Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Congratulations!
Congratulations to Robert Muller on being my 1000th visitor! I'll buy you a pint next time we have a work trip to the pub ;-D
Pennine Way Weekend 3
An easier journey to Glossop and more of the Pennine Way - this time with Bill Badger, Graham and Johnny P! John did really well, we all agreed, being as how all his kit was brand new and he had never done any hiking before. I met them after they'd walked Standedge to Crowden, all looked fit and well.
We had a nice evening meal in the 'O Sole Mio' Italian Restaurant (yes, it really was called that). The guys set off early to walk from Crowden to Edale, I joined them at Snake Pass to walk the last bit, over Kinder Scout down into Edale, as did Jane, Andy and family, Simon for a bit. Bill said he felt like Ellen McArthur coming home from her round the world yacht race, suddenly everyone wanted to get in on the historic Moment!
The weather was superb on the last day, with great views from Kinder Scout, including an impromptu air display from the local mountain rescue guys. Despite Jane and I waving, we did not get airlifted away by hunky blokes in a helicopter. Nice to dream though! Nice pints of squash and huge slices of cake were available at a farm along the way, before climbing the last annoying hillock and coming to Edale Village. The official end was the official start of the walk, the Nag's Head which served some lovely beer - Graham had the Gray's Bitter! Simon also handed around a hip flask of dangerously tasty cask-strength Laphroaig.
Back to work, back to reality for Bill but on to North Wales and five days hubby-free holiday for me!
We had a nice evening meal in the 'O Sole Mio' Italian Restaurant (yes, it really was called that). The guys set off early to walk from Crowden to Edale, I joined them at Snake Pass to walk the last bit, over Kinder Scout down into Edale, as did Jane, Andy and family, Simon for a bit. Bill said he felt like Ellen McArthur coming home from her round the world yacht race, suddenly everyone wanted to get in on the historic Moment!
The weather was superb on the last day, with great views from Kinder Scout, including an impromptu air display from the local mountain rescue guys. Despite Jane and I waving, we did not get airlifted away by hunky blokes in a helicopter. Nice to dream though! Nice pints of squash and huge slices of cake were available at a farm along the way, before climbing the last annoying hillock and coming to Edale Village. The official end was the official start of the walk, the Nag's Head which served some lovely beer - Graham had the Gray's Bitter! Simon also handed around a hip flask of dangerously tasty cask-strength Laphroaig.
Back to work, back to reality for Bill but on to North Wales and five days hubby-free holiday for me!
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Pennine Way Weekend 2
Another complicated journey from Farnborough Main to Vauxhall, underground to Kings Cross, Kings Cross to Leeds, Leeds to Hellifield then Hellifield to Ribblehead. Had a look at the famous Ribblehead Viaduct before walking up the Dales Way towards the Pennine Way to meet hubby and Graham.
The first day of walking was not that scenic as it was drizzly, glad to get to the Golden Lion in Horton-in-Ribblesdale for a hot meal and some Taylors Landlord beer. David and Gwen, relations of hubby, joined us and kindly paid for the meal and drinks as an early birthday present for him! Was also impressed by the pints of tea or coffee and the hot buttered Chorley cakes on offer at the Pen-Y-Ghent Cafe.
The second day however showed us some stunning scenery - firstly the 360-degree view from the top of Pen-Y-Ghent mountain (didn't like the steep descent on the other side though) then the views of Malham Tarn and Malham Cove. The limestone pavement on the cliffs above Malham was very pretty but not so nice to walk on! Another steep descent down into the village, but at least there were good steps.
We stayed in a 1670's former cafe (the b&b name 'Malham Cafe' caused us confusion, as there was another one still open!) and had superb meals and beer at the Lister Arms. The lads also tried the Buck Inn, also good for beer, whilst I got an early night.
Next day I declined to walk as I had nasty blisters on both feet, then wished I had as the bus didn't turn up. This was the only one that I could catch to get me to Gargrave station in time for the train home, but I was in a bit of a dilemma because I wasn't sure I could afford a taxi from Skipton with the cash that I had. Nor could I get a signal on my mobile to get hold of hubby! I tried walking along the Pennine Way even though I knew I wouldn't get there in time, then finally got a signal, and hubby told me to go back to Malham and he'd pay the taxi fare. Buses, I hate em!
