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. 

28/10/24 - Cardiff City Walk and (3/7ths) of the Good Beer Guide Pubs

Mediocre Meanderings

Imagine explaining the British Rail System to someone from overseas? After using several different websites, Trainline (booking fee applies) gets the ticket down by 50% to the hardly bargain price of £35. It does this by providing a fistful of (virtual) tickets with the exclamation that; 

"No need to change trains, just change tickets!". 

Welcome to the world of SplitTicketing. It's complex, utterly bizarre and the carriages don't have USB charging ports.

I disembark to a rainy plaza with the intention of completing a walk and discovering the city through a mixture of Adventure Lab Caching and the Good Beer Guide. The tone of the day is set by a shopping centre security guard trying to eject a street drinker with an XL Bully Dog. Much swearing. Much barking. Much finger pointing. Much pre-fight posturing. Better influencers than me ready their smartphones. I'm on the point of phoning the police when it fizzles out. The dog got bored and dragged its owner away.

The Walk - a tour of the castle, a section along the River Taff in Bute Park, the Principality Stadium and some very pretty squares around the museums.

The ALCs - finding the works of the sculpture Robert Thomas, who has seven works in the City. The castle. Other City Centre items of interest.

Anthony Bourdain always recommends the Market

The Castle from the Crossing

Peeking through one of the Gates

Alexandra Park, in the nice part of town.

Onto the 2025 Good Beer Guide Pubs - 7 Available, time enough for around half. And a poke my head through the door of one of the many 'Spoons.

First up Tiny Rebel. I am greeted by excellent music but Portishead can never be described as "feel good". I once put in on during a dinner party (remember them?) and the guests threatened to leave.

Mistimed, I am third at the bar behind a family with a myopic dad who wants to stare at every pump clip. For reasons that will be revealed, this is a technique I should have adopted. And a couple of Frenchies who are trying to determine the food situation. Getting nowhere, I head to the facilities to come back and find myself 3rd in the queue.

Ignoring the opportunity to show off with my accurate pronunciation of Cwych, I order an IPA that has, in the small print, the words "Hedgerow IPA". Add that to your NEIPA, WCIPA etc. There's probably a better description of the colour than "organgy-pink".

The Crisps were good.

Next door is the 'Spoons Gatekeeper. I think I pass four in the City, so presumably they take it turns to be in the guide. No time to stop, but a handy throughway and a "steal" of the Cask Marque QR Scan.

Standard Spoons - with added Witches Hats and Cobwebs

The Old Arcade is head and shoulders the best of the bunch found today. Maybe it was the £2.70 promotion of Brains SA that meant there was not a table free on a Monday lunch. The rumbustious landlord, who knew how to entertain a lunchtime crowd, refused to sell me a half as it was the more or less the same price for a pint. Although he did warn me I would end up like him, pointing to a punter in the corner who took the jibe with good grace.

A fine Rugby Pub, covered in memorabilia and a lovely quote running across whatever you call a skirting board just under the ceiling.

“To be born Welsh is to be born privileged, not with a silver spoon in your mouth, but music in your blood, and poetry in your soul.”

The Old Arcade

Rugby Pub

Time for one last visit before battling Cross Country. I should have trusted my instincts about Owain Glyndwr.  How to describe it? A 10am opener - of which the landlord of the Old Arcade had some strong opinions. A sports pub with many huge screens to see that Man Utd have joined the sack race. Again. A food place, where most people seemed to be eating fish-fingers, beans and chips. Having only bought a single sandwich with me, consumed long ago whilst lost in the indoor shopping centre, I was well-jell. 

Curved Bar, Nice location

It had a reasonably interesting beer line up but I was losing the will to live when the single bar person kept asking a 30ft bar with people all along "Who is next". This way riots start. It's your job as the barkeep to monitor this.

After my politeness waned (and it was my turn) I jumped in. Another point deducted for stuffing an exotic Pewin Ynfytyn into a London Pride glass.

4/5 for quality - 2/5 for presentation - 1/5 for service

A dash back to the station. More gentlemen of the street shenanigans, of which I will spare the details but merely comment on their amplitude of voice and inventiveness of profanity. 

Walk Details

Distance - 5 Miles

Geocaches - 20 Adventure Lab Caches

Walk Inspiration - Discover Britain - A Sporting Walk in Cardiff

28/09/24 - Little Orme

Seal Spotting at Angel Bay

5 years since a still memorably wet walk on Great Orme. Might as well tick off its smaller brother at the promenade's other end, Little Orme.

Little Orme from the Free Parking Prom

Three things that appeal to the walker;

1 - Views - over Llandudno bay and Snowdonia's mountains.

The Climb Rewarded at Little Orme Trig

A second climb to Mynydd Pant for Snowdonia Views

2 - Wildlife - As we drop down through the quarry works, we can see a collection of people peering over the edge or what transpires to be Angel Bay. I'd already noticed Google Maps had the location mapped as "Seal Pupping Seasons - Sep-Oct".  Sure enough, big black ones in the water and on the shore and smaller white pups. If only they didn't blend into the rocks, which Mrs M suggested should be painted dayglo to offer some contrast.

