Quote:
Originally Posted by Lons
Good news mate, we can compare shaving gels.
I'm sure A understood that the chance to see the lesser-spotted Morgan was not one that should be passed up.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lons
Good news mate, we can compare shaving gels.
I'm sure A understood that the chance to see the lesser-spotted Morgan was not one that should be passed up.
Not been a good start to the day so far. Was just preparing today's breakfast of tea and choccy biscuits when I decided it would be a good idea to chuck the mugful of hot water down my leg (minus trousers) ! This certainly woke me up but i'm not sure it will help me walk around Glasgow today. Ah well, will have to just take it easy and rest in a few more pubs than usual !!Quote:
Originally Posted by Millay
Time for some Bottom humour.
At least you didn't miss both your legs.
Or the Train to Manchester, which is much the same thing.
Well after a hearty breakfast I said a fond farewell to those nice folks at Hilton and caught the fast bus to the centre. Thought about a quick pint in the Halfway House but all those steps put me off, especially with a suitcase with dodgy wheels.Having booked rthrough Virgin Trains I was expecting a nice comfortable Pendolino or something, instead I'm on an old three coach Trans Pennine Express train with a screaming kid in the next carriage. At least here in First Class (well what did you expect) I've got a bit of room and free snacks, no beer though :(. Frankly I expect more of a national railway, even a Scottish one.
The Internet connection is slower than a lazy sloath but I've managed to do my each way bet on Sentry Duty and also put it into an each way Canadian which will return £113k if they all win, or bugger all if they don't, which is more likely.
I've had a text from Grailhunter, he made it to Glasgow and has found the Horseshoe Bar where he's enjoying a £1.69 pint of Deuchars, I hope it's better than the one we had in the Central Bar last night.
If that kid doesn't stop effing screaming :mad::mad:, Oh it has, someone must have strangled it, I think there was a queue.
I had a pint of Hildens Gael Rua in the Regal Moon in Rochdale last night. It was bloody awful as well. :moremad:Quote:
Originally Posted by Millay
I think he's been watching too many of those Naked Chef TV programmes :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Conrad
I'm glad it wasn't just me then. It didn't taste off just bloody awful, a sort of astringent herby ethanol taste, difficult to describe really.Quote:
Originally Posted by ROBCamra
That effing kid has started screaming again :moremad::moremad: and we've got another two hours to go yet.
Just seen a sign for a baby changing facility, might suggest to it's mother that she uses it, and changes it for a quieter one
Just seen Albertas Run romp home in the 2:40 at 14/1, now need Sentry Duty to do the same in the next and I might actually be in credit with Messrs Ladbrokes.
No further success at Cheltenham so it looks like I won't be collecting.
Checked in to the Britannia Hotel on Portland Street, a bit too close to Yates's for my liking but it will do. Nice old building but a bit of a comedown from the Hilton. I'm going to have to rough it from here on in, three star hotel and cattle class home on Monday. I've stayed here before and hoped I wouldn't get one of the 'turret rooms', right at the top as the lift doesn't go to the top floor. No such luck though, you'd think they'd take pity on a fat bloke turning up with a heavy suitcase and do him a favour. Never mind I have a nice view of the planes circling ready to land at Manchester Airport. With my luck that screaming kid and its family from the train will be staying in the next room.
Now the sensible thing would be to have a stroll around Manchester, get something to eat and maybe get an early night ready for tomorrow's excesses. Nah, this is Manchester, far too many pubs to be explored for all that tosh. As this is Manchester it's raining (I think it's the law) but I'm going to pop up to Oldham Street and check out the Castle and this new City Inn place, maybe the Smithfield, and there's a place on the way to Piccadilly that I saw once before but it was closed, may try to find that. Right everything ready, camera, notebook, Scottish notes to piss off the Mancs, yes got everything. See you later.
Have a look in Bar Fringe between the Crown and Kettle and the Smithfield (right hand side as you walk down). Usually 5 beers and they have a motorcycle mounted on one of the walls.
