One for the Connoisseur

This is a sight for sore eyes. It was the first Saturday of the month (April – no one can ever accuse me of keeping this blog up to date). It was Grand National Day but more importantly Connoisseur Ales Tap in St Helens were holding their monthly opening. And showcasing their rather attractive fungi.……

21st Century Knights on Speyside

An eclectic selection of new Good Beer Guide entries in North East Scotland includes a Hilton Hotel, an unspoilt howff, a pub revived from deeply unpromising circumstances and a gift shop/cafe/brewpub that showcases the distinctive artwork of Lorna Pirrie (above). Yours for £750 (price excludes the Hilton). That picture is called 21st Century Knights and……

Malta: Browns, Bells, Birds and Beer

Malta is a densely populated island with a charming capital, hospitable people, much quirkiness and the peal of church bells in every town and village. It was British until 1964 and they drive on the left, or more usually in the centre, as comic Mark Steel recently pointed out. The warm brown limestone (“industrial Cotswold”……

There’s Nobody Inn

Well you try making up a title when the pub name is already a pun. The Nobody Inn might sound like a trendy new micropub that sells lychee stout and coal tar flavoured crisps but it is actually a classic 15th Century thatched Devon pub. It was last day of our south west odyssey, spoiled……

Cornwall Rocks

Followers of http://brapa-4500.blogspot.com/?m=1 will know Cornwall is one of Simon’s designated counties. How he manages some of these by public transport is wondrous. The Mill House at Trebarwith Strand will test him once again. It sits in a wooded hollow above a steep descent to the north coast (above). It serves beers from Tintagel, brewed……

Disaster in George’s Nympton

Life is full of simple truths. One is that when you are going to a remote, far distant pub, first check its social media posts to make sure it’s open. Did that and phew, nothing to worry about at the Castle, George’s Nympton in rural North Devon. No indication that it might not be open……

The Dishonourable Member for the Isle of Wight

Warning. This blog contains explicit images. Our annual three hour holiday to the Isle of Wight began innocently enough at Joe’s Bar in Niton. It had a cafe and post office out front and a small bar at the back, selling Salopian Gold on our visit. Joe’s had a strong whiff of entrepreneurial spirit. There……