20/04/24 - London Spiral - Stage 14 - Kew Gardens to Wimbledon

 Why 'Spoons is the best for the Lonely Football Fan

The London Spiral doing a fine job of making you think you are not in London. The 8 miles of this stretch are mainly traffic free, sharing wild paths with horse riders and dog walkers.

From Kew Gardens tube, through North and East Sheen to pick up Richmond Park at East Sheen Gate.

Richmond Park, through East Sheen Gate

Richmond Park is 2500 acres of emptiness. Created by Charles I as a deer park, its history includes duels between sitting Prime Ministers and their political counterparts. That would make PMQs more interesting. No sign of deer today, or indeed dogs called Fenton on the rampage.

The route skirts the Eastern side of the park, following Beverley Brook upstream and into our second park, Wimbledon Common.

Following Beverley Brook

Adventure Lab Caches following a theme of the Wombles are in abundance, so my route contained just the one diversion to increase caching numbers. I didn't get close to the Windmill. I also didn't need to make decisions on whether to revisit some of the Wimbledon 8 Pubs. The Fox and Grapes too gastro, but the twins of Hand in Hand and Crooked Billet are always worth a visit when the sun is shining.

Instead, its into "The Village" for the only (new to me) Good Beer Guide Tick available.

And it's a 'Spoons.

Wibbas Down Inn - #1 Entrance

Let me count the ways why its perfect for my needs;

• Power:  With rail E-Tickets, I need to replenish the juice consumed by my geocaching app to get home. I time it lucky, to get the final booth. Complete with double power socket.
• Free Wifi: Baggies are live on Sky Sports, for a crunch game at the business end of the season. The free wifi is strong enough to get a non lagging signal, although the Sky App is slightly behind the live action.  At least my son's messages prepare me for the disappointment.
• The App: Having settled in, I now need to protect my space. The app allows me to order lunch and drinks without moving an inch. However, this rather shows my hand to the disapproving Mrs M. She, who has set up banking app alerts from our joint account. And still hasn't forgiven Timbo for the dog ban.
• The Prices: London Pride at £2.74 a pint is a steal. For comparison, I attempted to use a pub near Marylebone on my return. A similar ABV Cask retailing for £6.90. It was the plastic glass that encouraged me to take an earlier train home. 

In the interests of fairness, I should document any faults. Kids playing games on too loud iPads were annoying, although I did have earphones. Dingle Don Goodman's commentary arguably worse. A walloper dragging a huge suitcase through the pub, knocking over furniture, bumping into people and shouting obscenities increased tension. On my exit, I found him throwing karate shapes against the bemused external gaspers.

All part of life's rich tapestry.

Wibbas Down Inn - #2 Entrance

Walk Information

Distance - 8 Miles

Start - Kew Gardens Station

Finish - Wimbledon

Areas Walked - Richmond Park, Wimbledon Common

Geocaches - 3 and two Adventure Lab Caches

Pubs - 1

Previous Walks - 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

14/04/24 - Centenary Way Summary

Length of Heart of England Way - 100 Miles

Amount walked on Circular Walks - 193.5
Geocaches Found - 66
Stages Completed In - 26
Start - Kingsbury Water Park - 20/03/21
Finish - Lower Quinton - 14/04/2024

The Centenary Way is a 100 mile Long Distance Path in Warwickshire, created to commemorate 100 years of the counties existence.  Stephen Cross, former Mayor of Warwick, takes his blueprint for the Heart of England Way and produces a guide book that splits the route into a series of circular day walks.

Providing inspiration for monthly walks, I completed over 26 stages.

The Guide Book

Highlights

Several stages were accessible by public transport. This led to big days out in Nuneaton, Kenilworth, Warwick and Leamington. Walking could be combined easily with Good Beer Guide Ticking. There were some decent walking stretches too - Burton Dassett Hills and Edge Hill providing the best walks.

