Ian

Going to have to start a business exporting sparklers to London.

13/06/25 - The Good Beer Guide Pubs of Deal, Kent 2 Micros, a Trad and a 'Spoons Tea I've wanted to visit Deal. Famous for smuggling, naval history and the only pier in Kent open to the publ...

Good Beer Guide Ticking in Deal, Kent

Two Micros and a Trad. Plus a 'spoons for Jaipur at an obscenely cheap £2.29.

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05/06/25 - Goathland, for the Birch Hall Inn at Beck Hole Heartbeat, with Nick Berry If you ever need cheering up, check out the TripAdvisor reviews for the Goathland Hotel. 2.8 and falling. AI Sum...

Ticking off a pub on my bucket list.... the Birch Hall Inn, at Beck Hole near Goathland.

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04/06/25 - Runswick Bay to Staithes for the Cod and Lobster Civilised Opening Hours As fine a coastal walk as you could hope for. Lung bursting ups and downs, dramatic (and crumbling) high cliffs and ...

Perfect walk from Runswick Bay to Staithes in North Yorkshire.

Balance between coast, an interesting village and shady dingley dell woods.

Cod and Lobster pub a civilsed 10am opener for Timothy Taylor with a sea view.

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I turned there on Easter Monday without knowing Kiddy were playing Hereford. First I was asked which team I supported by a never before seen bouncer, then I saw the Bathams was in plastic cups.

I'll do anything for love but I won't do that.

New Pub Walk: 6 miles from Good Beer Guide Recommended Kings Arms, Salcombe.

Beautiful walk, questionable inclusion, expensive and poorest pint of the week so far.

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14/04/25 - The Waterfall, Old Hill Holdens Hours Lead to BCA Benefit Mrs M looked rather bemused when I tell her I am off to Old Hill for a walk. Bemusement leads to hilarity ...

New Pub Walk.... 5 Miles from Old Hill, West Midlands.

When Holdens pubs have strange opening hours, you can always rely on Black Country Ales. They've got a blueprint and they're going to keep to it.

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01/04/25 - The Sodburys Finding Palmers 200 North of Somerset Easy transport links from the Midlands to Yate. A fairly non-descript town of dead pubs and new build ...

New Pub Walk: Discovering the Sodburys in South Gloucestershire.

Finding iron age hillforts, martyred bible translators but most importantly Palmers 200 at the Horseshoe, Chipping Sodbury.

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Like a budding Pevensie, I have found the secret passage to Narnia.

I was walking the towpath back to Wolverhampton. I am now drinking cask Jaipur for £2.79.

18/03/25 - Winchombe, Belas Knapp and Brockhampton Bells, Barrows and Barstools First visit to Winchcombe since the nonsense of the COVID Lock-downs. Spring is certainly the time to come. St...

New Pub Walk:

A return to WInchcombe, Gloucestershire for a fine Cotswold walk.

Post hike refreshments at The Lion.
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Bathams now permanent, bus stop opposite - I concur! I just need to learn how to spell Alveley correctly :-)

13/03/25 - West Midland Way - Stage 6½ - Kinver to Alverley The Campaign for Comfy Chairs in Pubs Starts Here Walk 15 Miles, when you have to catch four buses to reach the start and return at the hike...

West Midlands Way Stage 6 - The 15 Mile original route significantly reduced.

I couldn't resist 90 minutes in "Shropshire's Oldest Pub". The Three Horseshoes, Alverley.

Now in the Good Beer Guide. Now selling Bathams.

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😄😄 Brilliant. I'd have just gone in, once I'd committed to opening the door.

10/03/25 - Duddeston to Witton - An AZ City Walk Britain's Toughest Pub... Britain's Deadest Pub Street There are certain TV programmes that really stick in the mind. Broadcast in 2004 on S...

Any one remember Britain's Toughest Pubs on Sky?

My walk from Duddeston to Witton took me past Birmingham's long dead Sportsman.

Regulars protecting their loopy juice by dropping in a false eye when they went to loo. Or drinking from a false leg.

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03/03/25 - Wolverhampton to Moseley Old Hall From Priest Holes to the Posada A 14 Mile Walk in Country Walking Magazine has the half way point at the National Trust's Old Moseley Hall. ...

Monday Afternoon in Wolverhampton.

When the Great Western is too obvious, head to the Posada.

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Today's Listening.... ROTD 30 Years ago today, PJ Harvey's swampy blues, To Bring You My Love.

24/02/25 - Good Beer Guide Pubs of Ulverston Population Representation Discrepancies  The question I have is "Does Ulverston have the highest Good Beer Guide Pubs by population?" Barrow...

The Good Beer Guide Pubs of Ulverston.

AI unable to provide the answer to "Which town has the highest number of Good Beer Guide pubs by population".

A betting man might say "Ulverston".

5/7 visited, 4/7 achieved.

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Relentless..... Feels like 80 episodes in each series.

Did you find the bullet holes?

Today's listening..... ROTD 1980, Blondie's first number 1, Atomic.

Album sounds so fresh now.

21/02/25 - The Pubs of Spark Bridge and Lowick Bridge Opening Hours A grim Friday at the edge of the Lake District. The planned six mile walk has to be halved. We will look for sanctuary in pubs...

Bad weather day - so checking out the three pubs in Lowick Bridge, Lowick Green and Spark Bridge in remote Cumbria.

Getting to grips with random opening hours, including - and this is a first - closed on Fridays and Saturdays!

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19/02/25 - Dalton-In-Furness Abbey Agri-Cultural An attempt to beat the rain. Ruby the Border Terrier is rudely awakened at the unholy of 8:15am to be whisked off to Goose Gre...

Barrow-in-Furness. Population 67K has one Good Beer Guide Pub. Nearby Ulverston, Pop. 11K has 7.

More investigation required, starting with a six mile walk from Dalton-In-Furness Abbey. Where we were too early for the Clarence🙃

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18/02/25 - Cathedral Cavern and the Three Shires Inn, Little Langdale Local's Knowledge During doggie handover, our hosts recommended this walk. Sometimes, you need to listen to those in the know. After yesterd...

Decided it better to look at the mountains from the valley, than the valley from the mountains.

Delightful walk to Three Shires Inn, Little Langdale. Cathedral Cavern, Slaters Bridge and Loweswater Gold all highlights,

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17/02/25 - Dow Crag Walna Scar Road - only for the fearless Every year, I like to walk at least one Wainwright. I currently sit at 87 completed. There are 214. ...

Ticking off a Wainwright deserves a decent reward.

Dow Crag for a Coniston Bluebird XB at one of my favourite pubs in the land. The Black Bull.

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Today's Listening... Recorded OTD 1970, The Who Live at Leeds.

Today's Listening.... ROTD 1982, XTC English Settlement.

Didn't make it to the end.

Invented a game.... Bathams roulette.

Revisit in Liverpool.

Today's Listening..... ROTD 2008, Duffy with Rockferry.

A place I won't be a million miles from later today.

05/02/25 - The Bell at Bell End Fnarr, Fnarr There used to be a road sign at Bell End. We can only assume that Finbar Saunders had it away to display with all the other rud...

New Pub Walk - Using my 1960s Historic Inns of Worcestershire book, I explore the Bell at Bell End.

Not many pubs would have appeared on Sexton's 1577 map of Staffordshire. Now a gastropub saved by its rather smashing inglenook fire.

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