27/04/24 - A Bolton Pub Crawl

Putting the new Guide Book to use

A spare afternoon in Manchester, without the time or the energy to tackle the next stage of the Greater Manchester Ringway. In all its 13 mile glory.

Instead, I'll use the Good Book for entertainment and head to Bolton. Not that one, the other one by Matthew Curtis. Unaware of it? There's a copy proudly displayed behind the counter at my first stop.

One For the Road is housed in the food market. A 9 am opener for the early bird.

Light and Airy

A choice of local cask for £3 a go, my eye was drawn to the Budvar pumps, which included the rarely seen dark. A chat with the Paddy McGuinness soundalike making me aware of a GBG tick that isn't mentioned by Mr C. Their sister pub added to the day's itinerary. 

But not until I record a fellow boozer's reaction that solves the recent on-line discussion about kids in pubs.

They may have been his grand-kids, but I doubt it

Great Ale at the Vaults is a very similar vibe. What it lacks in choice to its sibling, it makes up for with fine architecture in the vaults of another market hall.

Handsome.  Atmospheric.

The chalk board details a meal deal of a pint and chicken tikka wrap for £9. Add a quid for fries. Of course, I was going to add a quid. House Ale, Great T'Ale from Deeply Vale Brewery a wise choice for a busy day, coming in at a sessionable 3.8% and absolutely delicious.

Alas, the Indian eatery that makes the wraps had failed to meet their opening hours. A more prosaic packet of crisps hardly the lunch of gods.

The bus next. Always a challenge in a strange town, especially when there are no OAPs to ask advice. After 20 minutes, the every 15 minutes 125 (Gold) comes to whisk me away to the intriguingly named Bunburys. I am still unsure what the relationship between Oscar Wilde and Bolton is.

First (shop converted) micro of the day

I am the first punter through the doors at around 1:20pm and a friendly bar worker spots me for the tourist that I am.  "Are you doing the 125 Beer Run?" she asks. Chorley, a hot bed of a dozen Cask Ale pubs and another days entertainment added to the list.

A shop converted micro with a wide choice of local and international beers and ciders. After some deliberation, a half of Saison Dupont on keg and is that the king of snacks I spy? As a Black Country lad, you may be expecting me to say the hairiest of scratching from a fella called Ray from Rugely but no.  Here they have those massive packet of pappadums, complete with mango chutney pots. Previously only found in Huddersfield.

The sign of a good place....? when it slowly fills with the same people who were in last night.  Comparing hangovers and being asked if they are still on the 7% ciders. They are.

An expert on the Bolton Bus system, its back to town for a glorious beer tourist tick. Always love a pub with its own Wikipedia page. The Old Man and the Scythe - with a beautiful bit of understated modesty - claiming to be England's fourth oldest pub.  Take note you Fighting Cocks, you Trips, you Porch Houses.... you can't all be number one. 

Ask inside for a history leaflet

I need to be careful to avoid photo overload

The dates? Originally from 1251. A date stone in the main bar reading 1638 and a C20th frontage rebuilding after a fire.

There is a monument outside that celebrates the key events. The 7th Earl of Dudley executed outside the pub for his role in the Civil War Bolton Massacre. He spent his last moments in the pub and the chair that he sat on for his final hours is held inside. Of course its haunted and the 125 Bus Run lady from Bunburys warned me not to sit on it for fear of ghoulish retribution. No worries, its in a glass cabinet.

Haunted Chair to left of Lady Sniffles.  TT Knowle Spring losing focus to the date stone.

A must visit for pub history fans.

Back on the buses next for the Bank Top Brewery Tap. A far more traditional pub than the name would imply.

Does what it says on the tin - Tap Room for the Bank Top Brewery

A bewildering (to the novice) array of double figure casks. I went for the one adorned with "Champion Beer" rosette - a Dark Mild.

Was it worth the double bus journey? The answer to that depends very much on whether the final horse on the Postman's accumulator came in. Tension raised with the be-shorted one telling everyone how rich he would be if the horse came anywhere between first and sixth. Top place yielding a four figure prize.

I left after it came in 7th and before the sorrows were drowned.

The final port of call, Northern Monkey Bar for the best and worst experiences of the day.  Worst - inside is packed and the two young ladies serving have lost control of the bar. Two deep and timidly asking "who's next" is only going to lead to pub chaos. Kids running amok inside, I take my drink to brave the 2024 spring of no sun.