The first day of walking was not that scenic as it was drizzly, glad to get to the Golden Lion in Horton-in-Ribblesdale for a hot meal and some Taylors Landlord beer. David and Gwen, relations of hubby, joined us and kindly paid for the meal and drinks as an early birthday present for him! Was also impressed by the pints of tea or coffee and the hot buttered Chorley cakes on offer at the Pen-Y-Ghent Cafe.
The second day however showed us some stunning scenery - firstly the 360-degree view from the top of Pen-Y-Ghent mountain (didn't like the steep descent on the other side though) then the views of Malham Tarn and Malham Cove. The limestone pavement on the cliffs above Malham was very pretty but not so nice to walk on! Another steep descent down into the village, but at least there were good steps.
We stayed in a 1670's former cafe (the b&b name 'Malham Cafe' caused us confusion, as there was another one still open!) and had superb meals and beer at the Lister Arms. The lads also tried the Buck Inn, also good for beer, whilst I got an early night.
Next day I declined to walk as I had nasty blisters on both feet, then wished I had as the bus didn't turn up. This was the only one that I could catch to get me to Gargrave station in time for the train home, but I was in a bit of a dilemma because I wasn't sure I could afford a taxi from Skipton with the cash that I had. Nor could I get a signal on my mobile to get hold of hubby! I tried walking along the Pennine Way even though I knew I wouldn't get there in time, then finally got a signal, and hubby told me to go back to Malham and he'd pay the taxi fare. Buses, I hate em!
Friday, August 12, 2005
Pennine Way Weekend 1
Last weekend I joined Bill Badger on his Pennine Pub Crawl (new blogspot address BTW - http://www.penninepubcrawl.blogspot.com due to access problems). After a series of bus and train rides (Haltwhistle to Brampton bus ride particularly scenic) I arrived at Alston for the start of my walk, Bill and Graham being already a third of the way through theirs, the whole of the Pennine Way north to south.
Alston to Garrigill was an easy 5 mile walk, uneventful apart from some glaring bullocks. We checked in at the Post Office b&b but I wasn't overly impressed - our room was rather smelly and there were lots of little 'do not' signs everywhere. Saying that though, the landlady was friendly and the breakfast was very good.
Next day I chickened out of the 17-mile walk from Garrigill to Dufton via Cross Fell, as I was feeling unwell and shattered, not having slept much on the rock-hard bed. I had to walk the 5 miles back to Alston, facing the bullocks and horned cows on my own! Got the bus from Alston to Penrith (slept through most of the ride) had lunch and a quick look round Penrith and then got the bus from Penrith to Dufton. Found the b&b, luckily the landlady was in, and settled down with a huge pot of tea and waited for the lads to arrive. Also met a south-to-norther called Tony, from Steyning!
Later we went to the Stag for dinner but had to wait 1 1/2 hours till we were served! None of us were impressed. Beer was nice though.
Next day (Sunday) a harder walk from Dufton to Langdon Beck, taking in High Cup Nick and Cauldron Snout. Views from Nichol Chair amazing. Graham created his own Pennine Way, not crossing the Maize Beck but having to cross later at Langdon Beck village. We attempted to ford Maize Beck, ignoring the perfectly good bridge, in the name of correctness but gave in after 10 minutes! Bit of a scramble down Cauldron Snout which did indeed look like a witch's brew, then some tricky ankle-twisting rocks most of the way to Langdon.
B&b, Outdales, was up the hill a bit but very friendly - they even offered us a lift to the pub and back! The pub being the Langdon Beck Inn, which had superb food and beer (Jarrow Bitter) as well as newspapers to catch up on the Test scores.
Last walk (Monday) was Langdon Beck to Middleton, past High Force and Low Force waterfalls. The path was very good, lots of opportunities to admire the falls and the river. The weather was very sunny - a superb walk. Lunch and icecream in Middleton before heading back. Got the bus to Darlington, where I picked up some cheap, quality groceries from the market and had a swift half of Sam Smiths in the Glittering Star. Then train journey back to Farnborough and my own lovely bed!
