Tuesday 27 May 2014

The 50th “pub” at 195 Piccadilly, London W1:

Monday 26 May 2014

And so to day 17 of the 50:50 tour and a trip back home to Teddington in South-West London. The UK tour has taken me on a 2500 mile journey visiting some of the most special places in my life; I have met up with over 100 friends and family and have reflected on my life as I start my second half-century. It’s been great fun and I’m minded to plan a 60 at 60 in ten years’ time!

The pubs I chose on my home turf were firstly the Eel Pie in Twickenham, where I was joined by my brother Trev and two sons Digs and Rex, as well as Digs’ girlfriend Rachel. The Badger Best is not my preferred tipple there but the Tanglefoot was out because I had it yesterday. It was in this pub in 1999 that I watched the extra-time climax of Man City versus Gillingham in the second division play-offs when Paul Dickov assured the club’s future (he didn’t know this at the time) with two goals in extra-time. To follow was the Commonwealth Games stadium and then the investment from Khaldoon Al Mubarak which has underpinned City’s dominance in the modern game. I met David Bernstein, the then City Chairman, a couple of years ago and he recounted how it was glance off a Gillingham player’s leg leading to a throw-in which set-up those famous Dikov goals thereby changing the history of our football club, forever. What a moment; what a pub!

We then jumped on the bus to go to the Teddington Arms, a lovely pub with a fine selection of beers. We were joined by other friends there and I settled for the Titanic First Class bitter, which provided quite a sharp but interesting intricate taste.

Another bus journey and to the White Hart in Kingston, which is the preferred watering hole for the men of Kingston Parish Church Choir. This pub keeps a fine pint of London Pride and I have waited until pub 49 to sample my favourite beer. However, having tried 48 other beers on the way, I would not in fact rank this as my favourite pint of the tour, as it was served a little too warm for me this evening. We had a great time at the White Hart, joined by various members of my family, my choir and my running club.

 

 

Sunday 25 May 2014

Today was the cathedral day, revisiting two places where I have fond memories of singing the evensong services with Morley Lewis’s Wills Choir during the eighties and early nineties.

Exeter was the first stop, where we attended the morning service today sung by the visiting St Cecelia Singers. Another sign of twenty-first century Britain as throughout the service the male Canon was flanked by two blonde lady Precentors. Exeter is a wide and light cathedral and for me is memorable for the 32 foot organ pipes which are housed near the vestries where you can stand and feel their presence when especially loud organ music is played.

An early cream “tea” followed before a pint of Hanlon’s Yellow Hammer at the Well House Tavern on the cathedral green. A very average beer.

We then drove in convoy to Salisbury and checked-in to our peaceful lodgings at Sarum College, a theological college situated within the enclosed Salisbury Cathedral Green. The vision of the college is for constant nurturing of the human spirit which I have adopted as one of my life lessons from this UK journey. Evensong at  the stunning cathedral was sung by the visiting Chancel Singers who were of a fine standard singing the Smith responses, Walmisley in D Minor canticles and Lloyd’s Great Lord of Lords, and who were reminiscent of my days with the Wills Choir.

After a freshen-up, we were off to the Wig and Quill, where there was no 6X but made up for this with an impressive pint of Wadworth’s Corvus Stout, and then the New Inn, a Badger pub where I enjoyed a lovely pint of Tanglefoot as well as an impressive meal. I remember this pub for being one of the first pubs in the UK to ban smoking back in the Eighties. Tonight, we were joined by two of my ex-Wills Choir colleagues, Peter and Bridgit James. On our way back to our digs, we called in at the White Hart Hotel for a pint of locally brewed Crop Circle, a golden beer served quite fizzy and in a bottle due to the draft beer being sold-out. We ensured we were back before the locking of the cathedral green gates at 11.00pm.

 

Saturday 24 May 2014

We left Coverack after breakfast and headed back through Cornwall driving against the ever-building bank holiday traffic, over the Tamar Bridge and back into Devon. Our destination today was the South Hams and more idyllic coastline in South-West England.

