30/07/25 - A Bayswater Bimble

Trivia and Pubs

A new guide book - Joolz Guides - Rather Splendid London Pub Walks. I've got to say, the book and associated videos are beautiful. So much trivia packed into a 4-mile walk. I know some of the pubs and will wait till the end of the blog to comment on whether he knows his boozers as well as he knows London. Although saying that, three of the five pubs are right at the walk's start.

But he does start the Bayswater walk at a beauty - The Victoria, Strathearn Place. Built 1837, the year Vic came to the throne, and largely unchanged since. A rare surviving example of mid-Victorian design, recognised as one of Britain’s Real Heritage Pubs. Inside, you'll find ornately gilded mirrors mounted above a crescent-shaped bar, decorative painted tiles set into wall niches, and numerous portraits of Queen Victoria. A Fuller's House and Good Beer Guide stalwart, of course, I have been here before.

The flatiron shape of the Victoria

Half an ESB resting on mahogany

Most people who visit Hyde Park will be unaware of the Pet Cemetery. Hidden away behind a lodge house at Lancaster Gate and surrounded by hedges. In 1880 the park keeper agreed to bury a dog and Victorian society thought this a fine idea. It quickly got out of hand and is now packed with over 1,000 gravestones.

A gap in the foliage

Home to dogs, cats, birds and three monkeys. George Orwell described it as "perhaps the most horrible spectacle in Britain". Maybe that's why they built a nearly impenetrable hedge.

Pubs 2 and 3 in quick succession. The Swan a bit of a tourist haunt on the Bayswater Road. Always packed with families and staff that are keen to hunt you down with an iPad to take an order on your arrival. Joolz tells a nice story in the video about the dandy highway man, Claude Du Val, who had his last drink there on the way to his execution at Tyburn.

Now purveyors of Fish and Chips 

But that is better than his next choice, the Young's house, The Mitre. It's one of London's Real Ale Heritage pubs but I found it rather soulless if not immaculately clean. Those two sentiments may be related. The Young's special was below average.

Undoubtedly externally handsome  

Back to the Trivia - the false fronted houses of Leinster Gardens hiding a railway line. The wonderful looking Porchester Baths that really deserve a review of the video. Must bring my trunks on my next London visit. 

Rather wonderfully, Joolz points out the door to an underground Austrian cellar bar that I simply have to go to. In fact, I have offered a £5 bounty to the first member of my extended family to enjoy schnitzel, Stiegl beer and an octogenarian on an accordion.

Oompah 

Music and film locations. This is the part of London with those white, colonnaded, stucco fronted four story houses that are as gorgeous, as they are similar. 

Stiff Records at 32 Alexander Street.

With the Damned outside the Front

Rachel Weisz's single mother, textile designer in About a Boy lived at 1 St Stephen's Crescent.

Textile designers are well paid in the movies

Micheal Caine's Alfie lived around the corner at 29 St Stephens Gardens. A location chosen for its run down and gritty appearance, matching the tone of the film. Ha!

And not a lot of people know that

Another pub stop - the instantly forgettable Prince Bonaparte. A pub that belied it's posh art-deco interior by smelling dreadfully of Sunday lunch cabbage on a Wednesday. At least they had Timothy Taylor Landlord on.

Prince Bonaparte

Incredibly, Bayswater was also the location for the flat in Withnail and I. The steps at 57 Chepstow Road used for the publicity shots.

Really do need to watch this, doing the drinking game

And the final trivia point for me - Sting's first home in London. The cellar of 28 Leinster Square now covered in scaffolding. I believe he lives in several castle's with massive driveways now.

Luggage label on his guitar case. If only Laker Airways could have just lost one piece

A couple of churches - one standing in for a Russian Cathedral in Goldeneye and the walk is over at the final pub. The Phoenix is externally covered in scaffolding and internally is that boring that I cannot be bothered to bring you photos. To be fair, Joolz does have the "Rule of Ted". A rule that means "just use any pub that is handy, as often you will spend ages looking for something better.

