a change at Newton-Le-Willows to get to Patricroft. Suspicions aroused when "no fares available" were presented. Which led me to realise NLW is outside GM, presumably invalidating the whole ticket.

I did the only sensible thing....  called an Uber.

Travel Planning with Mappiman

A perfect day on the trail!  

Walk Information

Start - Greenfield

Finish - Newhey

Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7, Stage 8

Distance - 13 Miles

Geocaches - 9

Walk Inspiration

22/07/24 - Thames Path from Kennington, Oxfordshire

Lunchtime at a Hungry Horse

More Thames loveliness from one of my favourite references - Walks Along the Thames Path.

Thames Signage showing progress

We are now south of Oxfordshire, walking from previously unvisited Kennington. I had no idea what to expect from the pub that provided parking, The Tandem. I cannot remember the last time I Hungry Horsed.

Post Walk Refreshments

The footpath is picked up from the car park - across the railway line and onto undeveloped land on both sides of the river. There is one prominent building on Rose Isle and then a pub/houses at Sandford on Thames. It's mainly us, waterfowl and the Thames lapping scarily high at the bank tops.

Rose Isle

Kings Head at Sandford 

A few weirs, one known as the Sandford Lasher. Notable for taking the lives of several Oxford undergraduates over the years. Described in Jerome's 3 men in a boat as a "good place to drown yourself". There is a memorial obelisk in the centre of the weir, where he further comments; 

'the steps of the obelisk are generally used as a diving-board by young men now who wish to see if the place really IS dangerous.'

Humanity in a sentence.

We leave the Thames at Radley Boat House - the local school, whose grounds we walk through after lashings of ginger beer at the community village shop. A mixture of playing fields, woodland and crops.

Thankful for the pub

Back to the pub..... workmen taking advantage of all day breakfasts. Pensioners starting the week with a Monday bang. A little AI research gives the background on its unique name;

The Tandem Pub in Kennington, Oxfordshire, has a rich history that dates back to the 18th century. Originally built as a house, it has a stone inscribed with the date 1770 and the initials T.W., indicating it was constructed by Timothy West. In the 18th century, it was known as "The Fish" and served as a resting point for people, particularly students from Oxford University, who would stop by with their horses.

By the 19th century, it had become popular for university students who enjoyed driving their horses in tandem, which led to its renaming as "The Tandem." This name change reflected its role as a place where students could keep and harness a second horse for their drives, which was restricted within the city limits of Oxford.

The pub underwent significant rebuilding and enlargement in 1939, preserving its historical foundation while updating its structure. Today, it is a family-friendly pub under the Hungry Horse brand, maintaining its place as a local favorite while also catering to modern tastes and conveniences​

Walk Details

Distance - 6.5miles

Geocaches - 4

Walk Inspiration - Walks Along the Thames Path, Walk 8

 

21/07/24 - The Swan, Swinbrook, Oxfordshire

They need to up their biscuit game

Episode 4 of the Loremen podcast and a not particularly dramatic account of the Highwaymen of Swinbrook. A village more closely associated with Nazi sympathisers. Whilst getting our bearings we are instantly accosted by a gentleman asking us if we know where the Mitford graves are. We do, and we will get to them later.

First, the Highwaymen story;

In 1806, the locals of Swinbrook noticed something peculiar about the new tenants of Swinbrook Manor. The once-wealthy Fettiplace family, who had built the grand manor and contributed significantly to the community, had fallen on hard times. With their fortune dwindled and the male line extinct, the elderly Miss Fettiplaces decided to rent out the manor and move to a nearby cottage.

Mr. Freeman, a wealthy London gentleman, soon moved into Swinbrook Manor with a retinue of servants. Despite his unclear source of wealth, he quickly gained popularity by hosting lavish parties for the local gentry. However, around the same time, a series of highway robberies began on the Oxford-Gloucester road. These robberies, while not close to Swinbrook, made nighttime travel perilous.

Suspicion grew as the Freeman household exhibited odd behavior. The servants were rough and uncouth, and the household seemed perpetually tired, as if they had late nights. A stable boy noticed that horses put to bed well-groomed were found exhausted and muddy in the morning, but he was warned to mind his own business and stay out of the manor.

The truth emerged dramatically when a botched robbery led to the capture of one of the robbers, who turned out to be Freeman's butler. It was revealed that Freeman and his household were a gang of highwaymen who had relocated to Swinbrook to avoid capture. Freeman and his butler were tried and hanged for highway robbery, and the stable boy proudly kept their pistols as a memento.  

The walk is a fine ramble across arable land, two crossings of the river Windrush and taking in the villages of Asthall and Widford.

Evidence of the highwaymen is rare. The manor house was next to Swinbrook church but was pulled down after Freeman was executed. There is plenty of evidence of the Fettiplaces.

Swinbrook Church

Fettiplace Memorial

More Fettiplaces

More Fettiplaces

The Church Micro Geocache takes me to the more famous to Daily Mail Readers, Mitford sisters.

