08/10/16 - Keswick Pub Crawl

Distance - All the Pubs are together
Pubs - 6


Keswick is mental.  We know, we tried to park up after our ascent of Skiddaw and would have been better off leaving it at the mountain.  We arrive on a Saturday afternoon, with the market in full flow and no single tourist able to provide directions to the Royal Oak, our lodgings for the night.

Eventually the staff at Blacks Outdoor Shop provide assistance, by announcing a request for directions over the shop tannoy system.

The good news, once we are settled, is that all the pubs are in, or slightly off, the square.  There are two 2017 Good Beer Guide entries, but we're explorers.  We're not stopping at 2.

The Royal Oak, Thwaites Lancaster Bomber

On ordering my room, I was asked whether I wanted to pay an extra £10 for a large room.  Wanting to impress Mrs Mappiman, I threw caution (money) to the wind.

The sign outside shows that we in good company with previous literary writers have lodged.  Maybe the sign will get updated in future years with 21st Century bloggers.

Mappiman blogged from here

The Royal Oak

Its a fine place.  We should have eaten here.  The cooking smelled delicious and dining was fully booked, but I'm sure as a resident, we could have negotiated.

As with all the places in Keswick, beer was taken seriously.  A wide choice of hand pulls and I went for a Lancaster Bomber, waiting for the feeling to come back in my legs following 2846ft of ascent earlier in the day.

Pint taken, we head up to the room.  To check the dimensions, we look for a cat to swing.

Good experience as both a hotel and pub.  Recommended.

The Wainwright, Skiddaw from Hesket Newmarket Brewery

When in doubt, go for the pub named after the person who's tick list you are very slowly completing. When in doubt, go for the beer named after the Wainwright you have just climbed.

This is Keswicks newest pub - an entry in the 2017 GBG and offering a range of discounts to members of both the Wainwright and CAMRA societies.

New Pub Ahoy!

20% off if you are a member of both societies. 

Nice, bright pub with a separate dining area to the front and typical pub furniture in the bar.  But why sit there, where you can clog up the high bar stools and stop tourists from seeing what's on offer.

The Skiddaw was perfect quality but lacking any sort of kick.  I made a vow to not drink anything less than 4% again.

The Lake Road Inn, Hartley's Cumbria Way

With much work to do, we don't hang around for long.  Our table is booked in the Dog and Gun for 8pm and we have just enough time to check out the Lake Road Inn.

Lake Road Inn

A fine establishment in its own right, although seemingly more geared up for diners than drinkers.

We clog up the high bar stools and make the most of the Hartley's.

The Dog and Gun, Nothing

I came here four years ago and it was mentally busy that night.  I saw the signs offering their famous 50 year old goulash (recipe, not meal).  I am a massive fan of Hungarian Food and didn't want to miss out again.

GBG Entry #2

A week before setting off, I phone.  No one answered.  I phone again.  I made a booking with a man called Chris who didn't sound entirely confident in his own abilities to take a booking.  I emailed for confirmation.  I checked my spam filter every day before leaving on the M6.

We walked in.  Four deep at the bar.  We see the sign - "please take a table, make you choice and order at the bar".

At least our table is waiting for us - reserved for Mappiman at 8pm.  A little flowerpot next to the chalkboard telling leg weary mountaineers to back off.

We sit and take all of a nanosecond to decide on goulash for and pie for the lady.

I go to the bar and nestle into someones armpit to wait my turn to order.  Plenty of time to decide which beer would go with a paprika stew.  15 minutes in (I stood by the till and used puppy dog eyes) I was served.

Me:   Can I order food?
Barman:  We have no goulash.
Me: No goulash!
Barman:  Or pie, or pie of the day, or steak or....  {use your imagination here}
Me:  What have you got?
Barman:  Scampi

Mrs Mappiman was reaching for Tripadvisor before I had got back to our table.  Genuine disbelief that a restaurant could run out of food at 8pm on a Saturday.

The Lake Road Inn, Steak and Ale Pie

Hurrah.  We swallowed our pride and headed back.  Table waiting, perfect service, good food.

Thank you Lake Road Inn.  We should never have left you.

The Bank Tavern, Keswick Taverner's Ale

Time to venture to the bottom of the market place.  I ignore Oddfellows (no reason) and the Kings Arms has an unhealthy 2/10 on Beerintheveening and we venture into the Bank Tavern.

Another one to try

A typical lakeland pub, noted only for the size of the barman's mustache.  He really should have been polishing whisky glasses and waiting for the cowboys to come.  Instead of men in chaps, its just men in goretex deciding how to replace fluids after a day on the hills.

Cask Marque accredited, I manage to both get on the wifi and scan the certficate.  Did I tell you my bottle opener had come?

The Pack Horse Inn, Robinsons Unicorn

Last of the evening and I want to make it a good one.  For that reason, we walked in and out again of the Golden Lion.  All the hand pull pumps had clips in reverse formation and I knew I would have been seduced by the darts on the large screen tv.