Lowlights

Poor paths in places - especially in the North of the County.  Overgrown and sometimes missing. I can't blame the path for the 2024 mud, but there was a sea of it towards the end. Several walks were deadly dull. Even as we edged into the Cotswolds.

The real killer was HS2 - causting rerouting and misery on a couple of stages - none worse than Ufton.  To be fair to the guide author, he did he best to warn us, with potential diversions detailed in a book published in 2017.

Alas, in summary, it was nowhere near as pretty or satisfying a walk as the Millennium Way and Heart of England Way, which have followed similar themes.

The Stages

Stage 1 - Kinsgbury Water Park

Stage 2 - Shustoke

Stage 3 - Furnace End

Stage 4 - Birchley Heath

Stage 5 - Nuneaton

Stage 6 - Bermuda

Stage 7 - Sutton Stop

Stage 8 - Ansty

Stage 9 - Brinklow

Stage 10 - Brandon

Stage 11 - Ryton-on-Dunsmore

Stage 12 - Bubbenhall

Stage 13 - Kenilworth

Stage 14 - Leek Wooton

Stage 15 - Warwick

Stage 16 - Leamington Spa

Stage 17 - Ufton

Stage 18 - Harbury

Stage 19 - Burton Dassett Hills

Stage 20 - Fenny Compton

Stage 21 - Arlescote

Stage 22 - Edghill

Stage 23 - Oxhill

Stage 24 - Idlicote

Stage 25 - Ilmington

Stage 26 - Lower Quinton

The Photo Album

14/04/24 - Centenary Way - Stage 26 - Lower Quinton

 The End of the Centenary Way

Here it, the end of a Long Distance Path that never set the pulse racing. With the exception of a few town centre highlights, the walking was pedestrian - often on unloved paths that if they hadn't disappeared completely, would be often overgrown. HS2 causing issues on several stages. Still, it provided structure to my monthly walking plans over the last 4 years. 

The final stretch is dominated by Meon Hill - an Iron Age Hillfort steeped in legend.....

Centenary Way sharing the path to Meon Hill with the Monarch Way

The Made Up Myth - The ghost of the Celtic King Arawyn, hunting the hill at night. He rides a pale horse, running a pack of white hounds with red ears.  

The Modern Day Murder Mystery - The location for the last unsolved murder in Warwickshire.  In 1945, Charles Walton was found with his own pitchfork embedded in his throat and the sign of a cross carved into his chest. This is how you kill a witch, in Warwickshire and there were some parallels to a similar killing in the 1800's. Plenty of documentaries on YouTube.

No spooky scenes on the day when Spring may have arrived.

Views from Meon Hills flanks

The walk continues to Ilmington before tracking its way north, back to Lower Quinton. It should be unspectacular agricultural field walking but the Centenary Way cannot help but deliver a final sting in the tale. The farmers are out ploughing up their fields - obliterating the footpaths.  We could have braved the churned up earth across ankle breaking clods but we would be playing frogger with the tractors. No one wants to be laughed at by a farmer. Lane based diversions adding a mile to the walk.

We arrive back in Lower Quinton for the twin village staples of Church and pub.

Lower Quinton Church

The College Arms is one of the odder pubs found on my travels. Poor on-line presence makes it tricky to determine if they offer food on a Sunday and if they do, what it might be. Their website redirecting you to their facebook page if you click on "Menus". Tripadvisor pointing to the go elsewhere, with a rating of the 117th best restaurant in Stratford.

I leave it to Mrs M and her internet sleuthing to decide where we should visit. The facebook review where someone's husband had run off with the barmaid making up her mind.

She knows I will be in post LDP completion high spirits and cannot be trusted

College Arms - Lower Quinton - I missed the sign saying "Motorbike Parking Only"

There is some history here - the building originally owned by Henry VIII.  Then it fell into the hands of Oxford's Magdelan College and the only pub in the land allowed to use its coat of arms.  A farmhouse originally, converted to a pub in 1897.

