26/03/22 - Greater Manchester Ringway - Stage 1

Start - Victoria Station

Finish - Sale Water Park Metrolink 

Distance - 7.5 Miles

Geocaches - 4 

Pubs - 3

Walk Inspiration

There was a recent Twitter Poll from a podcast that asked the question "Do you have a favourite Beery City?".

The most popular answer was Manchester - with voters waxing lyrical about its mixture of timeless classic boozers, brewery tap rooms and hipster craft bars.

This week’s #hopinions folks 👇🏼👇🏼

Do you have a favourite beery city & where (in the world) is it?

— Beer O’clock Show #Hopinions (@BeerOClockShow) March 13, 2022

Excellent news - as I finally get around to starting a new long distance trail.  

The Greater Manchester Ringway has been in development for some time. The 20 stages now seem to be fully documented. Like the Capital Ring, London Loop and my own attempt at one in Birmingham - we have a circular route running around a city's border lands.  Always a excellent way to explore and make discoveries in the less well trod environs.

As well as finding new watering holes in the suburbs, the GMRW requires me to change public transport in the City Centre.  I have ample opportunity to (re)-familiarise myself with classic boozers, brewery taps and hipster craft bars.

If only I can work out how you can buy a public transport SystemOne day pass. You'd think it easy, but wait till you have the pressure of an unintuitive ticket machine, an unmanned station and a queue behind you at Swinton Station - with the Manchester train arriving in 3 minutes. The huffing from behind forced me to abort and resort to downloading the Northern Trains App.

My walk starts at Victoria Station - a meander southbound, looking at the locations of youth based nights out and gigs in the City Centre. Inspiral Carpets at the G-Mex, making me chuckle at the memory of curtain haircuts and bad dancing.

Inspiral Carpets - 21-07-1990 - I was there.

They pulled down the Hacienda and built a parking lot.  Under some flats.

Soon find the Bridgewater Canal - a hidden pathway running traffic free south west through Castlefields and onto Old Trafford.  Geese, as hard as nails, refusing to give up the towpaths to anyone.

Didn't Peter Schmeichel own Beetham Tower's Penthouse Suite?

Old Trafford is a chance to admire some of the City's sporting heritage.  Its an international break weekend, so Man United are not at home but there is still a throng of sightsee-ers and more hot dog stands than you get at the Hawthorns on Match day.  

Best, Law, Charlton

Old Trafford

Another Old Trafford

The final stages of the walk are surprisingly rural.  Through Longford Park - the former home of Industrialist John Rylands and into Sale Water Park for a short stretch along the River Mersey.

More inner city walking serenity

A fine start to a new adventure. For post walk refreshments, I avoid Jackson's Boat pub when I queue and determine that drinks are dispensed in plastic glasses. Instead, I let the Blue Metroline, whisk me back to the City Centre.  Tube style contactless touch in points, avoiding ticket confusion.

The high rating in the #Hopinions Twitter poll needs to be confirmed;

The Classic Boozer - Possibly my favourite, a revisit to the City Arms.  A oasis of calm in quiet Kennedy Street, where there is the unusual sight of three pubs in a direct row.  If you count a JDW.  

Half a dozen cask handpulls on and Red Willow Feckless - a traditional English Bitter - seemed most in keeping with the surroundings.

City Arms splendour

The Tap Room(s) - A lengthy walk across the City, across the edges of the Northern Quarter and into Ancoats.  On an industrial estate there is not one but two tap rooms - staring at each other across their car parks.  Little to choose between the Track Brewing Company and Cloudwater.  The former in an airy sectioned off space of the main brewery.  The latter on a mezzanine floor above the brewery, where you can see the wooden casks gently aging their contents. 

A great atmosphere in both, so well worth the extra walking.  Unsure whether I would do it at night :-)

Track Brewing - my rucksack and empty Next New Sun Cask on the RHS

Cloudwater - and the improbably named Chubbles II: Discovering Pilsengris

The Hipster - There was no way I was going to miss the Mild at Bundobust.  The most "on trend" beer of 2022.

I'm from the West Midlands.  Mild was never off-trend.