Well nothing from Millay since this afternoon so assume he must still be out and about in Manchester. He's going to regret it tomorrow as he has the early start for the big day.
I've made it back from Glasgow and am having a lazy evening in the hotel - sorry Travelodge - nursing my burns from this morning's incident. Thought about pouring some ice cold Carlsberg Export over my leg but think it probably needs more than mere fizzy water to do any good.
I managed to find the three national invetory pubs in Glasgow I was looking for. The Horseshoe bar which I liked although it wasn't as grand as I had imagined, and i must admit the A board outside advertising the 'legendary Karaoke 7 nights a week' was pretty horrifying. Still Deuchars at £1.69 was a welcome change from Edinburgh prices.
Next stop was Sloan's in Argyll Street. Quite liked it in here as well but the pint of Wychwood Paddy's Tout at £3.30 was a tad sobering !
On to the Steps Bar where I was horrified to find no real ale. It just seems so wrong that a historic pub on the national inventory offers only fizzy P***. Liked it in here too, but the 7 regulars all staring at the TV and not saying a word made it a little uncomfortable.
Talking of uncomfortable, by this time my leg was demanding some rest so I ambled off to the bus station for the £1 coach journey back to Edinburgh.
Moving on to Manchester tomorrow where I'll be meeting up with FP (Chris) while Millay does his thing with his Gold Cup friends. Then saturday we combine forces for a concerted attack on the hostelries of Salford and Manchester. Could be a long weekend but the stamina is holding up at the moment.
A little warm up tonight for tomorrow's activities.
First off was the Crown & Anchor on Hilton St, the pub that I had found closed on a previous visit. Decent place clean and tidy with comfy seating, a pool table and large screen TV. Three ales that were not that inspiring, had a Deuchars and on the basis they were serving me a Scottish beer I felt justified in paying with a Scottish note - which was accepted with good grace.
Next on to Oldham Street and the Castle. All the knick knacks and the macabre mosaic have gone so for those that knew it before it's lost a bit of character. Had a pint of Robinsons Dragon Fire (?).
Over the road to the allegedly up and coming City Pub. Reminded me a bit of the Smithfield in layout and atmosphere, if not in beer selection. Three ales on, one of which was a 6% Imperial Stout that I imagine will attract Grailhunter's eye when he arrives. Had the Atlas City Pride which was far from good but not so much that you'd send it back, well not in this place anyway. Most of the punters were drinking keg Boddies, lager or Guinness. I wouldn't want to judge the pub on one visit and one pint but it does look to have some way to go yet to become one of Manchester's real ale crawl pubs.
Off to the Crown & Kettle and a pint of their own ale brewed by the Greenfield Brewery. Seems they've given up on doing anything with the ceiling and just have a net to stop any falling masonery.
Couldn't really see the pumps at Bar Fringe and went for a half of Boggarts ESP. So many good and dangerous beers though including an 8% La Chouffe and that bright orange cider stuff.
Dropped in at the Burton Arms Hotel out of curiosity and had a pint of Holts Bitter. Pool table, TV, more staff than customers.
In the Smithfield I saw something called Father Jack with the eponymous gentleman on the pump clip (the bloke from the TV show not a_e_m) so had to have a pint of that. It seemed to be badged as their own brew but they told me it was an Anglo Dutch thing. Since I was last here they've moved the pool table from the front of the bar to a side area.
Not sure why I went to the Wheatsheaf other than I was passing and it was a pub that I'd not been in before. Not a great place, no real ale, had a JD & Coke which singled me out as a prat with the locals. Got chatting to an Irish guy about St Paddys day. Never understood a word he was saying and I suspect he was the same.
Apart from a bottle of Peroni in the hotel restaurant (and I use the word loosely) whilst waiting for some food (loosely again), that was it for the night. I'll add some proper reviews and maybe a crawl when I'm a little more sober.
