30/4/23 - The Hanbury Turn - following the Black Country Ales blueprint

 An adventurous Pub Walk along Britain's longest flight of canal locks

There's no finishing the Good Beer Guide. I managed to "green" Worcestershire last year. The new edition is released and there are 8 new entries.

The Hanbury Turn, Stoke Heath, becomes the penultimate tick before Worcestershire is green again.  And a chance to blog about Black County Ales - never has a brand had such a blueprint for expansion and identity.

The Hanbury Turn

Black Country Ales

First the walk - Adventurous in distance only.  Nine miles of easy canal and countryside walking, taking in the 30 locks that make up the Tardebigge Flight. The longest in Britain, it takes boaters most of the day to navigate the 2.75 miles, climbing a massive 220 feet.

Quicker on foot.

First of the Tardebigge Locks

Tardebigge Church, marking turning pint of the walk

The Black Country Ales Blueprint. There are expanding at a significant rate, with 47 pubs now in the group chain. Having found one in Tenbury Wells - distinctly not Black County - I hear rumours that they have presence in Hereford. Visit 25 between March and May and win a hoody.

They take over tired community pubs and refit in identical style, injecting a new lease of life. Inside, its impossible to tell them apart - clean, tidy, classically pubby.

Front bar of the Hanbury Turn

The Hanbury Turn Bar

They like couples to run the pubs, who become self employed, paid through a percentage of the takings. In a move that Humphrey Smith would class as anachronistic, this bounty is paid in cash on a Sunday. A condition of the insurance is that they live on site and rent is included in the deal.  Pensions and sick pay are not.

Drinks wise - they brew their own Pig On the Wall (usually the wifi password), BFG, Fireside and Chain Ale.  But the landlords are allowed to select other, often independent, breweries from a laminated A4 folder. Titanic and Salopian are likely to be the only breweries you have heard of. My pint on this occasion - Geneva IPA from Printworks Brewery. Well kept, delicious, previously unknown to me.  

Although not noticed here - there is a tendency for the landlords to go mad and have far too many cask offerings to match the demand. I spent an hour in the Prince of Wales, Birmingham, faced with a choice of a dozen but able to take my time selecting as I was the only punter.

They are also a good bet for ciders - either on handpull or from bag in a box around the back. Some eye-watering ABVs, proving the most cost effective bang for your buck.

And you are usually guaranteed a good cob or pork pie from a chiller cabinet. The Hanbury Turn providing a salad bar that would not be out of place in a Harvester.

The model is a success. I am grateful to have one as a local.  

Always busy, always welcoming.  

Walk Details

Distance - 9 Miles

Geocaches - 4 and an Adventure Lab Cache

Good Beer Guide Tick - #835

Walk Inspiration - Adventurous Pub Walks in Worcestershire - Walk 13

  

22/04/23 - The Good Beer Guide Pubs near Dale Street, Liverpool

 You can't truly know a City until you know its pubs

Much work to do in Liverpool. A City that I have only dipped a toe into, having previously found the classics of the Baltic Fleet, Philharmonic, Roscoe Head and Doctor Duncans.

The temptation, when faced with page after page of unticked pubs in the GBG, is to bite off more than you can chew. Both from quantity of pubs to visit and distance between them. A compromise (of sorts) is made by sticking to the half dozen around Dale Street. Four hours to kill before my 5.27pm from Lime Street.  Will I make it to the other side?

A narrow side street takes me to Denbigh Castle. Good news - I hoped to sample wares from Neptune Brewery and one of the 5 casks was theirs. Bad news - it had just gone. Oakham Citra a steady alternative.

Next door to Ye Hole in Ye Wall (love the double Ye's)

Football screens on high, with slightly out of sync sound pumped at excessive volume from Bose speakers. It didn't make for the greatest experience but their commitment to cask was obvious. Tasting evenings hosted by Neptune founders. Tables reserved for 17 members of a beer tasting club. Next time in the area, I will try Liverpools oldest pub next door.

Next, a glorious looking Grade II listed former coaching house and wine and spirit dealer. Thomas Rigby's looks the part, both inside and out.

Thomas Rigby's

An internal wood paneled dining room.

