Autumn 2018 pub crawl Manchester Friday 12th October

[sheffield hatter]

Some very good points have been made about giving lots of time to book time off work,get advanced train tickets and secure good deals on hotel accomodation.Looking back we always seem to choose a date in November,so we may need to settle on a day by something like the end of July.

It's the north in autumn again*: the furthest north we've been in summer was Wellington last year! Next year can we do the north in summer, please?

I would like to propose that we do the autumn crawl a little earlier this year. We always go for November because of the pressure on train tickets with the school half terms in the final week of October. But that means it's dark around 5pm and potentially pretty cold and wet too. So what about Friday, 12th October? (Sunset 2nd November is 16:31; on 12th October it's 18:16.) Train tickets for this date will go on sale around the middle of July, I reckon. Surely we can make a decision by then...





*Liverpool - March 2012
Leeds - November 2013
York - March 2015
Hull - March 2016
Huddersfield - November 2016
Stockport - November 2017

[Aqualung]

It's the north in autumn again*: the furthest north we've been in summer was Wellington last year! Next year can we do the north in summer, please?

I would like to propose that we do the autumn crawl a little earlier this year. We always go for November because of the pressure on train tickets with the school half terms in the final week of October. But that means it's dark around 5pm and potentially pretty cold and wet too. So what about Friday, 12th October? (Sunset 2nd November is 16:31; on 12th October it's 18:16.) Train tickets for this date will go on sale around the middle of July.

I think that makes a lot of sense, it's before the clock change which makes the evenings an hour longer regardless of how far the sun has gone away. At the moment I've got a visit to Wales booked for early October and another unconfirmed one for the week after your proposed date so the 12th of October looks good to me. I don't think weather should be a constraint as it can throw a spanner in the works at any time of the year as I discovered last March. Even last Thursday when I travelled to Wolverhampton all the Scotland trains were ending at Preston. So, who can and can't make the 12th of October? I'm in!

[oldboots]

Friday, 12th October?

I'm ok with that date (so far), I suppose west of the Pennines needs to catch up with the drier side, what previous suggestions might be worth looking at again? And we've never done Scotland (or Wales).

However a Manchester tram crawl appeals to my inner anorak, a quick look at the GBG and tram map suggests the following may be the places we are looking for (number of GBG pubs in brackets). An all day off peak (after 9:30) ticket is £5.40.

Altrincham (4)
Bury (7)
Chorlton cum Hardy (6)
Oldham (3)
Rochdale (5) (if we must)
Salford (3)
Didsbury (2)
Audenshaw (1)

[Bucking Fastard]

It's the north in autumn again*: the furthest north we've been in summer was Wellington last year! Next year can we do the north in summer, please?

I would like to propose that we do the autumn crawl a little earlier this year. We always go for November because of the pressure on train tickets with the school half terms in the final week of October. But that means it's dark around 5pm and potentially pretty cold and wet too. So what about Friday, 12th October? (Sunset 2nd November is 16:31; on 12th October it's 18:16.) Train tickets for this date will go on sale around the middle of July, I reckon. Surely we can make a decision by then...





*Liverpool - March 2012
Leeds - November 2013
York - March 2015
Hull - March 2016
Huddersfield - November 2016
Stockport - November 2017

The logic of doing a crawl in October is nicely made,and I would be happy with Friday 12th October.

Also very happy to make the Summer 2019 crawl somewhere oop North too,that seems fair.

[Aqualung]

Also very happy to make the Summer 2019 crawl somewhere oop North too,that seems fair.

Perhaps it could be in one of those borderline places so that a massive argument could ensue as to whether you are in the Midlands or Oop North.

[sheffield hatter]

The logic of doing a crawl in October is nicely made,and I would be happy with Friday 12th October.

Also very happy to make the Summer 2019 crawl somewhere oop North too,that seems fair.

Thanks, Nev. It wasn't just aimed at you, though. I hope others will agree (to both suggestions).

[oldboots]

Two (very) left field suggestions:-
Chesterfield - I disagree with both your objections but it is indubitably in the bloody Midlands FFS
Chorley & Leyland - never been drinking there and not sure I ever will and it's also a bit of a slog for southerners (but there's a train between them every hour - only takes 11 minutes, so your objection about the buses may be nugatory?).
!

Chorley & Leyland. There's a train service between the two and whether you approach from Preston or Wigan you would get a day return to the furthest one.

I must have been deranged or something when I looked at the rail map I totally missed Leyland Station, with 11 GBG listed pubs between them I thought Leyland/Chorley looked good, but with a lot of micro's I guess that won't appeal to some .

We'll have to agree to disagree on Chesterfield, I don't really rate many of the GBG pubs and one of those I'd miss out due to ignorant staff, and another probably wouldn't appeal to all, which leaves the Chesterfield Arms and the Alehouse which isn't the best micro in Derbyshire; as for the non-GBG pubs - ugh. I see there are two new micro type places so I might be tempted to visit if I had some anesthetic in the Sheffield Tap first.

Point taken about distances to the North East for the poor southerners, so Macclesfield and Manchester are looking the favourites, both are good with me.

Is Derbyshire a Midland county? although I've heard both Cheshire and Oxfordshire referred to as "the Midlands", that's a bloody big middle if you ask me - dons tin hat.

[sheffield hatter]

Is Derbyshire a Midland county? although I've heard both Cheshire and Oxfordshire referred to as "the Midlands", that's a bloody big middle if you ask me - dons tin hat.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Midlands

I love it when Pubs Galore degenerates into Geography Galore!

[oldboots]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Midlands

I love it when Pubs Galore degenerates into Geography Galore!

Degenerate - that's a name that's been applied to me before, this looks a lot like definitions of "craft beer" - means exactly what I choose it to mean.

Someone tell Wikipedia, Buckinghamshire is definitely a Home County!

[trainman]

I don't understand why anyone on a day-visit to Sheffield would want to avoid what has been referred to as 'the usual suspects', or how this terrific beer town has avoided the PG juggernaut, to date...