Now a bikers pub and how lovely to see Mods and Rockers drinking in perfect harmony.

At Mrs M's request, we Sunday lunched at nearby Long Marston's Mason Arms.

Walk Details

Distance - 7.5 Miles

Geocaches - 1

Pub - The Mason Arms, Long Marston (off route)

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

07/04/24 - Burford - On the Trail of Tom, Dick and Harry Dunsdon

 The Dandy Highwaymen

My second walk inspired by the Loremen Podcast, where the hosts share (and debunk) folklore.  This time, going back to the C18th and the story of the original Tom, Dick and Harry.

The picturesque village of Fulbrook, a mile north of Burford, was the birthplace of three of the Wychwood forest's most notorious robbers.

The Dunsdon brothers, Tom, Dick and Harry, used a cottage across the country border in Icomb, Gloucestershire as a base from which to commit a number of crimes in the Burford area.

They specialised in burglary, theft and highway robbery, once holding up the Oxford to Gloucester coach and stealing £500, a fortune in their day.

The key locations of their lives easily adaptable into an 11 mile Cotswold romp, using pretty Burford as the base.

Their Home Village 

The three brothers were born in Fulbrook, about a mile from Burford. Reached towards the end of the walk, it consists of a main road, a slightly off-centre church and a coaching house.

Good Beer Guide Pubs available in Burford

Crime Scene

Loose lips sink ships and in this case, lose limbs. The three brothers plotted the robbery of Tangley Hall at their local, the Bird in Hand. News got through to the owners, who were prepared for the raid. 

Dick attempted to reach through a judas hole in the front door to get access to the lock. The residents were ready for them and roped his arm, forcing Dick to shout "Cut It".  He must have meant the rope, but in Chuckle Brothers style, his brothers lopped his arm off. Dick was never seen again,.

Tangley Hall is a remote farmhouse located about 4 miles north of Burford in quiet woodland, accessible by public footpaths.

All quiet at Tangley Hall 

AI insists the Dunsdons were the inspiration for Harry Enfield's The Scousers

Another Crime Scene and the Gibbet Tree

1784 and the two surviving brothers are back at their favourite watering hole for the Whitsuntide Festival. A bet with the Landlord for a sack of potatoes goes wrong and one of the brothers shoots the Governor. Everyone loves chips, but this is too much. The brothers were arrested, sent to Gloucester for a hanging sentence and their bodies gibbeted to serve as a warning to others. Their initials and the date were carved (and frequently recarved) into the tree until the Internet arrived and we had other ways of telling stories.

The landlord survived, with the bullet hitting a lucky coin in his waistcoat.

But this is the C18th. You shoot the most important man in society and you're going to have your rotting body hung in a tree as tourist attraction.

For the walk's benefit, evidence remains to be linked into the route.

The Bird in Hand is long gone. Not even detailed on www.beerintheevening.com. It was located on Capp's Lodge Plain - with the farmhouse building serving as inn and in more recent times, a smallpox hospital. But look closely at the OS map, and the Gibbet Tree is clearly marked.

Highlighted in Yellow

I remembered my Telephoto lens

If the Internet contains one type of person, its the amateur sleuth. You can search on the Dudsdons and the Gibbet Tree and follow wormholes that tell that even though it is on private land, there used to be a Geocache (archived, 2015). Many photos of the tree through the seasons but this one from a few years ago of most interest;

Tom, the most prominent remaining mark

Hauntings

The story goes on - on the way from taking the bodies from Gloucester to the Gibbet Tree, the coach drivers stopped for a pint at the George Inn in Burford. In a world of perpetual change, its good that some traditions survive. The brothers were known to drink there themselves and their spirits followed  for a last pint. Strange sounds and inexplicable happenings have been reported in the building since the C18th. The restless ghosts of Tom and Harry are hopefully more active now the George has been converted into an antique shop.