My daughter, Okra Fries and Bundobust Mild

20/03/22 - A Hereford Pub Crawl

Pubs - 5

Good Beer Guide Ticks - #654 and #655

The view from a Hereford pub terrace

I must be the man with the easiest attainable bucket list possible. High on the list is "Visit Barrels Pub, Hereford". The reason is as follows;

I live in a small town called Stourport on Severn.  7 years ago, we didn't have a single pub that served a decent pint. The choice was to travel to Bewdley or stay in. Then the Black Star - a previously excellent pub that had been run down into the ground - was taken over by the Wye Valley Brewery. A new landlord/landlord revamped the boozer. They served beer that has continued to annually achieve 100% from the Cask Marque audits, introduced live music on weekend nights and offered good value/quality food. Customers poured back into Town. The Swan - previously derelict - was brought back from a unsightly death. They too joined the Black Star in the GBG Guide.  Micropub Tap Rooms breathed life into derelict shops.  We even have a Tap Room Brewery.

There is no longer any need to travel to Bewdley.  Or Stay in.

And the secret of the Black Stars success? They based the format on Barrels - the original Wye Valley Brewery, before they expanded out to a purpose built facility in Stoke Lacey.

A night in Lenny's Purple Palace and a look around what the City has to offer, beer wise.

The Britannia, Cotteral Street, Wye Valley Bitter

Back Street Boozer

This is another of the three Good Beer Guide Entries in the City. Alas, the Beer in Hand Micro Pub does not open on Sundays.

It's a little out the way from everything else but worth seeking out. Located in a couple of knocked together terrace houses in a back street, its knocked through inside to create an airy drinking space.  Comfy sofas, high beamed ceiling, central bar, a nice patio out back.

As a Wye Valley House, you would expect the WV Bitter to be excellent. It was.

Room for improvement? They neither knew what cobs are or sold them.

View from the Comfy Seats

The Black Lion, Bridge Street, Three Tuns Solstice

C16th Coaching House - The Black Lion

A lot to admire in this ancient boozer, located at one end of the C15th stone bridge.

Mainly setup for dining inside but the drinkers are catered for - with three hand pulls. Two from my favourite Shropshire Brewery - Three Tuns.

A lovely garden patio to enjoy the sun setting on the first day of spring.

The Saracen's Head, St Martins Street, Wye Valley Hopfather

Sign says "Chef off ill (not Covid)"

If it is the first day of Spring, no one told the Saracens Head.  In through the door behind the "Not Covid" sign and you are hit with a blast of heat that can only be described as stifling. They will change their ways when the next EDF bill drops on the doormat.

I order the one handpull on - a good chance I will do the full Wye Valley range tonight - and ask if the door to the river terrace is open.  Landlady looks at me with suspicion saying "it is, but we have the heating on". Things get back on friendly terms when I state I merely want to go through it.

My reward - the view is the photo at the top of the blog. And I completed the Sunday Times Very Hard Suduko, 3 pints in.

Barrels, St Owens Street, Butty Bach and Little Bighorn

Not the Lamb Hotel, Barrels

I can hear the music on approach.  The sound of laughter and general high spirits. Up to now, most of the pubs have been quiet. By the time I leave this place to continue my investigations, the other pubs are either empty or closed early.

Barrels is hoovering up all the City's customers - ranging from students, to cyclists, to rotund beardies who wouldn't look out of place in a certain Viz comic strip.

Multi roomed - with a choice of going left or right through the front porch. It makes no difference - you are served from the same central bar. As you'd expect, the beer is exceptional.

Wonky Donkey shot from the Right Hand Bar

Despite being comfortable, I don't stay inside for long.  The courtyard is where all the action is. The old brewery to the right and a covered stage to the left, where a two keyboard vocalist is having a good go at rock and roll classics. 40 people singing along to Steppenwolf's Born to be Wild, played by a bloke on a Roland is how I want to spend my Sunday evenings, as the spring sun sets.

Get your motor running

Superb.  Everything I expected and more.  May become an annual first day of Spring pilgrimage.

Lichfield Vaults, Church Street, Bass Premium

Former GBG Entry

An C18th ale house, tucked away down a cobbled pedestrian street.  Four other punters and a dog.

