14/08/17 - CAMRA Good Beer Guide Pubs of Reading - Part 2

I'm back with the Booze Bible in Berkshire.  Four weeks after rain stopped play on Part 1 ticking Reading's 8 Entries, I am repeating the bus journey on the Emerald 6, knowing exactly where to alight.

The Hop Leaf, Southampton Street, Downton Brewery New Forest Ale

7pm on a Monday night and there's the Bar Lady, me and the King of Sudoku.  Initial engagement is at the bar, where I shun the most obvious choice of several Hop Backs (pub is tied to the brewery) and have a first ever New Forest Ale.  Handsome looking bitter.

The KoS soon exits, leaving behind his work for me to mark.   Never, in the history of the Times, has the Fiendish been completed with no workings out.

By god, but he was neat

If there was company, I could have entertained myself with many of the available games, bar billiards and darts more traditional than the documented Pinball machine that I failed to locate.

Hop Leaf 

Eldon Arms, Eldon Terrace, Timothy Taylor Golden Best

I've found the HQ of the Berkshire Real Ale resistance movement.

Once again, I am in a near empty pub.   There's a couple taking selfies at the very far end of this long narrow pub and a guardian of 8 real ales.   Makes you wonder how they keep them turning over.

Really unsure about the Paint Job.  Don't think it was this colour last time.

Maybe Reading is like Spain and no-one comes out till 11pm.

I check in TT Golden Best into Untappd for the 2nd time in life, once again being surprised that its classed as a Mild.

Only way to entertain myself is to read Berkshire CAMRA's "Pint Taken", recognising the cover shot of Nag's Head from my last Reading ticking.

There's something deeply satisfying about reading about a documented pub closure in the actual said pub.

The fightback against pub flat conversions started here.  I only hope it wasn't the new owners who came up with the Bobby Sands colour scheme.

Good News - Nag's Head wins POTY.  Bad News - Eldon Arms is closed.  

The Purple Turtle, Gun Street, Doombar (Soz)

Now, I'm not as prolific as some of the pub blogging Twitterati, but I have managed to get 150 ticks since the 2017 edition was released last September.

I defy any of the Jedi Masters of GBG Ticking to come up with a more bizarre entry than the Purple Turtle.

I make no apologies for the shaky night time photo.   I was worried the bouncer was looking at me.

He was.

Clocked

Mrs M catches my Untappd check in an in a hopeless confusion from Police Academy 1, thinks I am in the Blue Oyster Bar.  I have form.   Facebook Friends led me to Leed's New Penny.  The Cask Marque App led me to Oxford Street's City of Quebec.   And just because it looked nice, I once led myself into London's premier real ale bar for Bears in Poland Street.

There must be a reason why its in the Good Beer Guide.   Personally, any place that has a bouncer should be instantly excluded, in my opinion.

The bible's closing line on the place is "Beer Choice is eclectic, you never know what you are going to get from one week to the next".

I must have chosen a bad week.   It was Doom Bar or Hobgoblin on offer today.

Don't get me wrong, I liked the place and there is a lot more to it than you can see on entry.  On this visit, I ignored the empty stage and American Diner booths and headed out through the side door and out the back into a wonderful outdoor area.

A decent place on a mild August night.

Outdoor at the Purple Turtle

The Alehouse, Broad Street, Mr Chubbs Lunch Time Bitter

Longtime favourite in Reading and another chance to enjoy one of my favourite named beers at the wrong time of day.   Proper looking pub inside and out, with nooks and crannies that I would have been better off exploring to get away from the very drunk Irish Man and not so drunk co-worker who came to entertain me on my little table for 1, next to the bar.

Like any good journalist, I made my excuses and left.  Fully in the knowledge that it won't be too long before I am back.

