31/12/22 - The Fountain at Clent

Distance - 5.4 Miles

Walk Inspiration - Country Walking Magazine, December 2022, Walk 9

Final walk of 2022. The scores on the doors coming up at the end of the blog.

The primary reason to do this walk is the bacon sandwiches from the Nimmings Lane National Trust Cafe. Renowned the walking world around for lovers of crusty bed and thick rashers of crispy bacon.

We have alternative food plans.

The walk packs a lot into its short distance. Adams Hill, Kenelm Gap and Walton Hill. On clear days, fine views over the Black Country and Worcestershire.

Entering Clent from Nimmings Wood Cafe

Into the Clent Woodland

Views over the Black Country

The Four Stones

To the pub, for a New Year's Eve treat for ramblers that like to be in bed at 10pm.

The Fountain Pub is a former C18th cottage. From the outside you would expect a traditional Banks Local but the clue in Untappd gives the game away. A badge can be won for Gastropub.

It's all liveried waitress service and Prixe Fixe Menus, with no price for a single course.  There is, however, a £10 supplement for Beef Wellington. Chips, dauphinoise potatoes or in keeping with its working class location, half and half.  

The Fountain at Clent

Mrs M suggesting that I can have two Brakspear Oxford Golds

Another year over and what have I done? Some of my aspirations lie shriveled in the sun.

• 1274 Boots on miles means I smashed the annual walk 1000 miles challenge.
• 864 Geocache finds, falling short of the 1000 target.  
• 118 New Good Beer Guide Ticks.  No target was set but in 2023, I aim to get to 900 in total - a figure that is 123 ticks away.
• 97 blog posts. 3 shy of the 100 target.  

I fix it all by visiting more pubs in 2023.

27/12/22 - Monmouth - Struggling for post walk refreshment

Distance - 6.5 Miles

Walk Inspiration - Country Walking Magazine, October 2018, Walk 21

Geocaches - 4 and an Adventure Lab Cache

You would think it would be easy. Finish a walk in a historically important market town. Have a pint.

My suspicions were aroused by the lack of current recommendation in the Good Beer Guide, but with plenty of pubs on Google Maps, I remained naively optimistic. 

Walking the Wye Valley has been an annual Christmas Tradition for 15+years and there are still discoveries to be made. Today, I am heading north along the river, aiming for St Peters Church at Dixton. This is the sort of landscape where the church was already described as old in the C8th Century.

Heading North along the River Wye

Whitewashed walls of St Peters Church

Right on the river bank, the church often floods. Inside, are markers showing the height of the flood water. Global Warming conspiracy theorists would point out that the worst floods were in 1947. Global Warming activists would point out the frequency of the floods in the last 20 years.

1947 marker higher than 6ft

Manson's Lane takes me up and over a hill to Monmouth's other river - the Monnow - and back into town.

River Monnow, before it joins the Wye

An Adventure Lab Cache to show me the historical sights.. which includes the only fortified medieval bridge in Great Britain.

Through the arch in search of a pint

Stage 3 of the cache is the Robin Hood Pub - a C15th Century building with a very C21st sign detailing problems with logistics.

I would have gone in

But that's it for the 27th Dec

At this point, I am not concerned, but keen to get the best experience for the Mappiman dollar.  There is a mighty fine looking JDW and indeed, I walked in but seeing only the core triptych of Ruddles, Abbot and Doom Bar, thought I could do better.

Should have stuck at the Kings Head

I couldn't get the bar tender off her phone to serve me in the Punch House opposite and walking to the former GBG Tick of the Old Nag's Head proved fruitless.  A 4pm opener. The equally historic Queens Head looked permanently closed, with no sign of life at all - but all seems good on their web site. The shortest day recently celebrated.  Ironically, my quest for a pint is turning into the longest day.

And then I think I find pay dirt. A bass sign, on the outside of the Griffin.

Looks like my sort of place

The bass sign may well be former advertising but the little black sign proclaims "Craft Beer", so I should be OK.