First stop was for shopping in Salcombe, the attractive upmarket sailing village where I always try to get a space in the tiny estuary front carpark. We then headed to our first hostelry location at Soar Mill Cove, a hidden gem of a cove which has a beach that is for ever calming. It was a bit breezy today so we didn’t stay long on the beach before walking back up to the hotel and a pint of Hicks Special Draft (HSD) served, disappointingly, in a bottle in the small and unwelcoming bar.

Then back to Salcombe to the Fortescue Arms where, in my early twenties, I would watch bands with my then girlfriend Thea and her sister Jo. Today I was there for the Otter Ale, a dark and nutty beer with a full and flavoursome aftertaste. We then headed to Kingsbridge to check-in to our inn for the night at the old fashioned Kings Arms Hotel which is situated in the middle of the town on Fore Street. As well as keeping an eye on the Champions League final, to see the team I had backed (Athletico Madrid) at the beginning of the competition have the game snatched away from them in the 93rd minute by hot rivals Real Madrid, we were joined by Thea, her father Ray and her lovely three boys with a friend who had made the trip from London. The beer tonight was the appropriately named Devon Pride from the South Hams Brewery and this ranked alongside the best beer tasted on the tour.

Friday 23 May 2014

Julie, Neil and I made a return visit to Haytor Rocks, and made a tour of some of the tiny roads on Dartmoor, before setting-off for Cornwall and the Lizard. Today would take me to the most southerly part of the UK and the place where Julie and I enjoyed our first walking holiday together, walking along the stunning coast path from St Ives to Falmouth. The Lizard captures the Cornish character beautifully hence our chosen destination today.

Arriving at Porthallow, we discovered that the first pub of the day, The Five Pilchards, opens at 6pm so we headed for nearby St Kevearne (an aptly named alternative) fora pint of Cornish Doombar at the Three Tuns Hotel. We then checked in to our lodgings at the Paris Hotel in Coverack and had a wander around the beautiful Coverack cove and village, sampling a pint of Lizard Beer (bottle, no draft) at the upmarket Bay Hotel. This clawed-back one of my lost pubs so I am now only one behind schedule!

Then back to the Paris Hotel, where all rooms have a seaview, to settle in for the evening drinking Trelawny Bitter from St Austell brewery which is a creamy session beer with an excellent taste, a lovely meal of seafood carbonara and a talented live band who specialised in motown entertaining us between 9pm and midnight. This is a great place!

Thursday 22 May 2014

I spent the morning in Llandaff enjoying some sunshine before getting caught in the most torrential rain. I’ve seen a good range of May weather on this trip. The journey today took me to Bovey Tracey and Dartmoor where my parents, Alf and Stella, have lived for 27 years since leaving my home town of Manchester in 1987. Dartmoor is one of my favourite places to visit in the UK offering endless miles of stunning countryside for walking, running or just for looking at.

I met up with Neil in Bovey, and our first pub stop was in a tiny hamlet called Doddiscombsleigh at the Nobody Inn, which is stunning country pub offering 442 different types of whisky. Currently, the most expensive is sold at £93 a shot. The pub also has its own beer brewed so I tried a pint of Nobody Inn Bitter which is a delicious pint, real ale in texture with a pleasant bitter/sweet aftertaste.

Then back to Bovey and the Cromwell Arms where Dartmoor Best from St Austell brewery was sampled. There used to be seven pubs in Bovey and the “Bovey 7” has been a family challenge of ours but alas only 4 pubs now remain which is a sign of the times for public houses in the twenty first century.

The final destination today was the Rock Inn, so called as it lies near the foot of Haytor Rocks which are an easy and magnificent introduction to the delights of Dartmoor. I try and visit Haytor, both the rocks and the Inn, on each of my visits to Devon. The beer sampled here was Dartmoor IPA, a very refreshing and easy drinking beer. Now joined by my parents and Julie, who had travelled independently from London, we enjoyed a fine dinner at the Inn.

Wednesday 21 May 2014

This was my second night camping and the second morning I awoke to glorious sunshine in a camping field I had to myself. This time with a fantastic view over St Brides Bay. After packing-up, I also spent an hour on the beach at Druidstone Haven, a hidden gem which I would recommend to anybody who wishes to find a quiet, secluded and tranquil beach.

My destination today was Cardiff, back to my university town where I studied music in what was then, the largest music university department in Europe. So many pubs to reflect on here. The first chosen was the Woody (the Woodville) in Cathays where I met up with my old university friend Alysia. There I sampled a very pleasant pint of Brains Smooth.