Notable for Serving Bass - so of course I informed TheWickingMan on my Untappd checkin. If only I determined if it was a regular or a guest, he could have entered a new Herefordshire Section in the most complete directory of Bass outlets on the Internet.

I'm yet to have a reply to my FB message to make up for my lack of investigative journalism in realtime.

Adjacent Grapes closed at 9pm on a Sunday

The Imperial Inn, Widemarsh Street, Goffs Cheltenham Gold

With the Grapes - the last on my list to visit closed - I use the Cask Marque App to find a last hurrah on the way back to the hotel. Yes, I know, its not a foolproof plan for finding quality beers. It came up trumps tonight - despite everything screaming it wouldn't.

C20th Building - looking more ancient

Not a single other punter in a chainy looking pub.  Surprisingly, four handpulls on - Doombar, Tribute, one unremembered and when the barman adjusted the pump clip to be flush with the customer, a rarely seen Goff's Cheltenham Gold.

I didn't expect much from a place that was showing no signs of real ale turnover but the Cheltenham Gold was in absolutely perfect condition.

A fitting end to a night that held only positive memories from a new City.

20/03/22 - Pub Archaeology at Clehonger, Herefordshire

Distance - 5 Miles

Geocaches - 1

Walk Inspiration - Pub Walks in Herefordshire - Walk 4

A first walk from this 1994 Guide Book.

Wonder if the Bell Inn is still there

Route 4 is of interest, as it details not one but two pubs. One definitely closed, one even Google/Whatpub cannot provide a comprehensive answer as to its trading status.  

The potential live one - the Seven Stars - is the start and parking point. If I have got internet based research wrong, I am trespassing on a private drive.

Open or Closed - I'll find out later

Footpaths are better preserved than our pubs - everything is present and correct 28 years later. An initial traverse of sheep grazing fields along Cage Brook, to the mighty Wye at Ruckhall. I return across increasingly waterlogged paths over Honeymoor Common and back along the brook.

The Ancient Camp is hard to pin down on the map but the guide book describes it having magnificent views over the River Wye.  Details include it being a freehouse for more than 150 years. A commitment to providing good ale, with Wood Parish Bitter and West County PA on draught.

Magnificent enough view?  I must be close.

I completed my research before hand.  A BBC news article  from 2003 talked about a locals campaign to preserve the village's only pub. 

A 2010 blogpost detailed a last gasp attempt to save it, and discussed the much maligned tactic of being denied planning permission to convert it into a house and then putting it on the market at an inflated price as a business.  It would appear that this was when the battle was lost, with the blogpost stating that CAMRA were philosophical about the outcome.

But am I in the right place at my Wye Valley lookout?  A scramble up a bank and a look over a low fence reveals the following.

Private House, Public Signage

Leaving the Seven Stars for refreshment.  12:30pm on a Sunday Lunch and worryingly, there are no additional cars in the car park.

There doesn't appear to be any lights on but the front door does open and thankfully, I am greeted by the view of a bar at the far end of a narrow corridor.  It could just have easily been a couple watching their TV.

My guide book has promises of bar food, restaurant meals, Marston Pedigree and Scorpio ale.  I'm reasonably sure there's no hot food available today and I am unsure whether I should brave the single Wye Valley handpull that's on.  In a pub with no other punters, you wonder how long it has been sitting there.  

£3.10 and OK, but not a patch on what I find in the Britannia in Hereford later in the day.

And now, I am in that uncomfortable position of sitting in an empty room, with just the bar lady and no ambient noise to break the silence.  I get up and look at the Jukebox, which she says is broken but will turn on, so I can look at what tunes are available.

First Album - Now that's what I call music 1994.  Same year as the Guide Book!

A ticking of grandfather clocks reminding me of afternoon visits to my nans.  

Thankfully, other life forms enter the bar, just as we are reaching peak awkwardness.

Harry the Pub Dog

I was able to pay for my parking and support pubs, but I cannot help but feel that it will be another house conversion the next time I come to Clehonger.

My £3.10 is hardly likely to pay for the heating, let alone wages.