In through the door and I am not sure what I have entered. It appeared to be an antique shop.  Further research indicates its a vintage bicycle repair shop.  Flustered, I answer by own question by saying "Oh, this is not a pub".

I wasn't corrected or indeed offered the chance to purchase craft beer. But drinking in such an environment would have been too weird, even for me.  See if you can work out what they are aiming at on their website.

A disappointingly dry walk. And a promise for 2023. 

I will not be going into a KFC again.

24/12/22 - The Gaskell Arms, Much Wenlock

Distance - 5 Miles

Geocaches - 25 and two Adventure Lab Caches

First Cache

All getting a bit chaotic at home? Are several family members all cooking different dishes for tomorrow's dinner? Escape the madness by looking for tupperware in hedges.

Geocaching in the shadow of the Wrekin

This round of 24 (plus a bonus on route) is perfect for your Xmas geocaching needs. All under the shadow of the distinctive Wrekin Hill, no taxing searches and importantly for this time of year, on country lanes so you are not plastered in mud on completion.

Many thanks to wavydale for setting a perfect trail.

Post walk refreshment? The Gaskell Arms Hotel is a dominant building in nearby Much Wenlock. I've driven past it 100s of times but its (surprise?) inclusion in the 2023 Good Beer Guide has prompted a stop.

A rather enthusiastic good beer guide ticker taking out the street furniture

And really, I shouldn't wait for the recommendation of others to investigate a C17th Coaching House.

Past the former stables, now converted into accommodation and into a central bar with a number of snug rooms fanning from it. The one with the real fire is around the back and makes the obvious destination.   

One other punter. An old gent reading a book but he's observing the rules by having a drink on the go.

This does mean the staff are outnumbering the customers by 2-1.With the fire on, not even my club sandwich is going to allow them to break even what you would think would a be a busy day.

Beer wise - take your pick from Butty, Town Crier or Three Tuns XXX. To keep you on your toes, the glass was not an accurate representation of my choice.

Not Stoke Lacey, Not Cleobury Mortimer..... Bishops Castle finest

All pleasant enough.  Another tick available at the George and Dragon but I went looks at town's history for Adventure Lab Caches. There's that much history, two are required to show you all the sights.

Front door of the Gaskell Arms

23/12/22 - Worcester Ale Hub, Chain Pub

Good Beer Guide Tick - #772

Worcester City gets an intriguing new entry in the Good Beer Guide.  My county capital and I'm not 100% sure where St Peters is but I am going there to investigate the Ale Hub.

Pre-trip research shows me that is part of a chain with as much corporate branding as your favourite Black County Ales. They seem to have an MO. Build a micro in an out of town shopping precinct. Look for a location next to a take-away.  

Simple, yet perfect. What sort of a person wouldn't want a pint whilst waiting for their Crispy Shredded Beef?

Lifted from Google Maps - There was a queue at the chipper during my evening visit

Their web-site uses a colour scheme to suggest an allegiance to the Dingles.  In addition to location themes, there are entertainment themes. Live Music.... Pub Quizes... Bingo.  All the bases covered for your community micro.

Black-Eye Friday is not the best day to be getting an unbiased opinion of a pub, but my tea-time visit had just the right level of busy-ness.... groups of blokes, families, lots of dogs but possibly too many children. I mean, it is Christmas. 

Wye Valley HPA in decent condition.

Xmas in a Micro

That's what HPA is meant to look like.

Opened in 2021, it's maybe dispelled a myth/rumour that a place has to be open for at least 12 months to get in Good Beer Guide. And if this one has made it, can we expect the rest in the chain to be in the 2024 guide?  

Trips will need planning to Dickens Heath, Kingswinford, Droitwich, Shirley and Sutton Coldfield.

The future of pubs is micro.

18/12/22 - A Country Walk from Astley

Distance - 7 Miles

Geocache - 3

Walk Inspiration - Country Walking Magazine April 2019, Walk 9

The great thaw begins.... weirdly, this walk starts in the snow but with every passing hour, well into the night, the temperature increases by a degree. By 4am, its a balmy 13, a 20 degree swing.