Next up was what used to be the New Market Tavern in the centre of town which sadly, today, has been taken over by the O’Neils chain which served an average pint of “skull attack” (Brains SA).

Finally, we made our way to the Malsters in Llandaff, which was my favourite watering hole whilst singing with Morley Lewis in the Llandaff Cathedral Parish Choir whilst at university and on occasions in the years following. I was joined here by more university friends (Dai and Phil), ex-choir colleagues (Morley, Neil and Tim) and some of my current friends and colleagues from BAFTA Cymru (Allison, Bryn and Dewi). A great night in the Malsters drinking what I was told the directors of Brains used to drink; Brains SA Gold, which has a lovely golden colour, is very smooth and refreshing. Perfect for this sunny May evening.

Tuesday 20 May 2014

After a bowl of porridge and a boiled egg, I drove the car a mile up the road to the Pen-Y-Pass car park and ascended Snowdon on the PYG trail. Compared to Ben Nevis and Scafell Pike, this was the easiest of the three highest mountain ascents and an easy path to follow. I took the alternative Miner’s trail on the descent which provides an easier terrain to jog on and the round trip of 8 miles took me 2 hours 55 minutes.

The drive to Pembrokeshire, as I was warned, takes a long time due to the slow twisty roads on the west coast of Wales. I will be returning to West Wales at the beginning of June with Julie when we will be running the Welsh Castle Relay, a 20-leg relay race from Caernarfon to Cardiff over two days, representing our running club the Stragglers. I headed for Broad Haven on the Pembrokeshire coast, another family holiday destination from my youth and a really beautiful place, especially in the early evening sunshine as the sun sets over St Brides Bay. I decided to camp on this night in order to get the view of the bay in the morning.

I visited the Welcome Traveller Inn in Tiers Cross, the place where at age 14  I recall my first romantic dalliance with a young lady called Susan. Geoff and Babs from Cardiff now run this quiet place and they keep a fine pint of Felinfoel Double Dragon which is served quite flat like a true real ale.

I then visited Nolton Haven which I know from holidays as a child and as an adult and most recently, as a passing point on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path which I walked a few years ago with Julie. The Mariners Inn, disappointingly, only had Worthington’s Creamflow on draft which was a bit watery but slips down easily enough. Here I was entertained by the Mariners pool team playing Haverfordwest Labour Club.

The final stop of the evening was in Little Haven, not at the Swan Inn as planned as this had closed early, but at the St Brides Bay Inn where I tried The Rev James, brewed by Brains in Cardiff. This is a smooth beer but has a rather odd aftertaste, tasting a little of smelly socks!

Monday 19 May 2014

I set-off from London in glorious sunshine at 12.00pm and arrived in Llandudno in driving rain at 5.00pm.

Llandudno was a family holiday destination when I was a boy and I have fond memories of the promenade, the Great Orme and its famous Tramway and the pitch and putt course, where I used to play with my brother Trev. The Kings Head is at the foot of the Great Orme and it is serving a beer in honour of the forthcoming World Cup: Wychwood’s Full Brazilian, which is a full bodied beer with a full and flavoursome aftertaste.

Then onto Snowdonia stopping first at the Vaynol Arms in Nant Peris, which has a lot of mountaineering photography on display in particular showing George Mallory. I was surprised to find that this is a Robinson’s pub and I tried the Robinson’s Unicorn Ale which has a pleasant enough taste but a rather clawing aftertaste; served with some fizz this one.

And then onto my hostelry for the night; the Pen-Y-Gwryd at  the North West foot of Snowdon, which gives its name to the PYG trail. This is a simply amazing hotel in an amazing location. It is famed as the favoured base for climbers and mountaineers and has memorabilia from ascents of Everest in the bar areas. Most of all, it is a very comfortable and traditional country hotel, with a fine 3-course dinner served at 7.30pm, old fashioned bathrooms with freestanding baths, cotton sheets and blankets and pleasantly creaking floorboards. The beer is good too and I enjoyed a pint of Madog’s Ale, a fine dark beer which is very drinkable, light and moreish.

Sunday 18 May 2014

The Arqiva British Academy Television Awards