27/10/19 - Heart of England Way - Stage 31

Distance - 9 Miles
Geocaches - 2
Pubs - Golden Ball - Lower Swell, Kings Arms - Stow-on-the-Wold
Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7, Stage 8, Stage 9, Stage 10, Stage 11, Stage 12, Stage 13, Stage 14, Stage 15, Stage 16, Stage 17, Stage 18, Stage 19, Stage 20, Stage 21, Stage 22, Stage 23, Stage 24, Stage 25, Stage 26, Stage 27, Stage 28, Stage 29, Stage 30


Peak Cotswold loveliness on the penultimate stage on the Heart of England Way.

The start is Stow-on-the-Wold.   Free parking in the nearby tescos and Mrs M makes a note to self to remember a 20p coin to use the facilities.   I'm sure she said that on the last stage in Moreton in the Marsh too.

The town square is already filling up and never has there been so much choice for post walk refreshment.   Which pub will get the Mappiman Dollar?  Well, it won't be the Porch.   This was my chance to add another "Oldest Pub in England" to the list - having ticks at St Alban's Fighting Cocks and Nottingham's Trip.   Alas, they were fully booked for Sunday Lunch several days in advance.

Stow on the Wold Centre

We leave on the Monarch's Way, heading North East past the wells that were used for drinking water until the mains came in 1937.   Views available as soon as you leave the town.

Cotswold Views

This walk is made up of several villages, some of them armed with pubs.   The first is Broadwell - Church, large village green and the Fox Inn.   The 2nd time I have walked on by this handsome boozer due to being too early.   Some would say that's not a bad thing when its a Donnington Brewery house and we will come to that later in this blog.

Undeniably Handsome

Other hamlets are Donnington (dry), Longborough (Coach and Horses), Upper Swell (Dry) and Lower Swell (The Golden Ball).   And we do pass the source of this disconcertion - Donnington Brewery - located in an idyllic setting, in a fine former mill house.

Apparently has a Brewery Shop now 

The Donnington Brewery

Onto Donningtons then.   My least favourite beer in the land is Arkells.   Donnington Brewery was founded by a member of the family in 1865.   Their tied houses dominate the area and there is even a Long Distance Path - the Donnington Way - that has been on my to do list for far too long.

The pubs are a perfect representation of the English Country Pub.

However (and you knew there would be a however), the beer is very, very poor.   We stop at the Golden Ball in Lower Swell and is if to prove a point, I am presented with some truly terrible swill - Donnington SBA.   One of the few times in my life I am pleased to have ordered a half.

Golden Ball

Tasted every bit as terrible as it looked

What a shame! 

The Donnington Way is still on the list though.  Mrs M questions my sanity.   It's location, location, location.

A minor short cut is taken back to Stow-on-the-Wold after determining that there is a footpath East along the B4068.

A palate cleanser is needed, quickly.

With so much choice in Stow, TripAdvisor was used to find the best Sunday Lunch in town - and although it is a Greene King, the Kings Arms did not disappoint.   I mean, it looks gorgeous.

To be fair, they all look like this

Black Sheep was a welcome relief and the Sunday Lunch lived up to the reviews.

Booking advised.

26/10/19 - Two more GBG Ticks in Birmingham - The Shakespeare and Head of Steam

Last time I pub blogged, it was 3 weeks ago for a couple of 2nd City Good Beer Guide ticks.   I'm back again to pick off the stragglers.   No Baggies visit this afternoon, the power of Group On has provided a fine dining reservation at Purnells.   By the end of the day, I can say that I have eaten in a Michelin starred restaurant. 

A scotch egg, followed by Fish and Chips, would you believe.

First, to work up an appetite, we battle through rain lashed Birmingham to find a back street Victorian red brick boozer.

Shakespeare, Summer Row, Purity Ubu

Google Maps was put away on the approach

The rugby fans had departed, enabling plenty of photos of a traditional Nicholsons pub that had sneaked its way into the bible.  3 Ubus, Doom Bar and the ubiquitous Nicholson Pale ale providing the ammunition.

Marie Celeste of Bars

It's an attractive boozer - certainly quite high on the opulence scale for Birmingham - leather seating, chandeliers, ornate Bass Mirrors. 

The Vanden Plas of Birmingham Boozers, if you like.    And some fine windows to watch the unfortunates battle through the weather.

Mrs M preferring to be in, rather than out

Head of Steam, Temple Street, Delirium Red (2/3rds)

Following the working men's lunch at aristocratic prices, we headed on to a brand new opening.   I've ticked off the Head of Steam in Leeds, which I'm certain that was far more traditional.

You know you are in trouble when CAMRA are using the phrase - "Steam Punk".

Equally, when you have to make eye contract with bouncers at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon and not quite knowing why you feel so guilty. 

Still, from a beer perspective, there's loads going on.   Its like taking a holiday without the travel.