Well that's a phrase I never thought I'd use. Not that I can see much of it stuck up here with the Gods. It does however mean I'm closer to the sun and can see it raising it's weary head for the inevitable start of another day, rather like myself really. Just had a quick look at what I posted last night and it's surprisingly intelligible. I have added a couple of bit though and corrected some typos and grammatical errors.
Not really sure why I'm up this early, force of habit I suppose, plus a desire to provide you good people with your morning dose of stunning prose. Give me half an hour and I'll let you know what the day ahead might hold. I should probably do it now as I may not remember by the end.
Well I've just checked the return on yesterday's bets and they hold not one single solitary penny, not even a Matabele Barter Bead. But am I downhearted, no I'm not. I've decided to follow the same long odds policy today with the main bet being an each-way Yankee on Tawaag, Quel Esprit, Tricky Trickster and Baltahzar KIng. If that lot all come in I'll be £15k richer :pray:. Also had some other silly bets including one that will potentially return £56k for a £2.20 stake, I have a feeling that's £2.20 I won't be seeing again. :rolleyes:
I called into Bar Fringe last night and had a half but it's really the sort of place you want to stay awhile and explore what's on offer. Maybe when Grailhunter arrives we'll go back.Quote:
Originally Posted by gillhalfpint
Well, what might today hold. If it's anything like usual we'll meet up in the Wetherspoons on Deansgate (not as bad as the one on Piccadilly) and from there we'll trawl around Manchesters pubs trying to find the cheapest pint of John Smiths Smooth. Having said that, last year we spent most of the day in the Egerton Arms by Salford Central Station which is a Holts pub so had some real ale. I find that it does become a bit bland after a while and apparently last year I switched to large JD & cokes fairly early. I shall try not to make that same mistake again.
The Guinness & Gold Cup Tour is a regular one for me and I've been coming up to Manchester to meet this same group of drunkards for a number of years now. The exception was 2008 when we broke with tradition and went to Hamburg for a 50th Birthday. The players in todays action are all blokes I've known for a few years, mainly from these events and some from a business perspective. I was going to introduce them all to you but then realised that I've done all this before for the Hamburg trip. OK it was a couple of years ago and whilst they may be redder of face and larger of waist I'm sure they're much the same. So being lazy I'm going to direct you to this link to my report of 15 Blokes in Hamburg which was written for a travel website I use, so I couldn't be too rude about the Germans :p
This is quite a long report but if you have 20 minutes of your life that you don't really need then it might be worth a read. You'll also meet the mysterious Lons who a few posts ago seemed to be having an issue with my morning beauty regime.
One man not on the Hamburg tour who is likely to be arriving this afternoon is The Happy Frenchman. Named after a pub in Folkestone when he made a surprise appearance on that tour having got the St Malo to Portsmouth ferry and driven half way around the South coast to announce himself in the pub with the immortal words "Avez vous un decent beer around here sil vous plait". The Happy Frenchman is actually Dave M from Bristol, although he assures me he has nothing to do with this website, plus he's a Gashead and now living somewhere in the middle of rural France.
Right, that's my morning duty done for you lot, and will probably be it for the day. A shower and a bit of breakfast then off to meet the chaps :cheers:
Well it seems Millay has done some good reconisance, reconesance, looking around work in Manchester. That 6% Imperial Stout in the City Inn definitely sounds attractive. No doubt with my luck it will have just gone by the time I get there.
The leg is feeling much better today I'm happy to report, the sun is shining, the stomach is settled and the throat is thirsty so I'm raring to go.
Off to the airport now for the short flight to Manchester (I know carbon footprint and all that but it's not like I do this every day, and it was as cheap as the train).
Spoke with FP Chris last night and he has told me he will meet me in Yates in Portland Street. This is the infamous establishment that Millay is so fond of (check out his review of it). Think I will be gesticulating a few signs through the window when I get there rather than crossing the threshold. Better still, maybe I'll just text him and tell him to meet me in the City Inn.