Google shows a not too obvious pub down an alley.   That alley is called Packhorse - and within its bowels lay pub of the night.

Put out the Bunting - Its Keswick's Pub of the Night

Like most places, its heaving.

They also have live music on.  A very decent singer/guitarist who has the good humour to deal with heckles (god knows what they do to comedians in these parts).  The crowd were right, he could have been John Thompson off Cold Feet in Disguise.

He did a fine job of modern indie classics and just plain classics.  He was that good we stayed until a break in his set (we're not staying to 1am, soz) and after the dancing had started.

Fleeces were discarded with the gay abandon of soho strippers.

Walking boots stomped.

Lady Ramblers a-dancing

08/10/16 - Skiddaw

Distance - 7 Miles
Geocaches - 3
Wainwrights - Carl Side, Skiddaw, Longside Edge, Ullock Pike
Walk Inspiration - Trail Magazine Sep 2004, Walk 3
Pubs - Worthy of a future blog


We just about manage to squeeze in our annual visit to the Lake District.  And god smiles on us with blue skies and October walking where no jacket is required.

5:30am alarm, refreshment at Tebay Services where two coffees and two bacon sandwiches require plastic (credit card, not fiver) and a further eye watering parking levy at the Old Sawmill Tea toom. 10:17am and we are boots on, ready to go.

This is a walk where you are either going uphill or downhill but always very steeply.  To get us in the mood, we head off into the woods, following forestry roads.  Mrs Mappiman shows how boxercise is paying off and I catch her looking at the phone to make sure she has a signal in case mountain rescue are required.

I'd like to say I am slow and steady.  Its more slow and stop.

Getting Left Behind

Early views of Bassenthwaite

2nd wind is found when we cross a stile and head out onto the mountainside of Carl Side.  Its steep but now feels like a proper mountain.  Geocache found, jacket off and frequent photos of the most jaw dropping views.  I only wish the photos could do them justice.

The Big Reveal

We are joined by Ruby the springer and her lady owner as we attempt to interpret the way up onto Skiddaw.  The paths don't really match the OS Map.  The shale must be constantly moving.  But we follow the most likely line of ascent, grateful that it is dry.

The reward - a couple of shelters, a trig point and a guide to the fells.  Finest lunch spot this year.

Skiddaw's Lunar Landscape

We also have views of our descent.  And its handsome.  Longside and Ullock Pike provide a fine and very easy ridge path down.  And of course, we have done the climbing, so despite our protesting thighs, this is a real pleasure.

We can also gently snigger at those climbing up.

Longside and Ullock Pike - Superb walking

And here's me walking it

We can also have a sneaky peak back at Skiddaw and marvel at the faint path that provided access.  A feeling of triumph that we conquered it.  It hardly looked possible from this view.

The faint path runs behind Sonia and then diagonally up Skiddaw

Ling How marks the end of the Ridge and reveals Bassenthwaite in all its glory.

Final Views

It's now a case of the final descent and walking back on a path that runs parallel with the road. Unfortunately, we failed to spot any red squirrels.

Water supplies had dwindled to nothing so we celebrate in style back at the tea rooms with a can of tango and a 7 up.  £3.60 to you, Mr Tourist.

Downed in one, we jump back into the car for what proves to be by far the biggest challenge of the day.  One that requires fortitude, patience, strength and cunning.

Finding a parking space in Keswick on a Saturday.

03/10/16 - The Good Beer Guide Pubs of Spitalfields

Walk Distance - 1 Mile
Geocaches - 0
Pubs - 3

Back in the smoke, with Mrs Mappiman keeping me company.  She's not been to Brick Lane and needs the experience of being cajoled into any one of the "best curry houses in the east end".

Pre meal drinks are in order and I consult the guide to see where to go.  Will it be the Golden Heart - last visit provided an encounter with Tracy Emin but more importantly Timothy Taylor?  Will it be the Ten Bells - last drinking place of one of Jack the Rippers victims and toilets that haven't changed since she used them?

There's only one way to find out - flip to page 287 and see where fate will take us.

The Kings Stores, Widegate Street, Hackney Brewery Golden Ale

Random BeerintheEvening Quote "Another pub of the bare floorboard and brickwork variety"

Located in one of the mazey narrow side streets between Liverpool Street Station and Curry Mile is this impressive building.

A Former Armoury - Located near Artillery Lane

Its one of those low lit, appeal to the "after work crowd" pubs.  Nothing wrong with it and for a Greene King boozer, it had a decent selection.  Not recognising any, I went local and golden for a decent pint from Hackney Brewery.

All perfectly acceptable.  Would I come again?  Maybe not.  Little to really set it apart from 1000 other pubs.