Calm Outside, Mental In

What turns it into the best experience is the two gents I share a table with.... one a Mackem his mate a Salfordian. They engage me in great conversation that covers everything from the best Bass pub in Bath, to the one legged head brewer at Coniston, to the chairman of Stockport Camra and why Seven Brothers Brewery really need to do cask. Top bants, and they leave me with both an invite to join them at the Old Man and a gift.  £1.50 worth of Spoon's vouchers. Almost a pint's worth.

I'd have enjoyed the company, but the real reason I am up North starts her set in two hours time. I've learned over time not to trust Northern Trains and I have to check in to my nights digs. 

The Lower Turks Head.... who wouldn't want to live in a Holts pub?

 

Great night in Manchesfer to see @nadineshah at the New Century Hall. Been wanting to see Nadine Shah for a long time & the gig didn't disappoint pic.twitter.com/rV8q2YxwAn

— Duncan Bye (@Duncbye) April 27, 2024

20/04/24 - London Spiral - Stage 14 - Kew Gardens to Wimbledon

 Why 'Spoons is the best for the Lonely Football Fan

The London Spiral doing a fine job of making you think you are not in London. The 8 miles of this stretch are mainly traffic free, sharing wild paths with horse riders and dog walkers.

From Kew Gardens tube, through North and East Sheen to pick up Richmond Park at East Sheen Gate.

Richmond Park, through East Sheen Gate

Richmond Park is 2500 acres of emptiness. Created by Charles I as a deer park, its history includes duels between sitting Prime Ministers and their political counterparts. That would make PMQs more interesting. No sign of deer today, or indeed dogs called Fenton on the rampage.

The route skirts the Eastern side of the park, following Beverley Brook upstream and into our second park, Wimbledon Common.

Following Beverley Brook

Adventure Lab Caches following a theme of the Wombles are in abundance, so my route contained just the one diversion to increase caching numbers. I didn't get close to the Windmill. I also didn't need to make decisions on whether to revisit some of the Wimbledon 8 Pubs. The Fox and Grapes too gastro, but the twins of Hand in Hand and Crooked Billet are always worth a visit when the sun is shining.

Instead, its into "The Village" for the only (new to me) Good Beer Guide Tick available.

And it's a 'Spoons.

Wibbas Down Inn - #1 Entrance

Let me count the ways why its perfect for my needs;

• Power:  With rail E-Tickets, I need to replenish the juice consumed by my geocaching app to get home. I time it lucky, to get the final booth. Complete with double power socket.
• Free Wifi: Baggies are live on Sky Sports, for a crunch game at the business end of the season. The free wifi is strong enough to get a non lagging signal, although the Sky App is slightly behind the live action.  At least my son's messages prepare me for the disappointment.
• The App: Having settled in, I now need to protect my space. The app allows me to order lunch and drinks without moving an inch. However, this rather shows my hand to the disapproving Mrs M. She, who has set up banking app alerts from our joint account. And still hasn't forgiven Timbo for the dog ban.
• The Prices: London Pride at £2.74 a pint is a steal. For comparison, I attempted to use a pub near Marylebone on my return. A similar ABV Cask retailing for £6.90. It was the plastic glass that encouraged me to take an earlier train home. 

In the interests of fairness, I should document any faults. Kids playing games on too loud iPads were annoying, although I did have earphones. Dingle Don Goodman's commentary arguably worse. A walloper dragging a huge suitcase through the pub, knocking over furniture, bumping into people and shouting obscenities increased tension. On my exit, I found him throwing karate shapes against the bemused external gaspers.

All part of life's rich tapestry.

Wibbas Down Inn - #2 Entrance

Walk Information

Distance - 8 Miles

Start - Kew Gardens Station

Finish - Wimbledon

Areas Walked - Richmond Park, Wimbledon Common

Geocaches - 3 and two Adventure Lab Caches

Pubs - 1

Previous Walks - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7, Stage 8, Stage 9, Stage 10, Stage 11, Stage 12, Stage 13

14/04/24 - Centenary Way Summary

Length of Heart of England Way - 100 Miles

Amount walked on Circular Walks - 193.5
Geocaches Found - 66
Stages Completed In - 26
Start - Kingsbury Water Park - 20/03/21
Finish - Lower Quinton - 14/04/2024

The Centenary Way is a 100 mile Long Distance Path in Warwickshire, created to commemorate 100 years of the counties existence.  Stephen Cross, former Mayor of Warwick, takes his blueprint for the Heart of England Way and produces a guide book that splits the route into a series of circular day walks.

Providing inspiration for monthly walks, I completed over 26 stages.

The Guide Book

Highlights

Several stages were accessible by public transport. This led to big days out in Nuneaton, Kenilworth, Warwick and Leamington. Walking could be combined easily with Good Beer Guide Ticking. There were some decent walking stretches too - Burton Dassett Hills and Edge Hill providing the best walks.