Alston to Garrigill was an easy 5 mile walk, uneventful apart from some glaring bullocks. We checked in at the Post Office b&b but I wasn't overly impressed - our room was rather smelly and there were lots of little 'do not' signs everywhere. Saying that though, the landlady was friendly and the breakfast was very good.
Next day I chickened out of the 17-mile walk from Garrigill to Dufton via Cross Fell, as I was feeling unwell and shattered, not having slept much on the rock-hard bed. I had to walk the 5 miles back to Alston, facing the bullocks and horned cows on my own! Got the bus from Alston to Penrith (slept through most of the ride) had lunch and a quick look round Penrith and then got the bus from Penrith to Dufton. Found the b&b, luckily the landlady was in, and settled down with a huge pot of tea and waited for the lads to arrive. Also met a south-to-norther called Tony, from Steyning!
Later we went to the Stag for dinner but had to wait 1 1/2 hours till we were served! None of us were impressed. Beer was nice though.
Next day (Sunday) a harder walk from Dufton to Langdon Beck, taking in High Cup Nick and Cauldron Snout. Views from Nichol Chair amazing. Graham created his own Pennine Way, not crossing the Maize Beck but having to cross later at Langdon Beck village. We attempted to ford Maize Beck, ignoring the perfectly good bridge, in the name of correctness but gave in after 10 minutes! Bit of a scramble down Cauldron Snout which did indeed look like a witch's brew, then some tricky ankle-twisting rocks most of the way to Langdon.
B&b, Outdales, was up the hill a bit but very friendly - they even offered us a lift to the pub and back! The pub being the Langdon Beck Inn, which had superb food and beer (Jarrow Bitter) as well as newspapers to catch up on the Test scores.
Last walk (Monday) was Langdon Beck to Middleton, past High Force and Low Force waterfalls. The path was very good, lots of opportunities to admire the falls and the river. The weather was very sunny - a superb walk. Lunch and icecream in Middleton before heading back. Got the bus to Darlington, where I picked up some cheap, quality groceries from the market and had a swift half of Sam Smiths in the Glittering Star. Then train journey back to Farnborough and my own lovely bed!
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Great British Beer Festival - Tuesday
Had to get up at 6am yesterday to get the train to Kensington Olympia for the Champion Beer of Britain Briefing Meeting, which was to be held at 9.30am. Just as well I did, for there was some confusion over badges. Arrived at the famous Gate B, the staff entrance. My bag was searched and tagged, then I wandered up to the Staffing Office for a badge. But, shock horror, I should have been given one at the gate! They didn't have any judges' badges at Staffing for some reason, and referred me to the Press Office, which was locked. After a while someone found some visitor's badges and I acquired one of these. Didn't get an actual badge till 10 minutes before the debrief, reason being that some of the badges had printing errors, like Raplh McTell's 2004 (sic) version :-D and had to be reprinted at the last moment.
To my delight I was chosen to taste the Golden Ales, a brand new category of golden, hoppy beers of less than 5.3%. I love hops, me. Doug Fish, a fellow branch member, was given Best Bitters to judge. The other Golden boys and girls were Chris Smith from XFM, Keith Bott from Titanic Brewery, Fiona Shoop from Fresh Magazine, Nina Bates from Flying Firkin and the chairman Phil Roberts from Exeter and East Devon CAMRA. We did comment we were maybe such a girly panel (Keith had a pink shirt on) as Golden Ales appealed especially to women!
To explain the rules: there are 6 tasters to a table for the category tastings, usually with the two CAMRA people at either end. The tasters are usually from different backgrounds - some brewers, some suppliers, some beer writers and some MPs/DJs etc with no beer tasting experience (and therefore less prejudices!). Seven beers are tasted from each category. The CAMRA tasters try to let everyone have a say and discourage people from guessing the beers etc. Marks are given out of 10 for appearance, aroma, taste and aftertaste. The top 3 beers on average score win Gold, Silver and Bronze in their category, and the Gold medallists (9 of them this year) go forward to the final panel to find the Champion Beer of Britain.