Things will go bump in the night until it comes back as a 'spoons

Other Stuff in Burford

Its a charming little town - think Broadway but with more traffic.  A single lane, pedestrian unfriendly bridge causing the bottleneck. Legends about the spirit of Lady Tanfield captured in a bottle and thrown in the stream below. She will remain trapped in the first bridge arch below until the Windrush dries up. Little chance of that, in this dampest of global warming winters.  

More credible stories about the three Levellers executed and buried in the church yard. I know there weren't as good as the New Model Army, but the irony that it was Cromwell who ordered this.

Tombs and effigys aplenty inside

Three of the Levellers

The best of the architecture and away from the traffic, is in Sheep Street.

The Good Beer Guide Pubs

An 11 mile walk demands refreshment and the bible details two watering holes.  A half in each and the hope of a Sunday lunch that isn't a Sunday lunch.  A sandwich will suffice.

The Angel is a pretty little Hook Norton House. A Gastropub, with every table setup for dining.  A friendly landlord offering to move cutlery for a hard core half of Old Hooky drinker like myself.  I couldn't trouble him, so I moved to the sheltered beer garden to keep out the way.

Will Sir be dining?

You are never sure what you are going to find in a Greene King.  Alas, I will never find out with The Golden Pheasant looking like the landlord did a midnight flit.  A blow to the Burford comedy scene for sure.

Dubious Ticks Committee notified

Will I be the first to notify Pubs Galore?

The Mermaid opposite also recently closed. The staff at the Cotswold Arms lamenting the lack of pub love in this part of the world, whilst also offering a fine steak and mushroom baguette.

Walk Details

Distance - 11 miles

Walk Inspiration - Locations from the Loreman Podcast, Episode 2

Geocaches - 1 and an Adventure Lab Cache in Burford

Previous Loremen Walks - Churchill

06/04/24 - Belbroughton Village Walk

 No time for the Pub

Strangely, with cocked up plans caused by traumas too dull to document, I find myself with a Saturday afternoon free. The randomiser is sparked up select the next location in my Hidden Places book.

Belbroughton.

A village packed with history, with every building seemingly hosting a blue plaque and random bits of scythe making machinery left in public spaces.

A Hammer Press

The village is exited to the South West from the Churchyard. A pleasant bit of ridge walking leaves me battling Storm Kathleen, which bizarrely brings high winds and warmth, with no rain.

Belbroughton Church

Drayton Pond is the only alternative to agricultural fields and paths of various degrees on mud.

Drayton Pond

   

If I ever read my blogs in the future, maybe I will notice that my elderly OS Map shows a footpath that has now moved around Brookfield Farm. This is the second time I have made the same mistake.  

So what Belbroughton provides with historical interest and pretty buildings, it does lack easy parking. As the very definition of a rat run, leaving the car parked on the street makes you wonder if the wing mirrors will be still attached on return. The Talbot pub car park is now fee based and there is a steep increase in cost from 2 hours to all day.  

I arrive back back on the dot of expiration. 5 miles walked in exactly 2 hours. Even with the lost footpath of Brookfield Farm.  

There is no decision to be made on whether the Talbot, Queens Head or Ye Olde Horseshoe Inn gets the Mappiman dollar.

Walk Details

Distance - 5 Miles

Geocaches - 2

Walk Inspiration - Village Walks in Worcestershire, Walk 2

30/03/24 - Chiltern Chain Walk - Stage 19 - Exlade Street

 Woodland walking for a Gastropub with poor quality control

An 11 mile romp through South Oxfordshire, almost entirely in woodland. Pleasant enough at the time, but hardly providing interest for a blog. It's the penultimate stage of the Chiltern Chain Walk, so recorded for my own completeness only.

I start in Exlade Street. To provide an indication of scale, the Wikipedia page describes it as a hamlet that was significantly reduced in size when two house burned down. There is a pub, the Highwayman, that I make payment for use of their car park through post walk refreshment.