There are seals below, uncaptured by a Google Pixel 8

3) Breakfast - Walk over and the nearby Coast Cafe offers sandwich baps. But look closer on the "Other Section" on the menu. A Full Welsh. Regardless of nationality, do hash browns have any place on a breakfast? Who knows, but the coffee was the finest tasted.

Walk Details

Distance - 4.5 Miles

Walk Inspiration - Country Walking Magazine, October 2009, Walk 18

Geocaches - 1

12/07/24 - Porthmadog to Borth-y-Gest

Two Ticks in a Pretty Tourist Town

For such a pretty place, Porthmadog has surprisingly few published routes available on-line. My usual haunts of Ordance Survey, Komoot and All Trails came up with an ambitious looking mountain walk. An End User generated trip to Borth-y-Gest looked right from a distance and coast line perspective.

The walk was a delight. Along the Afon Glaslyn estuary. Far ranging fews to the mountains. Borth-Y-Gest a charming little bay.

Leaving Porthmadog Harbour

The curved bay of Borth-y-Gest

Half sunken ships and mountain views

Out to see past Ynys Cyngar

Dunes, caravan parks and a long stretch of pavement walking back into the tourist town.

Porthmadog, a picturesque town in North Wales, boasts immense tourist potential due to its unique blend of natural beauty, rich history, and cultural attractions. Nestled on the edge of the Snowdonia National Park, it offers breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains and coastline, making it a haven for outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy hiking, cycling, and watersports. The town is also the terminus of the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways, which provide scenic journeys through the stunning Welsh countryside and are a major draw for railway enthusiasts.

We, as always, head for the pub(s).

First, it's the Brewery Tap for Purple Moose. The Australia, a traditional pub dating from 1864 in the middle of the main street. Inside, it's all booths with charging points and a menu that's burger heavy.

The Australia - Purple Moose Brewery Tap

Meet the team

View from a booth - tradition and more purple than Premier Inn

Without tasting the burgers, you could do a lot worse than the deli next door. £5.50 gets you a Sunday Lunch in a bap. Not joking, beef, roasties, yorkshire pud, carrots and gravy. I vow there and then to visit more deli's. Especially deli's in Wales. 

Onwards to the Spooners - a cafe bar built into the fabric of the heritage railway. Some unusual beer choices but time it right and you can watch the steam train coming in from the outside terrace.

Heritage railway boozing

Monty's not found elsewhere in North Wales

Spooners a railway bar

Two Good Beer Guide Ticks - a fine afternoon's work.

Walk Details

Distance - 5m

Geocaches - 4

Walk Inspiration - End User generated route from Ordnance Survey Web Site

11/07/24 - All the Pubs in Nefyn

2 Good Beer Guide Pubs out of 4 ain't bad

You've got to be prepared to walk to find the Ty Coch Inn.

Walk on through the Golf Course....

.... and on

..... Just around the Corner

A Sign

It's a magical place. The bible stating that it is one of the best beach bars in the world.

We experienced it in two modes, both showing different sides of its character. A fine Monday evening, where we could sit out front, take in the rays and take in views. Yr Eifl across the bay conquered earlier in the day.

The Rivals - 3 hills, 2 in view - across the bay

The Thursday we walked Nefyn was grim beyond belief. Horizontal rain and misery. But the reward was the tiny bar, open at 11am, where tables are in scant supply. Sharing is compulsory and in a 3 pint stop we made friends with Cheshire farmers, New Zealand tourists and members of the Mancunian Abersoch golfing elite. 

Nautical Nick Nacks

Magical, unforgettable experience(s).

And if it is low tide, the walk across the beach is quicker and more pleasant.

Sometimes.

Farewell, Ty Coch.  We will be back

The Sun doesn't always shine in Nefyn.  The beach walk back, from above.

There's more imbibing to be done in Nefyn.

Yr Heliwr is the traditional boozer in the main street.The notice board outside implies that it has been brought back to life by the community. It's certainly been recently redecorated. Immaculate throughout. Our Sunday visit left me a touch underwhelmed. A tiny front bar with hard church pew seating and a huge high ceiling back room where the number of tables outnumber the punters 20 to 2.

However, a return visit on a Thursday - when they do very reasonably priced home cooked food - saw every one of those tables occupied. Beef Bourguignon for £11 a big hit. With everyone, including yours truly who was carrying a pizza from the Spar under his arm.

Community Local

The Nanhoron Arms, was included for the sake of completion. We didn't expect too much from a golfing hotel, but there was a back bar occupied by locals speaking Welsh. Apart from the swear words. A jukebox (Coldplay are big in this part of the world) and a 50p pool table made for a half pleasant visit.