Have a good day all. Good luck if you're backing a horse or two.
Whaaaat??? Unless you are checking out the veracity of Millay's masterpeice just don't do it! You're in sight of the Circus Tavern, Grey Horse & Old Monkey over the road, & short walk from the City Arms (Kennedy St) and Waterhouse next door (a good spoons I discovered last week). Good luck whichever direction you take.Quote:
Originally Posted by Grailhunter
By the way, well done to Big Buck's on an excellent performance in the Stayers' yesterday and the first fav to win one of the principle races (tho the whole meeting has been a blood-bath for punters), but I was almost hoping he'd fail. Why? Well, what the hell is that apostrophe doing in his name???
I'm not particularly good this morning, but nothing that a double shot of Resolve Extra shouldn't sort out. The remnants of a fish supper are in evidence which I have vague memories of picking up on the long walk back to the hotel around 11pm last night. The day started at 10:15am with a Breakfast Bloomer at JDW on Deansgate and from then on consisted of a large number of beers, Thwaits Wainwright in JDW then Holts Bitter at the Egerton Arms until the inevitable decline towards Mr Jack Daniels and Karaoke. I did manage to sneak out with the Happy Frenchman for a chat and we visited the nearby New Oxford and Kings Arms. Grailhunter will I am sure like both pubs, I'm sure I recall seeing a chocolate stout, and I think we'll go back today.
GH should have arrived in Manchester yesterday as should have Chris, or Fizzy Piss (FP) as he should be known after the Bath Tour, who I think is checked into this hotel. The Happy Frenchman is also possibly staying somewhere in the City Centre and we made vague plans to meet up today before he gets a train to Ipswich. But that's all in the future, what I need now is another couple of hours kip and to let that Resolve Extra kick in.
Goodness, that 'K' word simply jumped off the page!!! I'm not sure your sensitive readers are going to be able to cope with the gruesome details of such a slippery slope Millay...Quote:
Originally Posted by Millay
I'm pleased to say that I did not succumb, but as for our resident Karaoke King Andy, well we couldn't get the mike away from him. Thankfully Martin didn't turn up, his rendition of Benny Hill's Ernie last year is one that is not easily forgotten.Quote:
Originally Posted by trainman
How it pours, pours, pours, in a never ending sheet
How it drives beneath the doors, how it soaks the passer's feet
How it rattles on the shutter, how it rumples up the lawn
How 'twill sigh and moan and mutter, from darkness until dawn.
Well dawn has come and gone and it's still bleeding raining. Not ideal crawling weather but the forecast for tomorrow looks more promising. I'm not sure if we made any definite plans for today, although it's loosley based on Manchester around midday then into Salford later to maybe meet up with ROBCamra. I need to round up the troops and see who is around. The Happy Frenchman either stayed with Andy or checked into the Britannia Sachas, maybe Andy stayed there as well. Chris should be in this hotel somewhere or out walking in the rain. Grailhunter fell for one of those Lenny Henry adverts and has booked a cheap Premier Inn somewhere on the Scottish border. Actually it's somewhere out near Swinton.
Just had a call from him, he's on his way to Manchester and we're meeting in the Piccadilly Wetherspoons for breakfast at 10:30. Let's see if the Happy Frenchman is around.
Left you a PM Millay.Quote:
Originally Posted by Millay
We're off to The Crescent at Salford Crescent this afternoon. Hope to meet up with the merry bloggers later around Salford Central.
I think I'll start drinking now to be at the same level by the time we meet up. :D
When you've had a long day drinking, as we did on Friday, it's usually half way through the next day when you start remembering what happened and people bring up events in conversation that you either hadn't remembered or had missed. Well yesterday there were two events that came to light falling into the second category. On the basis of 'what happens on tour stays on tour', there will be no names mentioned here :cool:
Firstly there is the tale of one of our party wrestling on the floor of a pub with a big bird in a pink dress who at one stage was attempting to wrap her legs around his head (this apparently constitutes foreplay in Manchester). On extricating himself from this precarious situation he was found to have lost his glasses, which were later found in a mangled mess on the floor. Somehow he managed to find his way home though.