The "Rule of Ted" does not apply to caskless Greene King pubs.

So - 10/10 for the walk and maybe 6/10 for his pub selection. But maybe Bayswater is poor hunting ground.

Walk Details

Distance - 5 Miles

Geocaches - 5

Walk Inspiration - Rather Splendid Lodon Pub Walks - Walk 17

28/07/25 - Geocaching, Ghosts and Timothy Taylor Landlord

Mysteries of Mercia Folklore

Back into the Wyre Forest, where the Forestry Commission have been laying more ammunition can geocaches. Familiar paths, from the Visitor Centre, down to Dowles Brook and back for the bus in Bewdley Town.

A Forest

Dowles Brook

My next guidebook for walking inspiration is going to be from Hugh Williams. He has two Mysteries of Mercia books and one Magic of Mercia. They are not walking books but detail the locations in the Midlands that are shrouded in folklore. Exactly the sort of thing to tide me over until the Worcestershire Section of the Good Beer Guide gets its annual September update.

Two reasons have stopped a purchase. A) I am still working through several guidebooks and the shelves are rather groaning. B) Hugh posts some detail on the locations on Facebook, telling all you need to know.

This week's post was about St Andrew's Church, located where Dowles Brook meets the Severn and on the route home today.

Date unknown - before demolition in 1956

There is no sign of the Church today, but the gravestones remain in an overgrown wood. This is a truncated version of the text from Hugh, detailing a ghostly vicar and a horned lady.

A lost graveyard and ruined chapel, hidden deep in the Wyre Forest near Bewdley—peaceful or spooky? I stumbled upon this overgrown site on a long walk. Gravestones barely rose above the undergrowth, leaning as if in surrender to nature. Only an arch and fragments of wall remain of St Andrew’s, or Dowles Church.

I’ve seen a few abandoned churches, but this one felt different—maybe it was the wild garlic scent or the green cast over everything. Beneath a great yew lay something chilling: what appeared to be a mortsafe, a metal cage once used to stop grave robbers. This one was only a metre long—possibly for a child.
Local folklore adds to the eeriness. A ghostly vicar is said to pace the path by the ruins, vanishing at the gate. Brave campers have reported flying bricks, groans and ghostly shouts. One grave, belonging to Susan Wowens—rumoured to be a witch—was said to grow horns she removed each year. A local supposedly mounted one pair in silver and sent them to the Ashmolean Museum—who deny any record. More likely, she suffered a fungal condition, later mythologised.

Very Michael Jackson Thriller

The Mortsafe - a foil for grave robbers?

Some find the place spooky, and although I am unsure whether I would spend the night there, it does make a quiet spot for a sandwich break. Just ask the Ramblers - they took me there a few months ago.

Folklore itch scratched, it's time to engage in my usual hobby. It's a toss-up between the mug house for TT Landlord or the Horn and Trumpet for Bathams. Choice decided by the place that is open on a Monday lunchtime.

The riverside Mughouse

For first-class Timothy Taylor

Walk Details

Distance - 6 Miles

Geocaches - 3

Walk Inspiration - Hugh Williams Mysteries of Mercia Facebook Post

26/07/25 - The Barbourne Run

Crawling

I'm not sure if the Barbourne Run is really thing. It might be now that I have blogged it. A random post on FaceBook's Great British Pub Crawl group alerted me to the joys and dangers of pub crawling.

Danger, Danger, Pub Crawling

I've neither 13 mates nor 9 hours, but I am up for a new adventure. I'll make a rule - halves only if it's rubbish beer. Or excessively strong beer. Or Perry. This route has it all.

My start is the Talbot. A Greedy King with only their IPA and the lions rugby on. Let's be positive, it had a nice covered outdoor area and the egg chasers seemed to be enjoying themselves, clapping tries between mouthfuls of full English.