Named after a boat constructed in Nefyn

Which leaves the brewery tap and 2nd Good Beer Guide Tick, Bragdy Llyn. It's remiss of me to not mention the beer purchased in the blog. In an act of town loyalty, every venue was selling Cwrw Llyn wares.

My go-to pint of the week, although IPA was equally delicious

Hosted on a business park, next to the police station, it was a popular spot, with early closing hours. 9pm on weekends, 7pm weekdays but it was open from 1pm everyday except Sunday closure.

A big window to see the shiny brewing vessels, handful of high tables, mezzanine overflow space and connect four.

Brewery drinking

Which can extend to outside

The walk? Well, I am still drying my underpants. Coastal around the bays. My favourite bit was the shelter offered by this green lane.

If it wasn't for the Ty Coch, I may still be there now

Walk Details

Distance - 6 Miles

Geocaches - 0

Walk Inspiration - Country Walking Magazine, November 2009, Walk 16

10/07/24 - The Lion Hotel, Tudweiliog

Pie of the Day, Only at Night

When it rains in Wales, it rains. Still, Mrs M is committed to exercise and fresh air. We plough on, right to the point when I tell her that today's walk is 7m.

Like all good marriages, a compromise is in order. 

A classic coastal circular walk from Traeth Pennllech can easily be cut in half. What's at Traeth Pennlech?

A pretty sign

North, up the lane we just drove down, sheltered from the light drizzle that soaks you through. Nothing to see, so we head to the sea and find the natural harbour of Porth Gwylan.

Perfect Harbour

We're exposed on the cliff tops now. Bleak, desolate, sea mist rolling in. It's a relief when we discover Traeth Penllech is the remote beach that marks the end of end of the walk and we can head for civilisation. Any civilisation.

This is Great Britain.  We are not the only fools out.

It's going to be a pub stop on the way back to our temporary home. All available Internet resources suggest that the Ship Inn, Edern, is open at lunch time. If only the typed sign in the window concurred. 18:00 on most weekdays.

Back to the Lion Hotel, Tudweiliog. The journey there marked with conversations about what we want to warm us up and keep us going until England inevitably let us down at 20:00. We both agree on what we want. 

Pie.

A specials board looks promising.

Chicken and Ham in cream sauce, with shortcrust pastry

I'll spare you the conversation but it ends with a closing line that both sums up British hospitality and offers no possible come back from hungry customers.

The "Pie of the Day" is only available at night.

Best to drown our sorrows.

I went far right

The alternative choices were very good. Mrs M going as far as to say it was the best pub lasagne she had ever had. 

Have we already had our "allotted exceeded expectations" today?

Let's see if Ivan Toney starts.

Walk Details

Distance - 4.5 Miles

Walk Inspiration - Country Walking Magazine, February 23, Walk 21

Geocaches - 0

09/07/24 - Abersoch to Porth Ceiriad

 All About St Tudwal

Abersoch. The Welsh Riviera. Where the Range Rovers outnumber the sheep. Playground of the North West of England Elite.

We head there on a grey July afternoon, the worst of the rain behind us but not especially conducive to walking.

The pub is called St Tudwal. The most interesting geological feature are the two islands of St Tudwal.

St. Tudwal, a 6th-century Celtic saint, was born into a noble family in Ceredigion, Wales, and dedicated his life to monasticism and missionary work. Renowned for establishing monastic communities in both Wales and Brittany, he significantly influenced the spread of Christianity. In Brittany, he founded a monastery in Tréguier and became one of the region's seven founding saints. Tudwal's legacy endures through the churches and communities named after him, and he is venerated for his piety and contributions to the Christian faith.

A steep, boring but mercifully crop free crossing of agricultural land takes us to Port Ceriad. Think Alex Garland's The Beach, with less sunshine. A remote yet perfect beach with only a lonely dog walker. We have options - crumbing cliffs or randy bulls.

We'll take our chances with the bovines

The remote Porth Ceiriad

A straightforward circuit of the headland, with the Islands constantly in view. West has a lighthouse.  East has a cross. With binoculars, it's possible to make out the cross is a very odd Y Shaped. Online resources are limited but some wild campers did make it there after it was struck by lightening. 

St Tudwal Islands - East and West

Cross upright again

Into Abersoch for a first visit. I saw online references stating it to be the prettiest village in Wales. Presumably by people who have never visited Aberdaron. We are in the dead zone of 3pm, where all the places that do food, don't do food. Kitchen's closed everywhere until 5pm. Only so much entertainment provided by shops like Fat Face and Weird Fish, so we do what we always do.

Head to the pub. 

A rather plain and uninteresting Robinsons pub. The Unicorn beer is far too cold. The scratchings are far too hot. Thought those machines were condemned 20 years ago.

Functional Robinsons

Ice Cold Unicorn

Onwards - to the big Asda at Pwllheli.

Walk Details

Distance - 6.5 Miles

Geocaches - 2

Walk Inspiration - Country Walking Magazine, June 2013, Walk 21