Another tale is of a gentleman propositioned by a lady of dubious virtue outside a fish & chip shop. You know what it's like, you're innocently tucking into a late night supper and someone wants to talk about 'business'. You don't know whether to hold onto your virtue, your wallet or your chips. Thankfully our nameless tourist held onto all three. Apparently there was some confusion in that he enquired about getting hold of some tartar sauce and ended up with a saucy tart - well at least that's what the court will be told anyway :whistle:
My apologies for not providing your nightly entertainment yesterday, I didn't even fire up the magic box last night, you can blame ROBCamra for that. After four days on tour I had rather 'hit the wall', I was feeling a little jaded and looking forward to a quiet day, well that's how it started but it wasn't how it finished.
The day started exactly as the previous one had, with breakfast and a pint of Thwaits Wainwright in a Wetherspoons, this time the one on Piccadilly. A truely awful place that warranted a police presence even at 10:30 in the morning. Along with it always having to rain, I discovered another law in Manchester, on a Saturday morning everyone is required to dig out their best tracksuit and have breakfast in a Wetherspoons. The Happy Frenchman joined us and I was the last to arrive finding that Chris' influence had worn off on them and they were all sitting there drinking FP :(
After that experience we then went walking in the rain to the Crown & Kettle where we eased ourselves a little further into the day with a couple of pints watching the first half of the Villa v Wolves game. Beers were Longboat from somewhere and Titanic's White Star. As the rain eased we headed towards the station and said our farewells to The Happy Frenchman who was heading back home, via Ipswich, via London. So just the three of us now, me Grailhunter and Chris. We had a pint in the Crown & Anchor (Deuchars, Landlord and Fosters) then walked to Piccadilly to pick up a bus to Salford.
Eschewing the scene of the previous day's activities (the Egerton Arms) I took the guys to the New Oxford, a fantastic pub with somewhere around 15 handpumps and about a dozen proper lagers for FP to choose from. Beers that spring to mind are Simply Stout from local Rochdale brewery Greenmile, Run of the Mill from Arkwrights, Boggarts ESP and Reverend Day (?). We pumped a small fortune into the quiz machine and I was starting to get over my jaded feeling and finding my drinking head again. This was just as well as we were about to encounter Mr & Mrs ROBCamra who, after a couple more in the New Oxford, took us in a tour of the local area.
(Hang on a sec, just going to put the kettle on and make myself a cup of tea - mustn't make the same mistake as Grailhunter though, he's still walking funny)
First stop was the Kings Head where I'd called into briefly the previous day. A good pub this with a fair bit of history. Beer of choice was a Walk on the Mild Side but they seemed to have had a busy afternoon and many of the clips were turned around. Off next to what appeared to be the entrance to a subway but turned out to be a decent little cellar bar, the Mark Addy. Had a nice Leprechaun Stout from the Banktop Brewery. We said farewell to Grailhunter now who, to be fair, did have a long journey ahead of him back to his hotel. Final stop was the Black Lion where conversation flowed as effortlessly as the beer. ROBC went for a Full Malty and my eye was caught by the range of bottled bers from the St Bernardus brewery. These range from around 5.5% up to the blue labelled one that comes in at around 10%, can you guess which one I went for? :rolleyes:
That just about finished my 'quiet' day. It was good to meet up with Mr & Mrs ROBCamra (and I got to know where the name was derived from). It also gave them a chanced to tick off another couple of PG members as I believe they have met a few of you over recent months. Chris and I headed back to the Centre and I graciously let him 'dump the old boy' and go off clubbing somewhere. As for myself I returned to the hotel and considered ordering room service but fell asleep before I could do so. Well at least I think I did, let me check outside the door for a cold pizza. No it's OK nothing there.