This is a simple (and local) walk that provides decent views of Abberley Hill, an ancient church and the chance for a 53 year old to climb a tree. I really need to have a word with myself. Just because a cache is there, it doesn't mean I have to find it.

Looking towards Abberley Hill, from Dunley

The Worcestershire Way

Astley Mill, with its fine weir

Astley Church proclaims itself to be "open at all times". It's a Sunday morning, so I half expect to be greeted by confused faces, as I interrupt a service. Once again, I should do my research before heading out. I find the C16th Blount effigies but miss out on the external grotesque heads mounted on the South Wall.

A new year's resolution in the making..... do your research before heading out.

Astley Church exterior

Blount Effigies - That's a lion at his feet - A tiny lion

No pub today. 

I am saving myself for the finest World Cup final in my living memory.

17/12/22 - Bad day at the Black Eagle, Hockley

Good Beer Guide Tick - 771

I really wanted to enjoy the Black Eagle, Hockley. I mean, who wouldn't.

Shining light in the Hockley darkness

This is a significant pub for me. The closest Good Beer Guide Tick to the Albion. Whether public transport is running or not (2022 is the year of the not) it is impossible to make progress on the journey home straight after the game. They close the roads. They introduce queuing at the station.

Instead of settling for traffic rage, I march for 2 miles through what the military would describe as bandit country to find this back street boozer. If you have your hoody up, you are just as menacing as the locals.

From the outside, all looks great. The usual dilemma of choosing left or right from the porch door.  I go left, for the what I expect to be the more gentile lounge. A vision of Black Country mock Tudor.

Saturday night.  5:15. Well more like 5:30.

The experience goes down hill swiftly. Service is from one of two near-teenage girls, should you be able to coax them off their mobiles. I ask for the Golden Glow. Off. I ask for the Butty Bach.  Off.  Do you have any cask ale?  HPA from the other bar is the reply. Whilst she is fetching hat, pandemonium breaks out, as a real ale fan with far more friends than me has dragged a posse in. They too are from the football, although not the Baggies, or indeed Rotherham. Local accents but I could not guess their allegiance from their replica kits. Their first visit too, as I heard them talking about their external photos.

My server comes back from the other bar and instantly assumes we are all together, giving me my "pint" and then taking another half dozen orders. She has my sympathies as she has to go through the whole Golden Glow, Butty routine again. Her task made far more tricky when dealing with a boisterous group that have been on it.

I take my pint to the far end of the room, out of the melee.

Now HPA is a great pint. Its usually crystal clear and pin sharp. This was a short measure of murk. With bits floating in the bottom. 

If I wanted craft, I would have headed into town

Not much of an advert for real ale, CAMRA or heritage pubs.

If there had been a plant-pot, I would have taken away the temptation to try and battle through it.

Instead, it was left for the Soho Tram stop.

All not lost - An idea forms for a West Midlands Metro Station Pub Crawl... a pint at the nearest pub to each station to be completed in 2, possibly 3, stages. 

At least I know the beer is good in the Vine.

And so are the mixed grills (desi style).

17/12/22 - The Lesser Heralded Pubs of Birmingham #1 - The Trocadero

With the Good Beer Guide pubs of Birmingham exhausted, I need to look further afield for new locations.  A chance to blog some of the lesser heralded pubs that still have a story tell. Who knows, I may even get as far as the Bull Ring Tavern. 

I'm starting with the Trocadero.

Hidden half way along Temple Street, it wears most of its beauty on the fine tiling outside.

Halfway along a rat run from New Street to Snow Hill Station

Side On

Outside of  'spoons, this is a place to get an early pint and/or breakfast. A rare 10am opener, making it a natural meeting place on Saturdays for pre-match football fans.

The Baggies heroes that braved a Monday night 8pm game in sub zero temperatures were regaling their more sensible TV watching mates on the unparalleled joy of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. And getting home at 4.20am.

Inside, it does little to hint at its history. You could be in any modern, soulless All Bar One.