Black and White

"Rubbish Beer Rule" put into immediate action

I felt a little sorry for the Coach and Horses they neither had the rugby on nor any customers. The landlord was watching the world go by, drinking tea outside from a massive Sports Direct sized mug with "Boss" on it. Everyone knows the only people you call boss are kebab shop owners and Turkish barbers. In the town I live in - and I kid you not - these are the same person.

Coach and Horses

Dates from the 1700s and has definitely had a recent makeover. I'm guessing tied somehow to Marstons, so another half of Brooklyn Pilsner.

The Feathers has always intrigued me when driving past, advertising itself as a Live Music and Sports Venue. We're getting to the crux of the Rugby now and a last minute try encouraged exultation. I don't know much about Rugby but I am guessing the Lions adhere to the Arsenal school of coaching. Even I was shouting "shoot".

Freehouse

I learned little from my visit. I could not see where the live music is held. The front room seemed too small. They had no cask on at all, so my pub crawl (so far) has been a cheap day out. To be fair, Cruzcampo is one of the better louts available.

I used to work (could stop sentence here) opposite the Lamb and Flag. At that point in the mid-nineties, it was the very definition of an "Old Man's Pub". Run by an Irish Landlord and I learnt very early on how a Guinness has to be left to "build". Kay's Catalogue only provided 45 minutes for lunch but most Fridays we used to manage three and somehow program in dBaseIII.

It's completely changed now - the two rooms knocked into one and the central bar moved. Still loving nods to the old landlord, with the new owners honouring him with a photo.

Lamb and Flag

Best pint of Guinness in Worcester

This won't be my last visit. The Timothy Taylor Landlord was as good as I have had anywhere. And I have holidayed in Yorkshire.

A couple of old favourites coming up. The Dragon is perfect for a certain type of drinker, myself included. Comfortable, homely, a nice outdoor space and if you want to be reminded of good cheap times a lá Wetherspoons, upstairs toilets.

It's home to Church End Brewery and the ales are always spot on. Today I ventured for the Reset in Peace and sensibly opted for a half. 7% and pub crawls end in the way of the unfortunate gent at the top of the blog.

Goat's Milk recommended in Pints

Directly opposite, Black Country Ales continue their quest for world domination starting from the Midlands. The Saracen's Head recently bought back from the dead, I had seen some quite psychedelic photos posted on Social Media. I can only summise that someone was messing with both filters and my mind.  

Revived

The BCA Blue Print

15 (!) real ales on. Too much choice, but two real ciders on hand pull. That's if you can class Bee Sting Perry as a cider. Delicious and dangerous at 6.8%.

Hats off to BCA for keeping the original pub name. They could have pandered to wokery. Worcestershire never forgets a pub name, do we The Bewdley Inn?

To round off the day - a couple without photos. I really like the beer selection in Tonic. Its always changing and usually has a couple of interesting German beers on. Today was no exception. I did not know that Hofbrau do a 3.8% beer. Apparently only in the summertime.

Finally - and only because I had an hour wait for the bus - Weavers have brought their blueprint honed at Kidderminster, Malvern and Stourbridge to Worcester. 

I fully expect it to be in the Good Beer Guide when they have passed the necessary probation period.

The bus was on time and I (and my bank account) returned home relatively undamaged.

24/07/25 - The Hadley Bowling Green

A Butcombe Tied House in Worcestershire

A British Pubs Facebook post alerted me to the surprising news that there's a Butcome tied house in Worcestershire.

The Hadley Green Bowling Inn.

Featured in my 1960s Historic Pubs of Interest book. An Elizabethan farmhouse with links to the Gunpowder Plot and possibly the oldest bowling green in the country.

Farm-cum-alehouse, according to the text

Treason

Timeless - 50 years on from the guide book

A suitable walk was found on Komoot. Agricultural Worcestershire, a contender for the lowest lying trig point at 70m and the Worcester-Birmingham Canal. A new walking activity has been born - logging trig points.

Wide Open Worcestershire Spaces

The actual lowest trig point is 1m above sea level - near Grimsby

Footpath closure on the Worcestershire-Birmingham Canal

A towpath closure led to a slightly shorter walk than planned. The pub a civilised 11:30am opener. 