Today is the day of the Stockport pub crawl. I'm still not sure what route we'll be taking but I think trainman's suggestion of doing the Crown first is a good one, then we'll try to get to as many of the Swan with Two Necks, Queens Head, Arden Arms, Railway and Ye Olde Vic as we can.
Grailhunter should be on the 5:40am Cross-Country Express arriving Manchester Piccaddilly around 11am and Chris and I will take the short stroll to meet him there. It's possible that Andy might meet up with us at some stage if he has recovered from Friday.
I'm not sure how much blame I should be taking when after a long days drinking someone's final two beers of choice are a pint of 6% stout followed by a 10% bottle of Belgian loopy juice. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Millay
We arrived at Salford Crescent station at about 3:40 and set off on the wet walk to The Crescent. This is a fine old pub that is in desperate need of some TLC. It’s recently had a paint job on the outside, so here’s hoping for something on the inside.
There were the usual fine array of cask ales on the bar along with a couple of real ciders, although how exactly Saxon’s Cherry & Pear cider can be called a cider I don’t know. :confused: A couple of pints here Summer Wine Strata & Coastal May Bee for me and two halves of Mallinsons Crescent for Ms CAMRA.
We then set off for the New Oxford. We entered the pub, had a look at the many beers and I chose Rapscallion from Northern brewery and Ms CAMRA chose red wine. There were 3 guys at the end of the bar near the quiz machine and as we sat down I said “I’ll bet those guys are Millay and crew”. I phoned Millay and sure enough one of the guys pulled out his phone. Contact made. We then joined Millay, Grailhunter and Chris at the end of the bar.
Another pint followed, Northumberland’s John Beresford for me and we then took the short walk down to the Kings Head where as Millay has already mentioned Allgates Walk on the Mild Side was the beer of choice.
Another short walk around the corner to the newly refurbished Mark Addy. This has been a pub on the slide for some time now but it was bought by the chef Robert Owen Brown last October and has been transformed. It’s a bit gastro but not overly so and has 4 handpumps on the bar. TT Landlord + 3 changing guests. A pint of Wyre Piddle Piddle On The Pump for me.
After that we retraced our steps a bit and headed off to The Black Lion. This is another recently reopened and transformed pub under the same Management as the New Oxford. Grailhunter had departed along the way to find transport to his distant hotel. Chris was in his element drinking Stroparama (aka Staropramen), Ms CAMRA was still on the red wine, I had a pint of Wentworth Full Malty & a Funny Bunny from Northern, Millay had loopy juice.
Once again as is usual on these days out a wormhole opened and after discussing everything from beer to holidays to beer to pubs etc (I don’t think we got around to Finnish Scrabble (see the Rogerb blog) but given time we would have) it was time to leave.
Millay & Chris headed back to Piccadilly, we caught the train home and then ordered a Lamb Jalfrezi & a Lamb Kharai to be delivered.
A fine day out. Plenty of good beer, good company and a curry to finish it off. What more could you want? Thanks guys, let’s do it again next time you’re around town. :cheers:
I'll second that, a very enjoyable afternoon, thanks for showing us around.Quote:
Originally Posted by ROBCamra
Are we really in danger of losing this Test Match to cricketing minnows Bangladesh. We seemed to be determined to play for the draw from the first ball and the run rate is something akin to an apathetic sloath.
Right, how did Sunday start, well the first thing to report is that for the second time on this tour we had a fire alarm at the hotel. According to a couple I was chatting to in the lift it was about 2:30am and most of the guests were herded out onto the streets. I on the other hand was oblivious to the whole thing, I suspect we have no alarms up in the turret rooms, they just let us burn. Chris said he did hear it but it only went on for about 5 seconds and as he thought it was the phone he went back to sleep.