75cl bottles of Chimay Blue surround the bar.   I asked if they were for sale and the answer is affirmative, with the added incentive that they will put them in the fridge if you provide 24hrs notice.  I must remember that, for it is a certainty that I will return.

A huge bank of hand pulls are noticed but I couldn't get close enough to decipher the choice.  Instead, like many a boozehound before him, I was seduced by advertising.

Follow the Pink Elephant.   Or the Chouffing Gnome.

I found the Delirium's Pink Elephant last week in Valencia's wonderfully named "Beers and Travels bar".   I wasn't going to make the mistake of having a full pint (or two) of that again.

I mentioned the subsequent grief that caused to the bar man, who suggested a more conservative 2/3rds glass.

My dad would have been proud of me.   Or just confused.

As well as being the first 2/3rds ever ordered, it was also my first Cherry Fruit beer.

It was a 45 minute battle to finish it, but I did win.

2/3rds of Cherry Beer in a Cyperpunk Setting 

12/10/19 - London Countryway Stage 20 - Theydon Bois to Brentwood

Distance - 14 Miles
Start - Theydon Bois
Finish - Brentwood
Geocaches - 5
Pubs - The Brewery Tap, Brentwood
Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7, Stage 8, Stage 9, Stage 10, Stage 11, Stage 12, Stage 13, Stage 14, Stage 15, Stage 16, Stage 17, Stage 18, Stage 19

On every odyssey, there's a moment that becomes a test of faith, leaving you questioning what the hell you are up to.

This was the moment for the London Countryway - a day of foul weather, ploughed muddy fields, disappearing footpaths and only the most gastro of pubs for potential refreshment.

Still, it ends on a high point in the Weald Country Park and I can look back on the very pleasant previous 19 stages with a fondness, hoping Tilbury can save the day for the grand finale :-)

For a walker - light drizzle is the very worst of weathers.   Not so bad that you want to don top and bottom waterproofs - so you head off, only for the intensity to gradually increase without you really noticing.   By 5pm, I was soaked through to my pants, unsuccessfully trying to keep warm in an overly air-conditioned Virgin train carriage.

Theydon Bois Underground Station is left and a badly overgrown footpath leads to some terrible terrain to the M11.   Des De Moor explains how Blunts Farm had been using the land illegally for commercial waste and worryingly tells that I am finding it better condition now than it once was.

Just what you need in the Drizzle - overgrown damp foliage 

Pleased to arrive at the M11 Underpass

I'll keep the next few miles to a minimum - after a pleasant enough section on an old roman road, there are a lot of very muddy, recently ploughed fields.    I'm following Dick Bowman's GPX and the footpaths around Hill Hall and Colemans farm are no longer there.   Hedges exist on the exact point he previously walked through.   Photo wise - and this is true for the majority of the walk - all I have to bring you are churchs.   There are a considerable amount, surprising when you consider how lowly populated the areas are.

Stapleford Tawney - possibly the most pretty

Stapleford Rivers - about 6 miles in - offers the first potential refreshment stop but I've carrying too much mud to even consider soiling their gastro pub.    More interesting is the detritus of the former old white bear next door.   Now a private residence, its sounds like it had a chequered history as a motorcycle gang hang out before falling to economic unviability.   The pub sign is dumped in the back garden before the River Riding, along with the usual assortment of junk, kept by the landed gentry.

Gastro Woodman - Not right for me today

How the Next Door White Bear looked in 1911

The former beer garden reminding me I could have been watching the new Breaking Bad Film on Netflix

After another couple of miles of mud and misery, I kind of regret not cleaning myself off and using the Woodman.   The only other available stop is Alec's in Navestock Side.  What used to be a classic country pub opposite the village cricket pitch is now Essex's finest fish restaurant.   Pray for the local's who have lost their community asset.

The day is saved by Weald Country Park.   Only a short section but the trees are magnificent in their decrepitude and who wouldn't want to meet an antlered Stag, apart from Richmond Park's Fenton.

What - No Mud in a Country Park

Lovely trees

Jesus Christ Fenton - Its a Stag

Weald Country Park is that lovely that they don't want you to leave, building a high fence around it and providing little signage to where the gate is to escape.   When you do, its all roads into Brentwood.

I chose the Brewery Tap for the only refreshment, declining the Good Beer Guide Entry on the other side of town.   This was just too close to the station to ignore.

Station down the road

No idea of why its called the brewery tap - its not associated with any brewery and mainly appealing to Carling drinkers.   There were three real ales on and when I tell you that Doom Bar was the best choice, you'll know Greene King featured for the other two.

But who can complain at a pub closest to a station that you can use an Oyster Card to get into the smoke that only charges £2.50 a pint.

05/10/19 - Birmingham's New Good Beer Guide Entries - Cherry Reds and Pint Shop

September every year and the clocks are reset.   A new Good Beer Guide comes out, offering the chance for further exploration of familiar places across the UK.   With a rarely seen 3pm Saturday kick off at the Baggies, I have a lunchtime in the 2nd City.