Plenty of exploring to do - which took me to an outside courtyard - shared with their sister pub - The Lady Of Mann. Funny how one makes the guide and the other doesn't but I suppose they can be classed as Siamese twins.  

Tap for the Okells brewery but after consulting an interesting beer board, complete with sliding "in/out" indicators, I boringly went for my go to beer. Timothy Taylor Landlord.

The Lion was easily the pick of the day. Liverpool's answer to Manchester's Pev? So many things that I admire. Multi roomed, gorgeous furnishings, etched windows, tiling, beautiful bar back, friendly punters, pork pie cabinet, free jukebox with quality tunes at a pleasant level.

My future go-to pub in Liverpool. Excuse the photo love in

Named after locomotive, not the animal

Bar from the back room

Bar Hanging fans had left for Anfield (at 2:35pm for a 3pm KO)

Lunch (Starter)

Last photo reminds me to mention the drinks.You can see the pin sharp Peerless Brewery Seven Streets IPA but I need to mention the whisky. The only place I can think of with a bigger collection of Irish Whiskey is Belfast's Duke of York. I'll be sure to avail myself of either/all of the £10, £15 and £20 tasting flights on next visit.

I can't blame unsampled Irish Whiskey for thinking I was in Ireland at the Vernon Arms. It was the racing - from Newbury - but every accent interviewed was from the Emerald Isle. £5 minimum card purchase was not enough to cover an Ossett White Rat until I added two packets of peanuts.

A shabby un-chic boozer, every table taken by friends meeting up, tired shoppers and presumably, racing fans.

That's why the floor seemed to be sloping

Final two of the half dozen are next door to each other and getting me closer to my carriage away.

The Excelsior left a lasting memory but only through the friendly staff and carb heavy menu. Eating may be cheating, but I need something substantial and I've been wanting to try Mac N Cheese for some time. Mrs M - and my Doctor - found it surprising that it came on a bed of chips. I should have a) read the menu better and b) waited till the Ship and Mitre.

First of a pair of Nautical Good Beer Guide Ticks

The Ship and Mitre has a pop up restaurant offering traditional local food. If I wasn't full of pasta, cheese and chips, peanuts, pork pie and five pints, it would have been a battle royale between the Scouse or the intriguingly named but giving little away "Beef Dinner".

Certainly one to come back to - to take advantage of its food and equally significant Belgian and German beer menu.

The One Pan Band Catering Company - Ossett Silver King

An Artists Impression - I was in a rush, waddling for the Train

6 pub crawl - all around a single street.

Find me a City with a higher concentration of Good Beer Guide Pubs?

22/04/23 - Psychogeography in Liverpool

 Discovering a City through Adventure Lab Caching

March 2023 and several new A-Z Hidden City Walk books were released. Liverpool, an excellent addition - a city I will be exploring more, now that I have discovered cheap advance tickets on London Midland railway.

Before hitting the pubs, I combine walk 1 and 2 from the book with many Adventure Lab Caches. All goes well, until the battery on my phone dies at 1pm. And I remember that my return train ticket is an e-ticket. 

Walk 1 - Seven Streets

This is an architecture based walk that takes me along the original seven streets of medieval Liverpool.  Dale, Castle, Chapel, Tithebarn, Water, Pepper and Juggler.

Things learned;

• Liverpool had a castle, the masonry used to build the docks
• Ye Hole in Ye Wall is the oldest pub
• Their history with the American Civil War
• First shot was from a canon made here
• The last act of the war was Captain Waddell surrendering his ship to the Liverpool's Lord Mayor
• The last lowering of the confederate flag was on the River Mersey
• The buildings that make up the "three graces" - Royal Liver, Cunard and Port of Liverpool

Royal Liver Builidng

Town Hall - The Beatles waved to fans following their 1964 world tour

Down at the Dockside

Walk 2 - The Mersey Beat

A musical based walk, mainly looking for statues or plaques on walls for former live music venues. A queue of a 100 Japanese meant I got nowhere near the Beatles effigy at dockside but Ronald Wycherley did not make it as big in the Far East. As a Cold War Steve fan, I refused to photo Cilla.