Looks like the Highwayman has already been on the rob

Soon into woodland, where I remain for day. Blair Witch vibes, with very few encounters with sentient life of any kind.

Today's Vista

Soon back at Stage 18's Stoke Row. Brakspear beers not enticing enough to convince me to revisit the Cheery Tree but walking further along the row, I take a pause at today's only item of interest. The Maharajah's Well - dug by two men to a depth of twice that of Nelson's Column over a year. In an act of international charity setting a precedent for Idi Amin's aid the winter of disconnect, paid for by an act of charity by Indian aristocracy in 1864.

The Canopy

In a blog of few highlights, I bring you a guilded elephant

Surprisingly, I turn down a visit to the Black Horse in Checkendon. Not necessarily because Whatpub states that the beer is on gravity dispense. More because I was excited at the trail of a number of mystery caches that I had quickly solved before heading down.

Back to the Highwayman - car park now full and people have to work hard to get here, so it must have something to offer punters.

C17th Original

Its a gastropub that doesn't do the sandwich that I am after. Instead, I can order off the nibbles section. Alas, they have sold out of £8.25 scotch eggs. Some would say that this is saving me from myself, but having been resigned to ordering mini chedders, I was upsold to Dick Turpin Loaded Fries.

Cue jokes that at least Dick wore a mask.

Beerwise, its nice to see some Locale Ales....  Marlow Rebellion bringing back fond memories of the Northern sections of the London Countryway walk. Renegade Good Old Boy was chosen.

Lifting to my nose was all I needed to tell me it was off. Leading to the frisson of sending it back and counter arguing a defence for "Its meant to smell like that".

Initial relief that it was instantly declared end of the barrel, leading me to be rather annoyed they tried to palm it off on me in the first place.

The replacement, after a barrel change

Walk Information

Distance - 11 Miles

Geocaches - 12 

Walk Inspiration

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

29/03/24 - Birmingham CAMRA Pub Trails - City Centre (Part 2)

 Not the Usual Suspects

Birmingham CAMRA are doing a fine job of promoting their area's pubs. A series of "Pub Trails" in the City Centre and suburbs published on-line.

No one could accuse them of picking the obvious in their City Centre Part 2 trail of 5 pubs.

From many years of pub ticking experience, I find it best practice to avoid any pub with Railway in its name.

The Railway

Quite why CAMRA would recommend this pub must be lost in the annals of time. Pubsgalore reviewers summarising why I've never previously ventured in.

I've always walked past this pub thinking what a dive it looked. It looks as if it might be dark and depressing inside, with lots of lager swilling yobs. The number of smokers hanging around outside the doors does not help with first impressions.

A cavern of a place, with TV Screen aplenty. Two cask on and my Purity Mad Goose was better than expected. Would I return? Well, you can see the New Street Wetherspoons through the window and there is a cost of living crisis.

Cherry Reds is far more like it. Has it really been open for 14 years now? This has been a Good Beer Guide regular for several years and there is something for everyone. Interesting International beers, fridges full of craft cans and local keg and cask. If beer is not your thing, there is cake. If cake is not your thing, they host regular comedy nights and live music upstairs.

I only wish I either lived closer or in a country with a functioning night time public transport system. The last train home well before the acts would finish.

Springtime Kolsch

Despite living near Birmingham all my life, I had never even heard of Keg and Grill.  Finding it is not as easy as you would expect. A clue from etched windows, but where exactly is the front door?

Its in there, somewhere

A City Centre Desi pub - the onion bhaji's are priced £8.95 on the menu but in an interesting twist, retail at £4.95.  

The details on the trail page do not correlate with reality - wheras a pub conversion is described, this looks like a conferance centre. As the only punter, the very friendly bar-man tells me how they recently moved and used to be on the other side of the queensway. Hopefully, their regulars are aware of this. There's going to be little footfall here, and any potential customers have a lot of competition around the corner.