A smart gastro-pub, with an unused snug and main dining room/bar. The Butcombe Original was in such good shape that I downloaded the loyalty app. £20 off drinks on my birthday and 25% of food on any Wednesday. 

I have already plotted a walk from home that takes in the very different Fruiterers Arms.

Outdoor Butcombe for Family Fun

Walk Details

Distance - 6 Miles

Geocaches - 0

Walk Inspiration - Komoot 

22/07/25 - West Midlands Way - Stage 8 - Shifnal to Penkridge

Exit Through the Gift Shop

More public transport liberties with the West Midlands Way. I chose Shifnal, instead of Tong, to finish Stage 7. It would have been possible to resume from Shifnal, but two miles of busy road walking did not appeal. A handily placed station at Cosford - next to the RAF Museum - enabled the Monarch's Way to be soon picked up and get me back on track.

Jets through the fence

Lots of historical interest on this walk through Staffordshire agricultural fields... a couple of priories named after the colour of the habits worn by the nuns. White Ladies is a ruin. Black Ladies is a moated farm house. Linked by Charles II escape from Worcester - Boscobel House the home of the famous Royal Oak. 

White Ladies, with a fresh faced Mappiman from 2012

Catholic hidey-hole of Boscobel House

Black Ladies from the footpath

The Monarch's Way has been kindly re-routed from a road into fields just before Boscobel House. There may have been an exit, or it may have been a ruse to get the unsuspecting rambler to pay an entrance fee. Before I knew it, I was next to a sign saying "Ticket required" and with no way of escape apart from going through the gift shop. The cheery hello from the staff indicated they were definitely going to extract money from me if I looked in their eyes. Just keep moving.

Not that I needed to keep my dollar for the pub.

The first OS Map Big Blue Cup of Joy at Lapley. A town simply dripping in history, with a hall, manor house and a locked church that could not be explored. Externally, you could see the different building materials used in the various extensions.

Lapley Church - sandstone, Norman origins

Of course the pub was long dead. The Vaughan Arms was easy enough to spot from the architectural layout and naming it "Vaughan Arms House" after a refurb seemed a bit of a kick in the teeth to the 2,500 thirsty inhabitants left behind. Notes from the 2008 closure;

Its demise followed the closure of the village post office, a threat to remove its only phone box and an Oxford University study that ranked Lapley seventh among the most deprived areas across the country for villagers' ease of access to important local services and facilities.

Vaughan Arms House

Surprisingly, the pub at Whiston is still a going concern, even if it is of little use to the daytime rambler. Opening hours from 5pm. The sign proclaims "Holdens Beers" but it is not a tied house.

I have to wait until Penkridge. The Littleton Arms next to the train station. Horrible inside, no real ale and to add insult to injury, the train line gets suspended while I was battling through a £5.75 Staropramen. 

The main North/South line suspended for four hours. Scores of trains cancelled and thousands of passengers displaced.

All because of a man having a fag on a railway bridge. 

I know this, as he asked me to collect his cap that had blown off, as I walked underneath prior to my pint.

The stand-off between him and British Transport Police had to be seen to be believed. I'll stop the blog here before I use the word "woke".

£5.75, a 90-minute wait and a £14 Uber to Wolverhampton

Walk Details

Distance - 13.5 Miles

Geocaches - 12

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

20/07/25 - Good Beer Guide Pubs of Abergavenny

Into the (Wye) Valley

What a charming little place Abergavenny is.  Our latest Dog Sit had us strategically positioned Llanfoist. A short walk over the ancient bridge and across the castle meadows leass to a town full of foodies. 

This is what AI has to say:

Abergavenny, known as the "Gateway to Wales," is a charming market town nestled at the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Surrounded by dramatic mountains and rolling countryside, it offers a perfect blend of natural beauty, rich history, and vibrant food culture. Whether you're exploring its medieval castle, browsing the independent shops and bustling markets, or indulging in award-winning local produce and real ales, Abergavenny provides a warm and welcoming base for walkers, foodies, and history lovers alike.