But look closely, there are clues to its past

The stained window in the ceiling points to its former usage as a fire station. Its where the firemans pole used to me. Converted to a wine bar in 1912 by Henry Skinner, murdered on site in an argument about wages. Look to YouTube for the least scary haunting video of a door banging by what is said to be Henry's ghost.

First time visitors can claim a free pint by simply providing an email address and subscribing to their newsletter. A recent top 10 business apps twitter post showed me a website that creates unlimited short term email addresses. I have vowed to myself to not take the mick. Not necessarily for any altruistic reasons, more that the offer is limited to the core range, where Guinness wins out over Madri. A shame, as on the "premium" side of the pumps, there was a rarely seen draught Paulaner Oktoberfest. Alas, no cask.

My QR Code would only take me so far.

The cooked breakfasts are Irish, which is a novelty and available in small, medium or large. I went for the middle ground and my facebook breakfast friends admired the baked bean separation, even if achieved by a non-standard gravy boat. But what makes a breakfast Irish, I hear you ask?

White Pudding.

Where else can you get a gravy boat of baked beans?

Much thought into a pub rating system and having consulted many on-line guides, I've narrowed down my categories.

Category		Justification
Appearance	3/5	Mainly for the exterior
Drinks	2/5	Unusual German loopy juice will only carry you so far. Extra point for a keen pricing to those with an email address
Atmosphere	5/5	I was most at home with Christmas jumper wearing baggies fans, although I did worry for how their Adidas Sambas were going to stop their feet getting numb at the game.
Delightful Surprises	3/5	Not every pub has a resident ghost.  Or an opening for a fire man’s pole. White pudding not as good as black pudding.

17/12/22 - A Quirky Tour of Birmingham City

Distance - 4.5 Miles

Walk Inspiration - AZ Birmingham Hidden Walks - Walk 1 and 2

Pubs - 2, Good Beer Guide Tick #770

Continued rail strikes and an appalling service from Avanti West Coast has rendered getting to the Smoke a near impossibility in 2022.

Time to take my urban exploring elsewhere and closer to home. A wonderful new series of City walking books from AZ will provide the inspiration for a Birmingham City Centre Walk. The guides do a great job of highlighting quirky facts that are hidden in plain sight.

St Chads tram stop is the best place for Snow Hill and in no time, I am looking in the Cathedral grounds for the grave of a 33" woman. How do you spend your weekends?

Into the Xmas Markets at Birmingham Cathedral

Nanette Stocker - 33" Freak Show exhibit d.1819

A mixture of Xmas markets and bad planning on my part thwarts my next curiosity items. The paw print at the foot of Queen Victoria's Statue is inaccessible - surrounded by wooden shacks selling mulled wines and bratwursts. The library does not open till 11am, so level 7's secret garden and the Shakespeare room will need to wait for another visit.

Down to Gas Street Basin for possibly the finest view in the City. I learn about the Worcester Bar and how an act of parliament forced two rival canal companies to join the network together.

Canal Street Basin

Back to more cultural observations.... I pass under the Black Sabbath Bridge, and after a successful (first ever) transit of New Street Station, find the dilapidated Crown. Seemingly closed for as long as I can remember, this is the music venue that Black Sabbath made their live debut in 1968. Fittingly, it's rumoured to be coming back to live as a arts and music venue.

Black Sabbath Bridge from Below

The Crown, where Ozzies presence is still felt

The rag market, bull ring and a circuit of the law courts bring me to the planned refreshment stops.

The North Brewing Company are bucking the hospitality trend of mass closures by opening more venues. Birmingham Snow Hill didnt last long as their newest outlet. A mere three months later and Manchester is getting one in Jan 23.

Tucked just around the corner from Colmore Row, it occupies the ground floor of a glass and steel office complex. Plenty of outside seating for when the temperatures get above zero and inside, its the usual craft beer modus operandi of rows and rows of high bench seating.