The first beer up was brown rather than golden, which was a bad start, and had a serious haze on it which was another! There was some discussion with the Best Bitter tasters, who had a rogue golden beer amongst their brown offerings, but apparently there were no changelings and we'd been given the correct beers.
However the next beer was absolutely superb - golden, flowery and citrussy, with a fantastic hoppy aftertaste. The fourth beer was very nice with a delicious aftertaste. The fifth absolutely reeked of sulphur and tasted sulphury as well, overwhelming and hop or malt character which might have been present. A shame, I thought, if it were in better condition it might have been a really good beer.
We all agreed that we weren't quite sure whether to go for the second one, so we ordered some more of it, just to make sure ;-) Number four was another contender so we tried a bit more of that as well. Then Phil handed our score sheets in.
After a quick dash to the Ladies we adjourned to the buffet whilst the Final Panel sat to judge the Champion Beer. There must have been fierce arguments (not just Ralph McTell and David Davies, heh heh) because the announcement wasn't made till 3pm! Also on the final panel were Nigel Bardon DJ and 4 CAMRA bods, including the ever-popular Roger Protz.
The results:
Champion Beer of Britain: Crouch Vale Brewers Gold
(our nomination won! Quite right too)
Second: Grainstore Rutland Panther
Third: Woodforde’s Wherry
Mild Category
Gold: Grainstore Rutland Panther (Rutland)
Silver: Brains Dark (Cardiff)
Bronze: Elgood’s Black Dog (Cambridgeshire)
Bitter Category
Gold: Woodforde’s Wherry (Norfolk)
Silver: Holdens Black Country Bitter (West Midlands)
Joint Bronze: RCH PG Steam (Somerset)
Belvoir Star (Leicestershire)
Best Bitter Category
Gold: Harveys Sussex Bitter (East Sussex)
Joint Silver: Mighty Oak Burntwood Bitter (Essex)
Joint Bronze: Timothy Taylor Landlord (Yorkshire)
Olde Swan Entire (West Midlands)
Golden Ales Category
Gold: Crouch Vale Brewers Gold (Essex)
Silver: Jarrow Rivet Catcher (Tyne and Wear)
Bronze: Oakham JHB (Cambridgeshire)
(I love all these beers so I was well pleased with the outcome)
Strong Ale Category
Gold: Hanby Nutcracker (Shropshire)
Silver: Bullmastiff Son of a Bitch (Cardiff)
Bronze: Fuller’s ESB (Fullers)
Speciality Category
Gold: Cairngorm Tradewinds (Inverness-shire)
Silver: Young’s Waggledance (London)
Joint Bronze: Daleside Morrocco (North Yorkshire)
Ridleys Rumpus (Essex)
Real Ale in a Bottle category
Gold: Durham Evensong (Durham)
Silver: Young’s Special London Ale (London)
Bronze: Titanic Stout (Staffordshire)
Shame that Triple fff Pressed Rat & Warthog didn't win, it was absolutely superb at GBBF, but the trouble is, it's not a classic mild...I wouldn't change it for the world though!
Met up with Martin, Jenny and Roy from East and Mid Surrey, Julie and William from Surrey/Hants Borders, and also bumped into loads of friends as one does including the Lash Brothers, Kath Gammon and Dan Barr (who kindly gave me a huge bundle of beermats he'd won on the tombola).
I won a GBBF 2002 t-shirt, just a BIT too big for me at XXL (think I'll give it to Bill) and a Battersea Beer Festival sweater (size L, much better). I ate a very nice pork and chive sausage hot-dog with spinach instead of onion, then got more beer - but I forgot what I'd bought!! It was definitely time to go home so I caught the 18.17 train back towards home.
Was so drunk that I walked home, went for a lie-down till 10pm, then realised I'd left my bike at the station! Had to get dressed again and go and get it!! I'm such a lush :-)
To my delight I was chosen to taste the Golden Ales, a brand new category of golden, hoppy beers of less than 5.3%. I love hops, me. Doug Fish, a fellow branch member, was given Best Bitters to judge. The other Golden boys and girls were Chris Smith from XFM, Keith Bott from Titanic Brewery, Fiona Shoop from Fresh Magazine, Nina Bates from Flying Firkin and the chairman Phil Roberts from Exeter and East Devon CAMRA. We did comment we were maybe such a girly panel (Keith had a pink shirt on) as Golden Ales appealed especially to women!