Low Lighting for the After Work Crowd

The Pride of Spitalfields, 3 Heneage Street, EBS

Random BeerintheEveing Quote - "A proper East End boozer that miraculously survives amid the gentrification of Brick Lane"

This is a gem of a pub.  I came here around 10 years ago following Bob Steel's Camra book of pub walks with a mate.  This was only pub he liked on a four pub crawl.

Architecturally, it appears to have been airlifted in from another location.  A building that looks like a pub in a completely non descript street.

Very busy - we peeped in through the net curtains, catching sight of the air guitar players enjoying Bryan Adams and knowing that we would have to join the throng of kerb side sitters outside.  ESB Served by a lady with a voice that sounded like Danny Dyers mom.

Damn Right they're in it.  Other outdoor photos unavailable due to people

Deservedly popular due to authenticity.  If only we hadn't been continually harassed for spare change and/or cigarettes.

Williams Ale and Cider House, 22 Artillery Lane, Trumans Rio

Random BeerintheEvening Quote - "Excellent pub that is now firmly on my "radar".

Brick lane discovered, it was time for one last pint before hitting the tube.

Handsome

9:30 on a Monday night and the after work crowd have decided to go home.  We have the place to ourselves, meaning that a) I can look for the cask marque certificate in peace and b) take my time checking the blackboard before making an order.

Cask and Keg, delineated

Trumans Rio was chosen - a brewery I genuinely thought had gone the way of the dodo.  I find another of their pints later in the week.

Similar to the Kings Stores but more choice of ales and more nick nacks to look at.

Worth seeking out if you ever find yourself in the area.

02/10/16 - Donnington Brewery and Stow on the Wold

Distance - 5 Miles
Geocaches - 1
Pub - The Queens Head, Stow on the Wold
Walk Inspiration - Jarrold Pathfinder, More Cotswolds Walks, Walk 18

A perfect day for walking meant that its a double walk weekend.  The weather simply couldn't be ignored.

We are off to the Cotswolds and Stow-on-the-Wold.  For the future Mappiman, town parking is free next to Tesco - itself sympathetically created in honey coloured stone.

This is a walk of "Ways".  Starts off on the Gloucestershire Way, takes in a touch of the Heart of England Way and then delivers you back into town on the Monarchs Way.  This is testament to the quality of the local countryside.

Early views from the Gloucestershire Way

The lanes take us through Upper Swell and along a track to the Donnington Brewery.  There's a long distance path of around 70 miles called "The Donnington Way" that takes in their tied houses.  Yes, its on my bucket list.

Their pubs are simply delightful.  You'll see this later in the blog.  I doubt there is a more bucolic brewery in the land.  And I include Hook Norton in that claim.

The Donnington Brewery

We make our way to the village the brewery was named after but first we have to climb to a site of historical interest.   In a sheep field is a monument with a little plaque, detailing the battle of Stow on the Wold of 1646.

Everything you need to know.  Roundheads won.

Next up is Broadwell, a lovely example of middle England.  The village surrounds a huge green, which makes a handy stop for lunch.  Just as soon as I have found the one geocache on the route. This was a previous DNF in 2010.  I have no idea why I made such hard work of it last time.

Lunch was not at the rather beautiful Fox Pub.  It wasn't quite open and Mrs Mappiman had got creative with the tin foil before setting out.  We sat at the monument stone watching the only child in the village play football with his dad.

Broadwell Village Green

This is what a Donnington Tied House looks like

A quick 1.5 miles back to Stow, along the Monarch Way on a green lane that offers some superb views.

Views on the Monarchs Way

We are delivered into Stow.  There's plenty of choice for post walk refreshments.  None of the pubs are in the 2017 Good Beer Guide, so I am prepared to take pot luck.  Talk of entering a tea shop was quickly dismissed as pure folly.

So what to go for?  Another potential claimant to England's Oldest Pub?

No, I am a frequenter of St Albans Fighting Cocks and profess allegiance

How about the only Cask Marque pub, the White Hart?

That's me in the Window

We went in.  We were greeted by a hearty hello from the barman.  I saw it was an Arkells House.  We quickly did a 180 and left.  Sonia said I should have explained why.  I would merely have pointed the bemused barman to my blogs of the Wiltshire leg of the Ridgeway - where a decent pint could not be found.

The answer was staring at us from the other side of the Market Square.

Its a Donnington Tied House - The Queens Head

If you asked a tourist to paint a picture of a quintessential English boozer, this would be it.  Hops hanging from the rafters.  Stone flagged floor.  Wooden furniture with some hand made soft furnishing.  Nicnacs.  A grumpy lady moaning about chips.  Everything was present and correct.

Two Real Ales from the Brewery

Donnington BB

The only concession to the 21st Century was free WiFi.  I used it to validate the Porch House's claim. Unsure if a Saxon shoe in a chimney is proof enough.

I also determined the Donnington Brewery was founded by a descendant of the Arkells brewing dynasty.