Lowlights

Poor paths in places - especially in the North of the County.  Overgrown and sometimes missing. I can't blame the path for the 2024 mud, but there was a sea of it towards the end. Several walks were deadly dull. Even as we edged into the Cotswolds.

The real killer was HS2 - causting rerouting and misery on a couple of stages - none worse than Ufton.  To be fair to the guide author, he did he best to warn us, with potential diversions detailed in a book published in 2017.

Alas, in summary, it was nowhere near as pretty or satisfying a walk as the Millennium Way and Heart of England Way, which have followed similar themes.

The Stages

Stage 1 - Kinsgbury Water Park

Stage 2 - Shustoke

Stage 3 - Furnace End

Stage 4 - Birchley Heath

Stage 5 - Nuneaton

Stage 6 - Bermuda

Stage 7 - Sutton Stop

Stage 8 - Ansty

Stage 9 - Brinklow

Stage 10 - Brandon

Stage 11 - Ryton-on-Dunsmore

Stage 12 - Bubbenhall

Stage 13 - Kenilworth

Stage 14 - Leek Wooton

Stage 15 - Warwick

Stage 16 - Leamington Spa

Stage 17 - Ufton

Stage 18 - Harbury

Stage 19 - Burton Dassett Hills

Stage 20 - Fenny Compton

Stage 21 - Arlescote

Stage 22 - Edghill

Stage 23 - Oxhill

Stage 24 - Idlicote

Stage 25 - Ilmington

Stage 26 - Lower Quinton

The Photo Album

14/04/24 - Centenary Way - Stage 26 - Lower Quinton

 The End of the Centenary Way

Here it, the end of a Long Distance Path that never set the pulse racing. With the exception of a few town centre highlights, the walking was pedestrian - often on unloved paths that if they hadn't disappeared completely, would be often overgrown. HS2 causing issues on several stages. Still, it provided structure to my monthly walking plans over the last 4 years. 

The final stretch is dominated by Meon Hill - an Iron Age Hillfort steeped in legend.....

Centenary Way sharing the path to Meon Hill with the Monarch Way

The Made Up Myth - The ghost of the Celtic King Arawyn, hunting the hill at night. He rides a pale horse, running a pack of white hounds with red ears.  

The Modern Day Murder Mystery - The location for the last unsolved murder in Warwickshire.  In 1945, Charles Walton was found with his own pitchfork embedded in his throat and the sign of a cross carved into his chest. This is how you kill a witch, in Warwickshire and there were some parallels to a similar killing in the 1800's. Plenty of documentaries on YouTube.

No spooky scenes on the day when Spring may have arrived.

Views from Meon Hills flanks

The walk continues to Ilmington before tracking its way north, back to Lower Quinton. It should be unspectacular agricultural field walking but the Centenary Way cannot help but deliver a final sting in the tale. The farmers are out ploughing up their fields - obliterating the footpaths.  We could have braved the churned up earth across ankle breaking clods but we would be playing frogger with the tractors. No one wants to be laughed at by a farmer. Lane based diversions adding a mile to the walk.

We arrive back in Lower Quinton for the twin village staples of Church and pub.

Lower Quinton Church

The College Arms is one of the odder pubs found on my travels. Poor on-line presence makes it tricky to determine if they offer food on a Sunday and if they do, what it might be. Their website redirecting you to their facebook page if you click on "Menus". Tripadvisor pointing to the go elsewhere, with a rating of the 117th best restaurant in Stratford.

I leave it to Mrs M and her internet sleuthing to decide where we should visit. The facebook review where someone's husband had run off with the barmaid making up her mind.

She knows I will be in post LDP completion high spirits and cannot be trusted

College Arms - Lower Quinton - I missed the sign saying "Motorbike Parking Only"

There is some history here - the building originally owned by Henry VIII.  Then it fell into the hands of Oxford's Magdelan College and the only pub in the land allowed to use its coat of arms.  A farmhouse originally, converted to a pub in 1897.

Now a bikers pub and how lovely to see Mods and Rockers drinking in perfect harmony.

At Mrs M's request, we Sunday lunched at nearby Long Marston's Mason Arms.

Walk Details

Distance - 7.5 Miles

Geocaches - 1

Pub - The Mason Arms, Long Marston (off route)

Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7, Stage 8, Stage 9, Stage 10, Stage 11, Stage 12, Stage 13, Stage 14, Stage 15, Stage 16, Stage 17, Stage 18, Stage 19, Stage 20, Stage 21, Stage 22, Stage 23, Stage 24, Stage 25