19/03/22 - Centenary Way - Stage 8 - Ansty

Distance - 6.5 Miles

Geocaches - 3

Pub - Rose and Castle, Ansty

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

A cool and breezy day but under blue skies - with just enough warmth that we can have our first Al Fresco lunch of 2022.  We hope that many more will follow.

We start at the Rose and Castle - only slightly perturbed by their "Chef Required" signage.  We had high hopes of something more than a liquid lunch.  As its a gastro-pub, we live in expectation that something will be to be rustled up for us, post walk.

Rose and Castle for Lunch Outside

Today's walk is a 7 miles figure of 8. We decide to agricultural fields out the way first. The map shows the site of two lost medieval villages - Hopsford and Upper Smite.  No evidence of anything at ground level - just grassy fields, viewed from our tree lined avenue.

Our path for taday

A crossing of the M6 and then down to the Oxford Canal for a good three miles of muddy towpaths for our return to Ansty.

Oxford Canal for easy navigation

The Centenary Way once again providing little of interest but at least this was a reasonable, if not unspectacular walk.

The Rose and Castle not even providing anything to liven the blog up.  It was open, doing food from an extensive menu with excellent service and a decent pint of Purity Mad Goose.

Oh, I do them a disservice.  There was something of interest.

A dimpled, handled glass

12/03/22 - Heart of Wales Line - Stage 5 - Cilmeri to Llandrindod Wells

Distance - 11 Miles

Geocaches - 1

Pubs - 1
Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4

Six months have passed since the last stage on the Heart of Wales Line Trail. What has stopped me this time?  Just the usual.... named Storms... rail replacement buses.

An unexpectedly free weekend (of good weather) and a check to see if everything is running ok is confirmed.  And the single carriage train trundles into Llandrindod Wells 5 minutes early. The other passengers on the platform - a man with a wizard length beard and a 4 pack of Cornettos - the first of which he is busily slurping on.  I'm sure the other three are going to melt before he gets to the train's ultimate destination - Swansea.

I'm off well before there - my £2.90 ticket getting me 15 minutes down the track to the request stop of Cilmeri. I've told the guard, the guard has told the driver but there was no need to fear. Someone is waving the train to a stop from the platform. A technique I am no doubt going to have to perfect on the next stage.

Loneliness of a Request Stop in Mid Wales

Cilmeri does have a pub - The Prince Llewelyn will be utilised next time. A short walk across fields and woodland to pick up the main companion for today's walk... the River Wye, followed for four miles.

Easy route finding along the River Wye

Newbridge on Wye is both the mid point of the ramble and where we leave the river behind. It's an odd place showing little sign of life.  There are two pubs - both of which have Facebook Pages showing their campaigning for Ukraine.  Yet 1pm on a Saturday afternoon, both front doors are firmly shut. Not even any people to ask. 

Lunch?  Sandwiches on a bench.  Undisturbed.

The New Inn, Newbridge on Wye

Agricultural fields for the remainder of the walk.  Sheep for company, including the heart warming sights of this year's new editions.

Spring Sprung - with a Mother's watchful eye

Into Llandrindod Wells - slightly more people than Newbridge on Wye but still an air of quiet desperation.  The pubs and hotels that line the route in are closed or down at heel nursing homes hinting at the their former opulence.

Changes in the Good Beer Guide between 2021 and 2022.  Both entries were closed during the last walk in Sept 2021 - bizarrely, the Middleton Arms is in the 2022 guide, despite remaining permanently closed.

This leaves the Arvon Ales to carry the torch for Good Beer, even when rather cruelly excluded from the bible.

Now re-opened

The first micro-pub in Powys handles its shop conversion well.  Pubby bench seating around the exterior walls, some partitioning, a ceiling full of pump clips.

Real Ales, Ciders and Gins

There's four other punters - on a train journey from Swansea - which means with me - we can each have a dedicated beer each.  Five casks, surely too many for the footfall. Especially when Wye Valley Bitter, Hopfather and Purple Moose Snowdonia are not wildly different in style.

Not that there was anything wrong with my Hopfather... a tasty, lacing heavy hoppy bonanza of beer.

Walk the Wye Valley, Drink the Wye Valley