    

In the interest of trying something new - a Bombay Bicycle IPA

The bhaji's are excellent - a meal on their own - and fortify me for the uphill walk to The Craven Arms. A must visit Black Country Ales pub, that manages to stand isolated in the face of regeneration. 

Hanging on to Tradition

BCA are running their annual pub ticking promotion at the moment. A free sweatshirt for visiting any 25 of their 51 (!) pubs across the Midlands. From Herefordshire to Leicestershire. Variety, you won't achieve. But decent cobs, fine beer from breweries you're unlikely to have heard of and busy houses, you will find. The demand for tradition is there and BCAs simple formula works.

How pubs should look

A theatrical finish to the day at the Victoria. Aptly enough, a C19th Victorian corner boozer, with a distinctive exterior and plush interior. A longer cocktail menu than cask offerings, as I return to where I started with a half of Mad Goose. Stuffed into a Wye Valley Nightjar glass.

A Theatre Pub in Birmingham

Mad Goose in a Night Jar

Not the usual suspects for a Birmingham Pub Crawl.  Those are recommended in this one day to be completed trail. 

29/03/24 - From St Andrews to Villa Park

 A Second City Football Derby Walk

This appeals to my love of psychogeography. A seemingly pointless walk to unearth football rivalry.

From the crumbling St Andrews to the aristocratic Villa Park, housed in the grounds of a stately manor home. Blues - seemingly always suffixed with an away goal in the 90 (+3) minute. The Vile who won the European league in 1982 with just 14 players. But they don't like to talk about that.

The big question - how many Peaky Blinder effigys will be found?

The Fewer the Better

The Number 17 bus drops me off outside the Blues, where my Adventure Lab Caching of the sporting grounds of Birmingham is stopped by an official, resplendent in club tie. He is warning me for my own safety, as I am directly under the cherry picker that is adding the banner "Knighthead Park @" to new "St Andrews" text.

Shilen Patel best not be thinking of rebranding the Hawthorns. So far, he hasn't put a foot wrong.

An explanation of my nefarious activities and he helps me find the answer. Harry Hibbs playing in goal in a 1931 FA Cup final loss to the Baggies. Already, I know its going to be a good day.

Retire the shirt number - no, not Trevor's, the other lads

I would have brought you a photo of the Garrison Pub - long closed and near derelict on my last visit. The inspiration for the Peaky Blinders pub. Even Birmingham is joining in with gentrification. It's been sanitised and cleaned up to a point of boredom. Presumably opening soon, allowing the square eyed to have their photo taken next to a life sized cut out of Arthur, holding a pint.

Instead, I bring another dead pub. Surely the Woodman will re-open to serve London Commuters who have perhaps saved 20 minutes off their 2047 journey. Drowning their sorrows, as AI will have already taken their jobs.

Curzon Street Station - the former rail gateway to the 2nd City

A trip down memory lane next. I haven't been through Aston University grounds since I was of student age myself. There were two pubs - The Sack of Potatoes and the Pot of Beer and a small independent cinema, the Triangle, which was the only place in the West Midlands showing Reservoir Dogs.  And Man Bites Dog.

The Cinema has long gone but the pubs remain. Bank Holiday, midday and I am the only punter in both.

The more traditional Sacks of Potatoes

In solidarity with students, I paid for my half an HPA with a cheque

Pot of Beer - rebranded as Gosta Green - still a fun pub

The Birmingham/Fazeley Canal provides an arrow straight route to Aston. Half arsed attempts at protecting pedestrians from a collapsing wall with a builders fence is simply pushed aside by the residents who can conduct their own health and safety assessment.

All Birmingham Walks have a canal stretch.  Its the law.

With every day a school day, I find the 1635 Jacobean stately home, where Aston Villa have made their home. A business school now. Unexpectedly, the grounds appear to be open and free to wander - although there is an unmanned gatehouse and cafe. I half expect to chased for entry fees.

Cultured Aston

Holte Enders in the Sky

All that remains is to catch the number 7 back to town. Where a CAMRA endorsed pub crawl awaits.

