09/07/16 - Wye to the Thames - Walk 2 - Ledbury to Colwall

Distance - 6.5 Miles
Geocaches - 9
Previous Walk
Pub - Prince of Wales, Ledbury, HPA


Continuing my journey from the Wye at Hereford to the Thames at Oxford along the Cotswold Rail Line.  Strictly speaking, this should be blogged as Colwall to Ledbury, as the lure of the Prince of Wales proves too strong.  I have unfinished business with Ledbury - I need to check in this fine pub in the Cask Finder App (after all, it was here that it was discovered) and there is a cheeky little micro Geocache that I have had a tip off about.

So, leave the train at Colwall, admire the walkers map and in a first, head away from the Malverns.

Walking Away from the Malverns

I love it when a planned walk has a high concentration of unexpected Geocaches.  At Colwall Church, I find the first of a Circular series called Wellies and Wine.  The caches accompany me to the top of Oyster Hill, where I leave the trail to continue my linear walk.

Unsure if I have been up Oyster Hill before and it provides fine walking along the Geopark Way and super views over the full length of Malvern Hills.

Through the Orchards onto Oyster Hill

View from Oyster Hill

I don't really lose any height from Oyster Hill before I am walking through Frith Woods to another elevated position of Bradlow Knool.  The path is superb but unfortunately, the trees obliterate any potential views.

Have to agree with the Sentiment

Drop down to the wonderfully named Cut Throat Lane and follow what I think is an old railway line that takes me back into Ledbury.  The church bells are peeling for my arrival.

Ledbury Emerges

Ledbury is once again a hotbed of excitement.  In the first leg of this walk, I was nearly press-ganged into joining the Morris Dancers.  Today, it's the Poetry Festival.  Outside the Prince of Wales is a large yellow tube that looks like it should be on a ship.  Press a button and a poem is read out for you.

The trains back are hourly and I have 30 minutes to reacquaint myself with the pub.  I wrote last time about how good it is.  You really should go.

Pint demolished, pub checked into the App and the cheeky little geocache found - directly in front of a busker playing some decent blues.

My work in Ledbury is now done.

No finer setting

Identical shot to the pint on the last leg

25/06/16 - The Staffordshire Peak District

Distance - 8.5 Miles
Geocaches - 0
Walk Inspiration - Country Walking Sept 2004, Walk 15
Pub - Ye Olde Crown, Waterhouses, Pedigree

We've done this before.  The kids (22 year old, 18 year old) want to go to Alton Towers.  We can drop them off for a day of thrills and spills and we can head out into some fine walking country.

Last time we did this, it was the honey pots of Dove Dale and the Manifold Valley.  Today, its the wilds of the lesser visited Staffordshire Peak District.

Before heading out, I had completed my research and tweeted that today would be Geocaching 0, Pubs 2.  Cannot remember the last walk that didn't have some tupperware to find.  In the end, even my tweet was wildly optimistic.

People don't place caches around here because its so inaccessible.  In a walk in a National Park, you don't really expect to be faced by poor signage, broken bridges, totally overgrown paths that require detours, killer dogs and frisky cows.  I've been to the peak district before and did expect squeeze stiles that could entrap primary school kids.

There were some decent views once we got going, but in the main, this walk will be filed under "challenging".

Early views on the way out of Onecote

Upper Elskstone, before the paths disappeared

The better part of the Peak District to Walk

The Big Squeeze

Coming back into Onecote

What initially appealed about the walk was the way that it linked the villages of Onecote, Butterton and Grindon.  This should have meant refreshment stops.  Butterton is the first village that we hit, guided in by the Church Spire.  I checked, they have a pub.  I checked and the pub was not closed down.  I looked at their website and it said that opening hours were 7-11.  On a Saturday.  Surely they are opening early for breakfast?  I consulted Whatpub.com and they said they were open from midday.  I emailed the pub.  They failed to reply.