Things Learned;

• Beatles music blares from every doorway in Matthew Street
• Most commercial enterprises are named after one of their songs
• Frank Hessey's music shop that sold the merseybeat groups their instruments
• Brian Epstein's record store

Somewhere along Matthew Street

The Less Popular Ronald "Billy Fury" Wycherley 

This walk pointed out the White Star pub. Not troubling the Good Beer Guide (although it should). An 11am opener and an authentic Victorian Pub that only concession to the tourist is the relatively high prices. I had the place to myself, so could explore the photos and memorabilia shared 50-50 between the Beatles in the Snug Room and sailing / The Titantic. Still more to do - I missed the gold figures at the end of the radiators and the carved staircase post.

Bizarrely, the beer was a first London Pride (far, far way from home) for a very long time. It was in absolute perfect condition and setting a high bar for the afternoon's pub crawl.

  

Was never going to walk past this

Why pay for the Beatles Museum?  Drink where they drank.

ALC Locations

Adventure Lab Caches are an on-line treasure hunt that usually add a bit of unnoticed interest to City Walks. They didn't disappoint in Liverpool. Amongst the usual war memorials and items of civic pride were a couple of gems.

Things Learned;

• Freddie Mecury and Queen had quite the history in the City. The Queen Insurance building a potential reason for the bands name, although other theories are available
• A Lost Public Art of Liverpool pointed out locations unlikely to be found by accident.
• As did "You May Not Have Noticed" - interesting items hidden in plain sight, such as the boundary stone and busts of Swiss psychologists 

Ray and Julie - commissioned to last 6 months.  27 years ago

Jung proclaiming that Liverpool is the "Pool of Life"

Liverpool Fans

With them playing at home on a rare 3pm Saturday kick off, the city was awash with Full Kit W*nkers.  

I have questions;

• Why are they going on guided City Tours? We don't get this in Smethwick for the Baggies
• How did the Scandinavians get so drunk at 10am in the Morning?
• And did they make it to KO?
• How did the locals who left the Lion Pub at 2:35pm get to their Anfield seats in time for KO?
• And how was my 5:27pm Lime Street return train packed with them? 

Off the 10:15 train, outside Lime Street

Walk Details

Distance - 5 Miles

Walk Inspiration - A-Z Hidden Walks in Liverpool, Walk 1 and 2

Geocaches - 26 ALCs and 1 micro

20/04/23 - West Bay, from the New Inn at Eype

 A coastal walk to Let England Shake 

Eype lies at the end of a dead end lane. There's a pub about half a mile from beach, parking nearly on the beach and a caravan park. And a church that played an unlikely role in a Mercury Prize winning album.

Eype - in most of its glory

Two walks plotted - we could have gone west back to Seatown but chose to go east to West Bay.  Fictional home of Danny Latimer (RIP) in Broadchurch.

A simple climb up and over West Cliff and before we know it, we are entering the sprawling metropolis. No end of refreshment options, not least the Good Beer Guide George.

Dropping down into West Bay

George is the blue building - other side of the harbour

A pleasant in-land stroll through a caravan park, alongside the River Brit brings us to the Palmers Brewery. Lanes back to the one of their tied houses, the New Inn at Eype.

But before we reach that, a curio. Eype Church - St Peter's - doubles as an arts centre. It was here in 2010 that PJ Harvey recorded the album, Let England Shake. It really is about time she went back to church. 

Midday Opener - we arrived at 12:07.  I am good at this.

Possibly a final 200 for a while, although I may convince Mrs M we need to visit the two Good Beer Guide pubs in Burton Bradstock. That said, the couple on the next table informs us the Three Horseshoes has Tally Ho! on.

It may well be the final 200.

Walk Information

Distance - 4 Miles

Geocaches - 2

Walk Inspiration - 40 Town and Country walks in Dorset

18/04/23 - Paddle Boarding in Lyme Regis

 Finding the best boozers in Lyme Regis

Three Good Beer Guide Ticks available, but only two are open before 2pm on a Tuesday.

Three is the necessary amount of pubs to declare it a crawl. With minimal research, we can add the Lyme Regis Brewery to the itinerary. As if so often the case, pub of the day.