Walk Details

Distance - 5 Miles

Walk Inspiration - AZ - Hidden Walks in Birmingham Walk 5

Previous Birmingham AZ Walks - Walk 1 & 2, Walk 3, Walk 4, Walk 5

Pubs - 2

25/03/24 - Things to do in San Sebastian

 (Briefly) What we did on our Holidays.....

San Sebastián, also known as Donostia in the Basque language, is a charming coastal city nestled in the Basque Country region of Spain. Renowned for its breathtaking beaches, world-class cuisine, and rich cultural heritage, San Sebastián attracts visitors from around the globe.

The city is perhaps best known for its stunning La Concha Beach, a crescent-shaped stretch of golden sand framed by scenic promenades and lush green hills. This beach offers not only opportunities for sunbathing and swimming but also picturesque views of the surrounding bay and the iconic island of Santa Clara.

In addition to its natural beauty, San Sebastián boasts a thriving culinary scene, earning it the reputation as a food lover's paradise. The city is home to numerous Michelin-starred restaurants, traditional pintxo bars, and bustling markets where visitors can sample an array of delectable Basque specialties, including pintxos (small, flavorful snacks) and fresh seafood.

That's the AI Summary of our latest getaway. Here's what we got up to;

SIGHTSEEING

The coach from Bilbao airport drops you off at the River in the New Town, where its a short walk into the pedestrianised old town. A promenade offers a 3 mile there and back walk with the beautiful people. And their dogs. A funicular railway at the far Western end offers access to an unexpected fun-fair and the best views of the bay.

View from the Monte Igeldo fun-fair

EATING

A gastronomic hot-spot, the choices of dining out fall into two camps - the chaos of the Pintxos bars, or more fancy restaurants - where the best dishes are usually preceded by an animal that was suckling.

Pintxos bars - imagine going on a pub crawl and having a different savoury snack at each location. For the English, think Black Sheep with a sausage roll at the Red Lion, followed by cheese and onion crisps with a pickled egg at the Kings Arms.

It's a scrum to get into most of these tiny bars and the menus are tricky to decipher. Spanglish will only help you so far. See Photo 2;

My first order - Two Beers, and Pintxos of the landlady's choice. Which never came.

You can't really go wrong in choosing which bar - but we tried Borda Berri, Bar Sport, Txepetxa Taberna and attempted to get into Bar Nestor on at least three occasions.

Bar Hanging for Squid at Txepetxa Taberna

DRINKING

Obviously, this can be completed at the Pintxos bars but a quick google showed a couple of Craft Bars.

Akerbeltz is located on the Western Edge of the old town and having fine views of the bay.  Loads of outside seating, served by a tiny bar with an extensive menu. The top 6 menu items are keg, with the rest in can. Various IPAs chosen over the week - testing WCIPA against DIPAs and HIPAs. The last one a new one on me but I should have guessed "Hazy"

On the Basqueland Murk

For something more traditional - Monpas - at the opposite side of town was found at the end of our best walk.  Four Belgian beers on keg including Chouffe, Gulden Draak and Kwak.

No Shoe Deposit required

WALKING

I expected there to be City Walks - and there was.  A there and back along the prom is mandatory.  As is psychogeography in the narrow streets of the old town, followed by a climb to Motako Gaztelua castle for the views.

Downloading a few routes from Komoot proved a major success. It pointed us to a 7 mile walk up Monte Ulia at the Eastern End of the town. This was wild walking on good paths and thankfully, the mapping through the app was excellent. I could bring photos off the cliffs and sea views but you know the score.  Instead, a pointer to future Mappiman for well documented walks that could be available abroad;

Labelled Paths

GR 121 and GR 287 transpired to be Long Distance Paths but SL-GI 33 was more interesting.  A simple 5 mile circular walk that was very close to our planned walk and would have been discovered if I had completed more research.  

Next holiday - look out for similar SL-GI Walks.