Front 3 - Nancy, Unity, Diana

Nancy Mitford (1904-1973)

Nancy was a novelist and biographer known for her witty novels about upper-class life, such as "The Pursuit of Love" and "Love in a Cold Climate." She also wrote acclaimed biographies, including one on Louis XIV. Nancy spent much of her later life in France and was a beloved literary figure.

Unity Mitford (1914-1948)

Unity was a fervent supporter of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime, causing a scandal in Britain. She moved to Germany in the 1930s and developed a close relationship with Hitler. After Britain declared war on Germany, she attempted suicide, resulting in brain damage. She returned to England and lived quietly until her death in 1948.

Diana Mitford (1910-2003)

Diana was known for her beauty and controversial political beliefs. She left her first husband for British fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley. Diana and Mosley married in Germany in 1936, with Hitler as a guest at their wedding. During World War II, both were interned by the British government due to their fascist sympathies. After the war, she lived a quieter life, writing her autobiography "A Life of Contrasts."

A lot of history for a blog. Onto the pub.

The Swan is just around the corner, a very typical C17th award winning gastropub.

Mrs M at the Swan 

Dining Pub of the Covid Years

Mrs M requests a flat white and I check out the beer options. Clarkson's Hawstone Lager and Cider found on draught in the wild for the first time. But I was never going to turn down a North Cotswold Brewery Best Bitter - even at the expense of my old favourite, TT Landlord.

Perfect session bitter

Mrs M not impressed with the lack of Biscoff accompanying the hot drink. Sulkily she laments "forget about being dining pub of the year, they need to up their biscuit game"

Toilet art work providing her TripAdvisor review title.

Walk Details

Distance - 4.75 Miles

Geocaches - 1

Walk Inspiration - Loremen Podcast Episode 4 and Discover the Cotswolds, Walk 11

Previous Loremen Walks - Churchill, Burford, Long Compton

18/07/24 - City of Birmingham Ramblers and Half a CAMRA Pub Crawl

Nefarious Urban Goings-On 

A third Ramblers guided walk, getting my money's worth out of the £3 per month subs. This, a first outing with the City of Birmingham Ramblers. The ones that organise bi-weekly coach trips.

A rarer midweek outing for them and an intriguing walk from Moor Street Station to Sarehole Mill. Tolkien connotations and the easiest of all the anagramable mills.

A good turn out, with a more varied age range. At least 2 younger than me, including one made redundant on the same day. I checked, we didn't both work for a company that cannot be named but now I have left, I am allowed to post letters. Also more cosmopolitan, with a French lady and a Bulgarian man.

Through the back streets of Digbeth to pick up the Grand Union Canal. I love the way no-one mentions the condoms. I have questions. Why so many? When did they become vivid blue? The only answers I can come up with are a canalside orgy of randy boaters and they glow in the dark.

Possibly we were too all scared to debate what left the huge deposits. No dog is that big.

Striding down the Grand Union Canal

Who knew Birmingham had a dry ski slope? I didn't but if forced to describe it, I would said some rough hessian on a slope. This is exactly what we find at Ackers Adventure, along with some climbing walls and go-ape style shenanigans. From here, we pick up the River Cole before being delivered to the mill and the number 5 bus back to civilisation.

Stepping stones over the Cole on the way to Sarehole Mill

Another great walk. Meeting a card carrying CAMRA member meant conversation was never short.

Bringing me onto Post Walk Refreshment. I am now at the stage of life where a 7 pub trail is too long. So ladies and gentlemen, I bring you Birmingham CAMRA City Centre Trail Part 1, Part 1.

This has the classics, as opposed to the more unusual Part 2, which I completed earlier in the year.

My favourite Brummie dive bar first, The Post Office Vaults. I even found the door first time, dropping down into the den of inequity to see what sort of people booze their Thursday afternoons away. The answer, students dissing someone who at'ed them in a group chat. A DM more appropriate. Then a bunch of jolly boys on what I can assume is a regular pub crawl in new cities. The rules of bar billiards argued. If it had been later in the day, I would asked to join their gang.

Check reality in at the door

Hacker Pschorr on draught

Purecraft Bar and Kitchen, previously dismissed as all cyberpunk, instantly flew up my best pubs in Birmingham by offering Roosters Baby Faced Assassin and some rather splendid looking scratchings.

Only the 2nd time I have found this beer

Alas, the scratching flattered to deceive. Utterley devoid of taste, wiry hairs or fleshy bits. I joined the throng of skiving workers outside in the sunshine, admiring their brown shoes and too tight trousers. A reminder of how the fun can stop when the mobile ringtone goes off. Back to your spreadsheets fellas, only free men can stay out all afternoon.

Spot the proper worker. Clue, he's in orange.

This part of town and the Colmore can not be ignored. No external photos, as it is all under scaffold. A reassuring sign saying its Business as Usual. Cask Jaipur it is then, even if I was secretyly hoping for one of their new fancy derivations of this classic beer. 

Afternoon in the Colmore

The favourite place of my Card Carrying Camra Rambler from this morning.

You really do meet the nicest people on foot.

Walk Details

Distance - 5 Miles

Geocaches - An Adventure Lab Cache on Brum's Grade I listed buildings