The Glory of Mr Chubbs Lunchtime

12/08/17 - Heart of England Way - Stage 5 - Lichfield

Distance - 8.5 Miles
Geocaches - 3
Pub - The George and Dragon, Lichfield, Banks Bitter
Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4


Stage 5 on the Heart of England Way and it delivers it's first real highlight.  Lichfield Cathedral's three spires can be seen long before arrival into this charming city.

The Nelson Inn at Creswell green was found at the mid point of Stage 4 and provides the start of this walk.  A chance to pick up a couple more of the Chorley Circular Geocache Trail.

The walking is agricultural - country lanes and wheat fields, where in the main, the farmers have adhered to leaving the rights of way accessible.

Easy Walking

Big Skies on the HOEW

First Peak of Lichfield Cathedral

The Cathedral is not the first architectural delight to visit.  Lichfield has 4 entries in the 2017 Good Beer Guide.  We find the George and Dragon immediately on entering the town through the Park and Shaw Lane.

First surprise is that its a Marstons House, a brewery that's not usually troubling the Booze Bible. The 2nd is that it's open at 11:10am.  They might be still doing the cleaning up, with all the chairs upended on the tables, but this does provide an opportunity to explore.  Impressive tiling throughout and the Cask Marque certificate found, we make our way outdoors.

It's not every pub that has a beer garden complete with a memorial explaining the history.  Prince Rupert's mound was a siege position built during the civil war.   I'm always finding bits of Civil War history on my walks but here is the location of a rare Royalist victory.

It now makes a nice spot to enjoy a top quality Banks Bitter with commanding views.

George and Dragon - Deserved Good Beer Guide Entry

Mrs M wondering what I'm not sitting with her.  There is a a memorial to read from here.

Next up is the Cathedral.  A group of lads are dressed as Peaky Blinders.  We spend the rest of the walk arguing whether they are on a stag do, a wedding or are the real Peaky Blinders.   No stag do I have ever been on has a professional photographer.

The Cathedral is as stunning on the outside, as I am sure it is on the inside.  I could spend hours admiring the intricate stonework.  Many photos taken but I will leave you with a shot of the restoration of Charles II shoe.

Mappiman.  Peaky Blinders out of Sight

Charles II - Paid for the Cathedrals restoration

So he got a new shoe

The walk back is merely functional.  Through Lichfield's many alleys and a slightly rough housing estate and back into the not quite as well maintained wheat fields.

Stage 5 and the HOEW is really getting into its stride.  A top walk.

Battling the field borders

07/08/17 - The Kentish Town CAMRA Good Beer Guide Ticks

Kentish Town is a hotbed of CAMRA Recommended Boozers, with 5 available for the thirsty explorer.

I've previously ticked off The Southmapton Arms and the Grafton on an Archway to Camden Pub Crawl.

Starting at Tufnell Park Tube makes this a downhill walk.  Turn left out of the station and down Fortress road.

Junction Tavern, Fortress Road, Timothy Taylor Boltmaker

Estate Agents would describe this classic looking pub as "deceptively spacious".

Up the Junction

A look through the front windows leads one to believe that this is a gastro pub but the labyrinth like interior leads to a back bar, a conservatory and if the weather was nicer, a very pleasant beer garden.

A look at the bar reveals 3 real ales and I see my inspiration in the form of a Timothy Taylor Pump.  I ask for a Landlord but I am wrong.  Its actually its lesser spotted brother,  Boltmaker.

Have I ever stumbled across this outside of Yorkshire?  I think not.

A very decent pint.  I foolishly stop for only one and leave without checking the weather.

Should have stayed longer

The Pineapple, Leverton Street, Foundation Bitter

The heavens have opened.  Its only a short walk to pub number 2, but long enough to learn the waterproof effectiveness of Liam Gallagher's Pretty Green Jackets.  30 seconds.

I cut a very disheveled figure by the time I make it to the Pineapple, but the Journey was worth it.

This back street pub is a classic.

Worth the Walk

This is pretty much a blue print for a how a pub should look.  Entrance gained under a hanging basket  and into a central bar.  Every table is either occupied or reserved, waiting for diners who want to take advantage of the Thai Restaurant.