On a midday arrival, a little old lady preparing free tea and coffees at the church informs us that if we are waiting for the pub to open, we would be there until the evening.  She told us that in 2 hours time we could have a biscuit from her Church group.  Unfortunately, despite a Ford to splash around in, its impossible to wait for 2 hours in Butterton.  Even on the promise of free Garibaldis.

Guided in by the Church Spire

Shabby Chic or just plain Shabby?

Not the date Built - Closer to the Opening Hours

Can a ford provide 120 minutes of entertainment?

Pretty place but seriously lacking in public amenities.  We move on, to Grindon.  This has the "Big Blue Cup of Joy" on the OS Map but pre-walk research shows no watering holes.  On the ground, its impossible to tell which building could have been the pub.  Maybe the cartographer just got slap happy with his symbols.

Like Butterton, we are guided in by the church steeple.

Grinton Ahead

The Church at Grinton

As there is no evidence of any free biscuits here, we complete the final two miles back to Onecote.  We know we are safe here, we parked in the pub car park.  2:20pm may be too late for food, but I have visions of a smorgasbord of my favourite pints, all lined up waiting for selection.

I try the door.  Its bolted.

The small print reveals that they are open on a Saturday 12pm to 2pm.

This might be the first time I swear in a blog.  We have driven 75 miles and gone back 30 years to when pubs closed for the afternoon.

Look at what I could have won

I almost planned today's walk from the Ye Olde Crown in Waterhouses but was slightly put off by the instructions that we needed to turn left at the cement works.  I should have ignored this. Waterhouses has Geocaches. Waterhouses have pubs that open when punters demand refreshment.

I walk into the bar of this C17th Pub and am greeted by two fine examples of the lesser spotted Mamils (Middle Aged Men in Lycra).  One has a half and a whisky on the go, the other a large white wine.  They insist that I try the Pedigree - claiming it to be the finest beer in the land.  If that's the case, why aren't they drinking it I inquire?

Turns out they've had four already.  And their camel packs when they headed out on the bike ride were full of Scrumpy.

A wobble back up the road is anticipated.

Last time I had Pedigree, I sent it back. It smelt terribly of eggs.  Not wanting to upset my new friends, I try it here.

It was a decent pint and the day is saved.

This is what an open pub looks like

Abandon all hope ye who enters

Endorsed by Mamils

21/06/16 - The Folly Inn, Napton - Millennium Way Stage 37

Distance - 4.9 Miles
Geocaches - 2
Pub - The Folly Inn, Napton, North Cotswold Shagweaver
Walk Inspiration


Getting to the end of the month, so I need to fit in the next leg of the Millennium Way.  Stage 37.

As is often the case, this short walk starts at a pub.  Very handy.  Bang on the canal, and this provides the early walking.  It must be a good pub, as there's a traffic jam of barges moored up.

End of the Parking Zone

Early view of the Napton Windmill from the Canal

We leave the canal at the Bridge at Napton - a dead pub, as reported on last month's leg.  There's something wrong in Warwickshire.  They like to kill of their public assets, as we will find later in today's walk.

A stiff ascent of Napton Hill - providing good enough views over Warwickshire that they built a look out tower in WWII.

I feel I am being watched.... a very close flap of wings for the first time in my life, I am being dive bombed by a bird of prey that I can't identify but will affectionately call Stuka.  Twice I get the fly by treatment.

View from Halfway up Napton Hill

Stuka

Death from Above

It leaves me alone once I summit the hill and take a quick detour to find only the 2nd Geocache of the day.

Closer to the Windmill

Napton means settlement on the hill.  You can feel the history of the place as you walk through the village.... its doomsday mentioned and a lot of Georgian architecture juts up against the new builds. My map shows a Big Blue Cup of Joy and I vow to sample its wares, should it prove interesting enough.

Alas, The Crown at Napton is completely and utterly dead.  You've killed another one, Warwickshire.