North Bar, Snow Hill

Stools aplenty

An electronic board details their wares, and ordering is akin to staring at the the board in a chipper, cricked neck, working out what to select. Alas, there is no default fish and chips to fall back on. The stout has coconut in it.The kegs are collaborations which sound like the current top 20 - "David Guetta featuring bebe rexha" kind of vibe.

I settle on (the only?) cask North X Five Points English IPA. 

North Bar

Almost certainly a pre-emptive tick.  A shoe-in for the 2024 Good Beer Guide.

The current GBG has a couple of new entries for me to track down and nearby, in the very pretty Great Western Arcade, is the Good Intent. My second Craddocks GBG Tick in a week but very different to the Droitwich's Talbot.

Festive Birmingham Brewing Company Brummie Gold

The Good Intent

It's a gorgeous little place, with an interesting business model. All profits donated to local charities.

Just dont have too many.... its 3 near neighbour shops are a specialist craft beer, a fine wine and a whisky outlet. 

Trust me, it's easy to get carried away.  But our Xmas will only be enhanced by inviting along Deya, Pol Roger and Yamazaki.

07/12/22 - Crown and Trumpet for a Broadway Tower Full Moon Night Walk

Distance - 6 miles

Walk Inspiration - MeetUp Group Walk

I've been lurking in the MeetUp shadows for some time. Being too busy on weekends, is one of the lame excuses I tell myself for having previously not joined in with an organised walk. There is no excuse here, as the suitably named "Hike and Get Merry" group have arranged a mid week ramble. Tentatively, I ask Mrs M if she is interested in walking 6 miles to see a full moon in the middle of winter and I'm most surprised when she bites my hand off.

So we find ourselves nervously sitting in a Broadway short stay car park, looking for evidence of other ramblers. Do you flash your headlights to show arrival?  What sort of people might that attract?

Putting my boots on is enough to flush the others out. In no time, 25 of us are booted and suited in chunky knitwear hats and scarves. Rucksacks full of chocolate and mince pies. Hip flasks full of sherry (Mrs M, at least). We're off and running for the pretty town centre festive lights.

Broadway Pretties

The conditions are perfect. Sub zero temperatures, freezing most of the mud. A completely clear sky. Up the flanks of Fish Hill, with the expected tricky navigation that night walking brings. Through a woodland copse and across the crunchy frost laden grass onto the approaches for Broadway Tower. Other walk members to teach me astronomy. We only said "Betelgeuse" twice, out of fear of what may be summonsed.

Approaching Broadway Tower

Broadway Tower at night

The tower provides an obvious place for a picnic break. Until it got too cold to hang around. The return to town through more woodland and down Cowneygree Lane. Exotic local wildlife startled, statically.

 

They did not bolt

The home straight delivers us to Broadway's finest pub - the Good Beer Guide regular, the Crown and Trumpet.  I use my skills to take over the from the walk leader and am sent as an advance party to see if they are open.

Crown and Trumpet - a Good Beer Guide Regular

Surprisingly, when you hear about all the troubles facing the hospitality industry, it takes all my powers of negotiation to convince them to stay open after 9:30pm. After some cajoling, they agree to serve me one drink. I have to inform them I have friends outside and I wonder how to reply to the query "how many friends". Will saying 25 convince them it's worth their effort in staying open?  I'm unsure, so hedge my bets with a more conservative 10. 

There is another indication of customer service not seen this side of Royston Vassey. How anyone can put a sign on a table that says "For Locals Only" with a straight face must have had a sense of humour by-pass in the early 2000s.

Ultimately, it was worth the sweet talking. A super interior, with low oak beams, a superb fire place and plenty of pubby nick-nack memorabilia.  A fine space to get better acquainted with our new rambling friends and my estimate of 10 post walkers was far more accurate.  Great to meet every one and a special shout out to Steve for organising and Rebecca, who is able to take night photos much better than me. 

Timothy Taylor Landlord and Stowford Press

And a smile from landlady, when I returned our empties. Everyone leaves on good terms.  Especially when they have been brought up to follow the unwritten rules of pubbing.