After ordering a pint of something new, East London Brewing Company Foundation Bitter, I manage to get a seat under one of these bad boys.

A matching one on the other side of the bar.

If only there was a roaring fire to dry off in front off.

The beer and atmosphere was spot on.   Well worth seeking out.

The Assembly House, Kentish Town Road, Sambrook's Wandle

Proof that I can make my mind up about which places to visit.  This is a non Good Beer Entry.  Despite this, and the fact it's a Green King, my Sambrooks Wandle stood up well to everything else sampled tonight.

Last week, I stumbled on a 1971 Film with Richard Burton, the Villian.  The film was pretty hopeless, although anything with Burton in it is worth watching.   Even one where he is sleeping with Ian McShane.  And has a dodgy Cockney accent that should be up for a Dick van Dyke award.  

In the film, they plan their blags in a very handsome looking pub.  It took me off a two minutes on google to find out this was the Assembly House.   I thought I would check it out.

The only thing that remains are the high ceiling rooms.

Looked better in the Film

Could be an inspiration for future blogs.   Drinking in pubs that are movie locations.  So far I have this and one in Berkshire where Carry On Dick was filmed.

Lion and Unicorn, Gaisford Street, Redemption Big Chief

If I was so inclined, I could mark off Kentish Town in the bible with a highlighter pen to show its completeness.

Last of the night and a bit underwhelming, if the truth is told.

This is a huge pub, half way along a residential street off Kentish Town Road.

Night Falls in Kentish Town

It has a theatre upstairs, a very expensive bar and absolutely nothing else of interest.  As soulless as a sparsely populated posh hotel bar.

I can smell the hops from my Redemption Big Chief from here

05/08/17 - Two Bloomsbury CAMRA Good Beer Guide Ticks

The sights have been taken in through a delightful 8 mile walk through London's Royal Parks.  Rest has been taken a funky bijou Kings Cross Hotel, where the lights are controlled by a mobile phone app.  It's a couple of hours until the show starts in a Shaftesbury Avenue Comedy Club.

We'll go and get a couple of CAMRA Good Beer Guide Ticks, whilst on the look out for pre-theatre dining.

The Calthorpe Arms, Greys Inn Road, Youngs Special

This is a new one to me, despite knowing the area quite well.  Before the Bloomsbury Holiday Inn went into the £300's per night, it was my preferred work hotel of choice.

The bible says that "Unusual double doors lead into this single bar corner local".

GBG Stickers aside, what's unuusal?

And its a portal to a time that London forgot.  A more traditional local boozer, you could not hope to find this side of Norman's Coach and Horses in Soho.

This extends to something I haven't seen since I was a kid.   A couple in a classic Citreon DS, are having a pint in the car.   To add to the authenticity, the pint was in a dimpled jug.

Brilliant! You need to remind yourself that we are a stone's throw from the venue that hosted Oasis's first London gig.

A Trip out in the Motor.  Mrs M's Arm

Its a Young's House and the Special was in decent form, if not suffering from the usual Southern crisis of a disappearing head.

To spend your days in the sunshine

The Lamb, Lamb Conduit Street, Youngs Special

The Calthorpe may have been new to me but the Lamb has always been a favourite.  I found it back in the days when I could recognise a Good Pub, without a Guide to help me along the way.

Saturday evening is the time to come.  In the week, I've rarely managed to get a seat but tonight, up until the wedding party came in, we had the place more or less to ourselves.

Check out the Victorian bar mounted Snob Screens

I explained to Mrs M about how the bar mounted glassware was meant to stop the bar staff from seeing exactly who the C19th gentlemen boozehounds were entertaining.

She was more interested in what sort of a wedding ends with the majority of guests in the local.

A decent one was my response.

The Lamb Interior, in all its finery

A must visit London pub.  And if you are hungry, the Italian with the blue awning next door is superb.

Everything you need for a good night out, next door to each other