An idyllic footpath running between two streams leads us to the Tap Room, next to a working watermill. A sun trap beer garden with a handful of benches. All the breweries offerings available at source. A King's pint of NEIPA soon turns into a trio of thirds. As much of the range needs to be sampled as possible.

A vanilla stout, an IPA and a Pale

Lyme Regis Tap

Such fine beers, such a fine establishment, I toyed with becoming a full on fan boy and buying a branded hoodie.

Onto the two Good Beer Guide Ticks that a) both in Prime Position and b) directly opposite each other. Are Palmers pubs prohibitively expensive? A chance to put it to the definitive test.

The Pilot Boat Inn is under scaffold, so not the easiest to identify. A nice little terrace running alongside but no seaview and the sun has to be in exactly the right position.

Palmers House with the full range (including Tally Ho!).  A 200 coming in at £6.

Palmers 200 at the Pilot Boat - 13:00 hrs according to my sun dial pint

Over the road and very much with a sea view is the St Austell tied Rock Point Inn. A proper tourist destination, this had little right to be so good for the casual drinker. I've never had Bath Ale Gem so well presented before but this was only an amuse bouche before the never knowingly turned down Proper Job. The barrell had just been changed. Hence the Gem.

Guide dog in training, Ivy, leading the way

And the cost for these nectars from the gods, in such fine surroundings.

£4.50.

Yep, Palmers are expensive.

Ivy, the Guide dog in Training, has been such a good pub dog, she gets rewarded with a free run before we catch the X53 home.

Frolicking in the shadow of Rock Point

17/04/23 - Good Beer Guide Pubs of Bridport

Why don't the locals (and cockneys) drink in Palmers Pubs? 

4 Good Beer Guide Pubs in Bridport - a town hosting the Palmers Brewery. Their beer synonymous with the region.

If you want to try the range, you could do a lot worse than The Ropemakers. A pub where there is usually some form of entertainment on - live music and mainly Jazz

Ropemakers, Bridport

In the three days we have been down, I have managed to sample the IPA and the Dorset Gold but mainly I have stuck to the ESB, 200. This pub is the first chance to sample its stronger brother, Tally Ho! found on cask for the first time.

Meet the Palmers Gang!

Superb beer - dark, nutty and 5.5% - the sort of strength that makes it impossible to work out how much it is a pint when the round with one other drink came to £17.

I know that gin is expensive, but this seems OTT. I'm in Dorset, not that London. Although, if you keep your eyes shut and listen to the majority of pub punters, you could be mistaken for thinking so.

No problems with calculating finance at the next place, where I fly solo. Mrs M and the Guide Dog in Training Ivy are settled and both are optimistic for when the kitchen opens at 6pm.

I head over the road for a quick check out of the Pursuit of Hoppiness.  A more perfect micro you couldn't hope to find, right down to its single room and quirky name. They seem to concentrate more on cask than keg here - with six lines on. Oakham Green Devil always a treat. £6, budget-fans.

In the Pursuit of Hoppiness

Alas, no unreserved tables at the Ropemakers. There is just enough time before the last bus (6.30pm!) to check out the Woodman. An honest drinkers freehouse on the edge of town, complete with Skittle Alley.

I get into a conversation with a gasper outside, keen to know where I am from and what I think of his town. I tell him I like the pubs and he replies that no locals use the Ropemakers. He does the thing with his fingers to indicate mucho mullah and insists that it's only tourists who drink in Palmers pubs.  Locals priced out.

He might be right but I'll continue to make the most of them.  

Who knows when I will be next in Dorset?

Saltaire Bitter contained within

PS - A footnote.

The eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed that the Tiger Inn also needed ticking. I am nothing if not a completist, so 2 days later we were back in Bridport.

Another sturdy back street local, with an unusual array of cask.

Would be happy to call the Tiger Inn my local

A day of dialects... the barman couldn't translate my brummie twang and I failed to get the question "is Butcombe Cotswold Ram the new name for Rare Breed?" answered. Untappd offering no further information. A better beer was the Parkway Brewery Norwegian Blue. The pump clip offering no clue as to the style - just that it was named after one of Monty Pythons more famous sketches. 

Sometimes, you need to dive in and take a risk.