It was therefore with some good fortune that we were alive and well to meet Grailhunter from the Cross-Country Express. A quick breakfast we thought, and there's a cafe just outside Piccadilly Station called Antonios which, despite hundreds of Southerners pouring out of the station for the Man Utd game, was surprisingly empty. We found out why when we went in, the service wasa best described as comedic. Once they'd managed to throw the tramp out we went to the counter and ordered three breakfasts and found a table. Just as we were sitting down we were hollered at to come and get our mugs of tea, two minutes later a similar holler and the fastest full breakfast I've seen was ready for collection, then the toast. When we got round to actually eating it I think we all agreed that this was one of the worst breakfasts we'd had, and we decided that the tramp may well have been a mystery shopper from Egon Ronay.
A call from Andy told us that he'd got an hours pass from the other half and we arranged to meet him in the Crown and set off on the 11:35 train for the Stockport Pub Crawl.
We initially got off to a bad start following trainman's instructions to leave the station via the exit by Platform 6, we could only find 4 :confused: But we got it right in the end and headed down to The Crown. Got a little lost and ended up circumnavigating the bus station then asked a driver if he knew where the pub was. He said he wasn't good on pubs but thought there was one up the road just past a Kwik Fit place and a shop that sold clothes for big men. Why he felt the need to impart that last bit of advice I know not but it was sufficient for us to find the Crown, and Andy was already there. Fantastic pub 12 + handpumps with beers displayed on a chalkboard. Two parts to the bar and three nice looking snug rooms. I went for the Pictish Sonnet then a Ninkasi Bitter from the Vale Brewery. A pork pie supplemented the disappointing breakfast. Grailhunter took a walk on the dark side with the award-winning Rudgate Ruby Mild (not to be confused with the award-winning Maxtrad) and a Tar Barl stout from Allendale.Chris was predictably on the FP. Andy necked a few of the Sonnets before his other half very wisely came to pick him up.
The barman gave us directions to the Swan with Two Necks which we found fairly easily. A Robbies House which appeared at first to only have the Unicorn on. This prompted Grailhunter to have a momentary aberration and order a lager :eek: Nice little pub with a small front bar, a drinking corridor and two attractive snugs at the rear. CAMRA newsletters available and we read up on some of the local pubs. Next was a walk though the shopping centre and we managed to tempt Grailhunter away from the kids merry-go-round. He'd bought one of these go anywhere all modes of transport ticket things and wanted to get his monies worth. Found the Queens Head, a tiny Sam Smiths pub that looks like it hasn't changed in 50 years. It was quite busy and we did have to keep Chris under control when a bunch of permatan Northern chavesses on a beano from Blackpool turned up but it was an enjoyable visit.
A bit less enjoyable was the walk up the steps to Market Place. We lost our bearings a little but eventually found the Arden Arms with the help of, or perhaps in spite of, the map that GH had picked up from the Tourist Information Centre. I mean it didn't even have any pubs marked, what use is that. The pub confusingly has it's pumps behind the bar instead of on the bar and on first look we could only see Unicorn and Hatters Mild. It was only when we were about to leave that we saw three other pumps. They did seem a bit obsessed with food in here and much of the pub was set up for diners. We sat out on the decking in the beer 'garden' and Grailhunter entertained us with his amazing ability to identify aircraft as they flew overhead - sad fokker ;)
The next pub was actually off the map but we found it quite easily. The guys were convinced I'd got it wrong and that the pub must be called the Railway Porter but on arrival we found that it was indeed the Porters Railway. Very scruffy from the outside but proving that you should never judge a pub by it's exterior we found an absolute gem inside. Eleven handpumps, draught continental beers and a fridge full of Belgian, German and various other bottled beers, all shown along with their ABV's and prices on chalboards. Beer really is the star in this place and everyone seemed to be drinking something special, not a Boddies or a John Smiths Smooth in sight.