Let's check out the Real Ale situation - with 4 Good Beer Guide Pubs to explore.

The Grofield was found on our first meander of the town.

Solid, family-run

Notable for two reasons: A beautiful beer garden, which we ignored the u-shaped bar to make haste towards. And table service. I really wasn't expecting "we will come to your table to take your order". A COVID hangover or making maximum use of their iPad POS devices.

Their secret garden

Wye Valley HPA setting the tone of the weekend.

We walked past The Bridge on the way back to our temporary home. At 6pm there waslive music, with a Sterophonics tribute act on and he turned out to be rather good. "Maybe Tomorrow" and "Have a Nice Day" alternated with crowd pleasing Tom Jones covers.

The Bridge - and Amber with Mrs M

The Butty Bach - my most consumed ale - was so disappointing, I tried the Rev James. The dog quickly got bored with "What's New Pussycat?". I couldn't justify the expense of drinking out when we had a quieter garden to sit in and a Waitrose middle-class beer aisle to ram-raid.

Sunday Night saw us attempt to understand why the Railway Inn and The Station were nowhere near any train tracks. A conversation starter if ever I met one. Transpired the station was moved in the 1960s.

The GBG Tick was the Station and I had completed my research. My taste-buds could be excited with something other than Wye Valley. Bass is a permanent fixture.

Team Mappiman heading into another pub

Bass ordered but oh-no - the barrel had gone. At least, the Butty was spot on.

More Wye Valley

Strange opening times - 3pm to 4pm - so I guess the locals made the most of it when it was open. A very convivial atmosphere, mostly single blokes who had taken the dog for a walk.

We moved to the enclosed beer garden to ponder what would happen if a pub offered something other than Wye Valley. Would the good people of Monmouthshire revolt?

To be fair - the 'Spoons - The Coliseum - would have offered its collection of world beers and Ruddles but we would not have been welcome with our four-legged friend. 

17/07/25 - Saltwells to The Bull and Bladder, Home of the Bathams

Blessing of your heart: You brew good ale

The Ramblers Meetup Invitation had me at "and then we will visit the Bathams Brewery Tap".

I failed to notice distance, walk type, where we would be going or indeed, who I would be going with.

Let's answer the questions in turn....

Distance - 5 Miles

Walk Type - Planned as linear, with the bus for the last 1.5 miles back to Cradley Heath Station. I was too tight to pay the £3, having more time at my disposal than funds.

Where We are Going - a walk through Saltwells Country Park - visiting the quarry and a reservoir. Then along the Dudley 2 Canal, including the nine locks. Walk leader then "abandons" his flock and says "time for the pub, I will you show you the bus stop, but I plan to stop for a session. You are welcome to join me or make your own way back.

Who I would be walking with - Its the Ramblers. You are never sure who will turn up. But I probably didnt expect a gentleman in Chelsea boots who then commented on the Meetup Page post walk that he "thought the lady who patted me on the train was lovely, but they were all very nice". I have no idea what he assumed this type of group would be. Once again, I was the youngest - but only by two years. Reminiscing about the hot summer of '76 always provides the necessary data to make deductions.

Photos:

Doulton's Quarry - Zoom in to the rock-face for a giant dragonfly

Nine Locks down to Delph Road

The walk leader was correct to make it an "every person for themselves". He had done his work and only gone wrong twice. Some stayed for one. Some drank cider, coke or Stella. Most had a Bathams. I stopped for three and left the hardcore for their afternoon session. Complicated rounds were starting to form and I didn't want to leave in a pensioner's debt.

Always keen to find something new - I noticed that the pub used to be a lodge for the Buffs. See the RAOB glass above the door.

The beer, as good as always.

RAOB

Bathams in the Garden

The horrified bar man recovering from 15 ramblers, paying separately. 

The classic frontage through rush hour traffic

Walk Details

Distance - 5 Miles

Geocaches - 5