A taster confirmed it was a very good session Bitter

And on the subject of accents - I've never heard so many cockneys. And I have drank in the Pride of Spitalfields. All our fellow drinkers sounded like they had been born within ear-shot of the Bow Bells.

I thought if you wanted to find a cockney, you needed to go to Essex.

15/04/23 - The Golden Cap - From The Anchor at Seatown

 Highest Point on the South Coast rewarded with a Pair of Palmers 200

8 years since I walked Golden Cap. So what's changed in Seatown?

The pair of car park attendants are making the most of the cost of living crisis. £6. At least Dick Turpin wore a mask. The Anchor - find me a pub in a more idyllic location - is no longer an 11am opener.  More on that to come.

The Anchor

The Coast Path heading west has fallen into the sea, re-routed 200 yards inland, so should be good for another few years.

A climb through fields to the summit for fine views in all directions.

Golden Cap from the Beach at Seatown

Looking East over Seatown

Looking West towards Lyme Regis

    

A quick three miler - to the pub.

I'm assuming that rules developed through Covid have been maintained. A midday opener, the front terrace is barricaded with barrels and like good Englishmen and women, we all queue. I knew this day would come, hanging around outside a pub for the scrape of the bolt but I never thought I would have so much company.

The sign at the front sets out the rules. It's first come, first served for the outside tables.  All inside tables are fully booked. No one is allowed inside to the bar, its all table service and if you sit along side the pub in the garden patio - the only food available is pizza and chips.

6th in the queue - we get prime position for the views and access to the full menu. Brioche crab rolls and chips all round for £14. With hindsight - and seeing it didn't come with a lock pickers toolset - I should have gone for the lobster. Delivered from the sea this morning, according to our waitress.  Mrs M said they probably just came from lidl.

And if you are unsure what a brioche bun looks like, in Dorset, its uncannily similar to a hotdog roll.

And nothing says Dorset to me more than Palmers beers. With Mrs M surprisingly ordering a diet coke, I use all my powers of persuasion to stay for a second 200.

Sun shining, sea views, dog happy - it didnt take too much persuasion.

Guide Dog in Training Ivy - enjoying the seaside for the first time

 Walk Information

Distance - 3 miles

Geocaches - 0

Walk Inspiration - Mike Power's 40 Pub Walks in Dorset

10/04/23 - Centenary Way - Stage 17 - Ufton

 A HS2 induced disaster of a day, saved by a welcome 11am opener

When I look back over my 20 years of walking, there have been many disasters. I've fallen over and been blown over. I forded waist high Scottish rivers in spate in January. Lake district bogs have stolen a shoe. I've been bitten by dogs and nearly had my head taken off by buck-a-roo style horses.

But never have I had to abandon the walk until today. In a day of disasters - HS2 finally defeats me.

Disaster 1 - The weather is abysmal, that fine rain that Peter Kay brought to our attention as soaking you through. I do have upper and lower hard shells, plus protective covers for my electronics - even if the big camera needs to be left at home. 

Disaster 2 - I've only gone and left my walking boots at home. I'll be attempting a walk after a record breaking wet March in my veteran suede Scarpa approach shoes. Soles worn worryingly thin after 13 years service.

Disaster 3 - My footpath south of Stoney Thorpe Hall fenced off until 2024 due to HS2. No alternative available. A dangerous walk back along the re-routed itself A425. 

HS2 passable at Longhole Bridge - but unpleasant

Where the Grand Union Canal is picked up

I arrive back at the Ufton White Horse at 11:10am, expecting no reward for my safe return.  However, in a rare bright spot - this is an 11am opener, even on a bank holiday.

Idyllic pub location, with fine views over Warwickshire 

I'm not sure why a dining pub would open at 11am. The chef and waiting staff don't arrive until midday but liquid refreshment is available from friendly staff who are interrupted from setting up for the day by offering counselling to an angry damp man, who doubts he will live long enough to enjoy the fruits of a new train service to the smoke.

Three of the Purity brewery range available and for a first pour of the day, the Ubu was better than I could have hoped for.

All tables set for dining

I'll link the planned walk below.  Just don't attempt it until the damned line is completed.

Walk Information

Distance - 6 Miles achieved

Geocaches - 1

Pubs - White Horse, Ufton

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