We started on the Pennine Pitch Porter which was very good. Chris had an Amstel but then on the second round he had some sort of epiphany and agreed to join Grailhunter with a Boon Geuze - perhaps this pub has magical powers as well :notworthy: I went for a cheeky little Duchess de Bourgogne for which they even found the correct glass. Chris surprised us again by saying he'd have another Geuze but they'd run out. He was offered a Boon Kriek instead which he was convinced tasted just like a Cherry Ski Yoghurt. I went for a Chimay Red but Grailhunter went for the trophy beer, the 10% Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, which poured from the bottle slower than a Geoff Boycott run rate.
We now needed to address our strategy, it was still too early for the Olde Vic but if we walked back that way we could stop off somewhere on the way. The idea of walking didn't find much favour and the barman helpfully suggested that the Magnet was a good pub and not too far away (another on trainman's list) and called us a cab. Another pub that takes it's beer seriously, indeed when someone mention the F word the barmaid replied "Fosters? I wouldn't wash my dog in it". I went for the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale whilst GH had the Cottage Gold Rush. Chris was well into his stride by now and ordered a Timmermans Peche Lambic, which he said tasted like a Peach Ski Yoghurt. A couple of games of pool ensued where I was very unlucky to go down 2-0 to Chris. Next beers were Duvel Green for Grailhunter and I, which we'd seen on draught in a few places, and a Fruli for Chris, which of course he thought tasted like a Strawberry Ski Yoghurt.
It was by now around 7:15 so we got another cab to the Olde Vic. Grailhunter and I went for the Allgates Caskablanca and Chris reverted to type by ordering a Harp lager, which he thought tasted of, well nothing really. Interesting quirky little pub this with crap & tat all over the place. A string of onions vied for wallspace space with a stuffed otter, a number of captain's hats, an old gas mask and an October 2008 calendar. We got a warm welcome including from the pub dog who didn't stray too far from a roaring log fire.
The Olde Vic was the last pub of the crawl, and they'd all been good ones thanks mainly to Trainman's recommendations. We took the short walk back to the station and caught the 8:20 back to Mancheswter where Grailhunter continued on his journey to see how many different modes of transport he could use in getting back to his hotel. Chris and I found one of those dodgy kebab/pizza/chinese/curry/chip shops that will cook you almost anything provided they can deep fry it, and ordered fish and chips which we took back to the hotel.
I don't know if we had another fire alarm last night but I was woken from my slumbers early with a nagging guilt about not having updated the blog last night. So here I've been for the last two hours, fortified by cups of tea and a packet of digestive biscuits, doing my duty and suffering for my art, all to provide you good people a little something that might just cheer you up on a miserable Monday morning back at work.
So as the Guinness & Gold Cup Tour draws to a close thoughts turn to where the next trip might be. There is talk of Belfast in October and if it does happen you can be sure there will be a Belfast Blog - whether you want one or not.
Well I know I want to see the next blog. Been a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Thanks for that.
One of the questions asked on our Salford crawl was "Who was Mark Addy?"
I didn't know. I do now. :p
Mark Addy was a Victorian local hero who died in 1890 at the age of 51. He was famous for rescuing no fewer than 50 people from the then dangerous waters of the River Irwell and was the only civilian to have received the Albert Medal (Victoria Cross) from Queen Victoria. The pub named after him was originally a boat passenger’s waiting room for the new Bailey landing stage from where a regular packet boat service was in operation from 1807.
Cheers to a local hero :notworthy:
Sorry about that, I did follow the platform suggestion with a question mark (I couldn't recall how many platforms at Stockport but was trying to guide you out the 'rear' exit).Quote:
Originally Posted by Millay
Now, if you ended up in the bus station, you missed the instruction to keep the viaduct on your right. I know, I know, you probably lost faith in me already!Quote:
Originally Posted by Millay
Anyway Millay, I think, especially after a hard-drinking week, that you all put in a sterling effort around Stockport to not only complete the course, but also slip in several jokers along the way. Bravo.
And bravo, too, for another entertaining blog - a pleasure to read. Cheers!