It looks very sad.  Internet based research showed the last Facebook update in Xmas 2012.  Johnny's leaving shindig.

What 3.5 Years of Neglect Looks Like

A one shop stop for today then.

A drop down the hill and contemplation that if the Warwickshire Lad doesn't like going to pubs, quite how does he entertain himself?

The answer appears to be target practice.

Drive By

A couple of fields to cross and back to the canal to be delivered to my refreshment point.

The Folly is an old rambling farmhouse and entering is like walking into someone's house.  Usual choice between left and right.  I head right, finding the less formal dining area - which judging by the number of troughers, is what this place is famous for.

The beer choice is also not bad - I first spot the North Cotswold Shagweaver and once again, refuse to ask my 20 something barmaid for it by name.  I could have also gone for a choice of two Hook Norton's.

Superb pint, taken outside listening the boat people talk of how few miles they are completing over such long holiday periods.

The Folly

The Choice

The Shagweaver

19/06/16 - Mr Thomas's Chop House - Manchester

Geocaches - 1
Walk - Why walk when you can Uber
Pub - Mr Thomas's Chop House, Black Sheep

Up in Manchester to move our 22 year old daughter into her 8th different accommodation.  This is already four more than me.

Most of the heavy lifting has already been done, so by midday, we have moved what's left from Fallowfield to Salford.

So, how to entertain ourselves in Rainy Manchester?

I turn on the Sat Nav and see that the nearest Geocache is at Salford Lads Club.  This will mean something to discerning music fans of a certain age.  There's a degree of serendipity around this, as its bang on 30 years since the Queen is Dead was released by the Smiths.  The inner sleeve picture went on to become the most recognised art work for the band.

We wait our turn for the obligatory photos behind an eclectic crowd of fans - Mini Buses full of balding 40-somethings, a pair of Asian girls and a surprisingly high number of youngsters who are ensuring the band's legacy remains.

An attempt to Recreate is hard when there's only two of you

The club is open to visitors, so we get a chance to mooch around and see their "Smiths" room, complete with plenty of memorabilia.  Free tea and coffee too.  Well done Salford Lads Club.

So how do Students get around?  Well, they don't walk.  They fire up their Smart Phones and hail an Uber.  You get a map showing where you are, where your cab driver is and some details on who he is, ready for future ratings.  Long gone are the days when you wait expectantly, hoping a cab will turn up on the same day as you ordered it.  And the best thing, Dad's don't have to pay.  The £3 charge is automatically on Ellie's account.

I've seen the future and I like it.

There was slight concern that we had too much time to kill before our lunch reservation.  Little did we know that today was Manchester Day and there is a full on carnival taking place in the streets.
Think the opening scenes of Spectre.  Sitting in the undercover alcove of the Cask Marque Dutton's Bar, directly opposite the Town Hall was a wonderful place to watch it.... even if we did have to endure the banter of the two minor Mancunian Celebs on the tannoy system.

Wonderful - Manchester Day

And on to lunch.

Mr Thomas's Chop house is a throw back to a by gone era and hasn't changed inside or out since 1901.  Outside, you'd need google to appreciate the fact that it was Manchester's first iron framed building.  Inside, you can appreciate the recently restored original tile work for all its glory.

Former patron's include LS Lowry.  Presumably before they put the prices up.

For good reason, it's one of CAMRA's best heritage pubs.

Has a New York Feel from the Outside

Lifted from the Net - We Sat in front of the Metal Gates

There's a fair amount of slagging off of the place on the usual beer web sites.  I can understand the comments about price but not of the tourists.

I wouldn't necessarily choose it as my local, but I would make it a destination after travelling 120 miles.  It needs to be experienced.

And the beer - the holy grail pairing of Timothy Taylor Landlord and Black Sheep.  Like choosing a favourite between your children.

And the food - my mother in law enquired if I had enjoyed the chops.