Cherry Reds, John Bright Street, Pale Brummie

Cafe Bars Come to the GBG

It's been open 9 years and its opposite Brewdog and as distinctive as it is, I probably should have noticed it before.

Instead, google map leads me from the chaos of Grand Central, past the gangs of bicycle mounted ne'er-do-wells to this cafe bar, making its GBG debut.

11am sounds about the right time to be heading into a cafe.  Inside, its as pubby as you like.   Other photos would show a Duvel Lamp Shade that would be rather fetching in Chez Mappiman.

The Duvel lampside was better than the nan's parlour retro one

There's little doubt I will be back.   Friendly knowledgeable staff, excellent beer and a monthly comedy night held on the first Friday of the Month.

Lovely place.

Pint Shop, Bennetts Hill, A Couple of Cask Bitters

I'd recommend GBG tickers new to the City start here.   2 for the price of one, with the established Wellington next door.

This is another new entry - and I knew if would be in this year's guide, having eaten here earlier in the year.

Take me to the Pint Shop

This townhouse is over several floors - with an upstairs restaurant and facilities that would appeal to JDW regulars on the flight above that.

Further advice for newbies would be to have a seat in the front room, under the blackboard.   Its going to take a while to decide what you do want - and only a Yuletide Amateur would do this blocking the bar.

Somebody's Job to keep on top of this

I tried two beers - both perfection in a glass - Roosters's Capability Brown and Shiny Brewing 4 Wood.   Delightful traditional bitters.

My boy had the Camden Hells until he clocked the Price.   He lives 30 minutes from London but has never paid £6.50 for lout stuffed into a tubby pot.

He needn't had worried.   His dad had put a card behind the bar.

Both boozers are fine new entries in the Hit Parade..... next time in Brum - The Craven Arms.

01/10/19 - Inverness - The Good Beer Guide Pubs and Others

Pubs - 5

3rd and Final City on the Scottish train holiday.   Finding our reserved seats was made easier by there only being 3 carriages but infinitely harder by none of them being labelled.   We found Seat 21 and 22, moved some elderly day trippers and before determining 2 hours into the journey, we were in carriage C - and not A. 

That will teach us to use logic, like going to the carriage at the front.

The walking in Inverness was a simple town trail - with a view to knocking off several of the Good Beer Guide ticks.

But first, a visit to Gellions - who can ignore the chance to visit the oldest in the City?   A functional boozer, noted only for the prospect of Live Music and Leeds vs. West Brom later in the night.

Oldest and Freshly Caught Haggis

The first GBG Tick is MacGregors (Academy Street).   Visions of an old man's drinking den giving Mrs M the shivers were quickly dispelled by a bright, cafe type bar.   Two cask and a large number of kegs.   My cask failed mid pour - so I moved onto a keg Spey Valley David's Not So Bitter.

It must have been the name.

This too proved a mistake. 

Look at that filth

I compared with other check in on UnTappd and stated that mine looks like no one elses.   I should have taken it back - but somehow, you'd expect better from a GBG pub.

Disappointment only intensified in the gents.

No

Mrs M retreats back to the Premier Inn, leaving me with a bank card and a couple of hours grace.

Next stop is the GBG Black Isle Bar (Church Street) - a cavernous prison canteen of a bar, with an internal pizza oven and TV sets letting you know what's on offer from the breweries range.

Everything needed for the gentleman around town

Who was to know that their Scotch Ale was only served in halves?   Not wanting to fall foul of minimum card purchase, I found a flaw in their pintless plan.

Other chap has the half pint hump

Architectural meanderings as I walk past the churches and over the castle for the appropriately named Castle Tavern (View Place).

Castle View

For a Castle View

Comfortable, traditional bar, offering locALE brews and for those so inclined, certificates for finishing either the Great Glen Way or the Scottish 500.

Never go far wrong with an Orkney Dark Island

That's enough for the afternoon, so I head back to the Purple Palace that is the Premier Inn.   Mrs M is up for evening sight seeing.

Inverness by night.   Who allowed those blocks to be built in front of the castle?

It was going to be kill two birds with one stone and head to GBG Number 27 Bar and Restaurant but Mrs M was not hungry.   Rather than an aimless bimble around town, we were seduced by the Caledonian.

Handsome

Average Deuchars stuffed into Carling glasses and any change to our food requirements was answered by "chef stops at 8pm", it did have the saving grace of having the Baggies on.   Leeds triumphed.

Only the best bar in Inverness could save us now.   Hootanannys may not in the GBG but its one of the finest pubs I've been to, having discovered it 10 years ago. 

You simply cannot beat the atmosphere generated by live music in a busy environment.

And Guinness is always good.

Hootanannys by day

Hootanannys by night

Regrets?  I should have bought a T-Shirt.