To explain the rules: there are 6 tasters to a table for the category tastings, usually with the two CAMRA people at either end. The tasters are usually from different backgrounds - some brewers, some suppliers, some beer writers and some MPs/DJs etc with no beer tasting experience (and therefore less prejudices!). Seven beers are tasted from each category. The CAMRA tasters try to let everyone have a say and discourage people from guessing the beers etc. Marks are given out of 10 for appearance, aroma, taste and aftertaste. The top 3 beers on average score win Gold, Silver and Bronze in their category, and the Gold medallists (9 of them this year) go forward to the final panel to find the Champion Beer of Britain.
The first beer up was brown rather than golden, which was a bad start, and had a serious haze on it which was another! There was some discussion with the Best Bitter tasters, who had a rogue golden beer amongst their brown offerings, but apparently there were no changelings and we'd been given the correct beers.
However the next beer was absolutely superb - golden, flowery and citrussy, with a fantastic hoppy aftertaste. The fourth beer was very nice with a delicious aftertaste. The fifth absolutely reeked of sulphur and tasted sulphury as well, overwhelming and hop or malt character which might have been present. A shame, I thought, if it were in better condition it might have been a really good beer.
We all agreed that we weren't quite sure whether to go for the second one, so we ordered some more of it, just to make sure ;-) Number four was another contender so we tried a bit more of that as well. Then Phil handed our score sheets in.
After a quick dash to the Ladies we adjourned to the buffet whilst the Final Panel sat to judge the Champion Beer. There must have been fierce arguments (not just Ralph McTell and David Davies, heh heh) because the announcement wasn't made till 3pm! Also on the final panel were Nigel Bardon DJ and 4 CAMRA bods, including the ever-popular Roger Protz.
The results:
Champion Beer of Britain: Crouch Vale Brewers Gold
(our nomination won! Quite right too)
Second: Grainstore Rutland Panther
Third: Woodforde’s Wherry
Mild Category
Gold: Grainstore Rutland Panther (Rutland)
Silver: Brains Dark (Cardiff)
Bronze: Elgood’s Black Dog (Cambridgeshire)
Bitter Category
Gold: Woodforde’s Wherry (Norfolk)
Silver: Holdens Black Country Bitter (West Midlands)
Joint Bronze: RCH PG Steam (Somerset)
Belvoir Star (Leicestershire)
Best Bitter Category
Gold: Harveys Sussex Bitter (East Sussex)
Joint Silver: Mighty Oak Burntwood Bitter (Essex)
Joint Bronze: Timothy Taylor Landlord (Yorkshire)
Olde Swan Entire (West Midlands)
Golden Ales Category
Gold: Crouch Vale Brewers Gold (Essex)
Silver: Jarrow Rivet Catcher (Tyne and Wear)
Bronze: Oakham JHB (Cambridgeshire)
(I love all these beers so I was well pleased with the outcome)
Strong Ale Category
Gold: Hanby Nutcracker (Shropshire)
Silver: Bullmastiff Son of a Bitch (Cardiff)
Bronze: Fuller’s ESB (Fullers)
Speciality Category
Gold: Cairngorm Tradewinds (Inverness-shire)
Silver: Young’s Waggledance (London)
Joint Bronze: Daleside Morrocco (North Yorkshire)
Ridleys Rumpus (Essex)
Real Ale in a Bottle category
Gold: Durham Evensong (Durham)
Silver: Young’s Special London Ale (London)
Bronze: Titanic Stout (Staffordshire)
Shame that Triple fff Pressed Rat & Warthog didn't win, it was absolutely superb at GBBF, but the trouble is, it's not a classic mild...I wouldn't change it for the world though!
Met up with Martin, Jenny and Roy from East and Mid Surrey, Julie and William from Surrey/Hants Borders, and also bumped into loads of friends as one does including the Lash Brothers, Kath Gammon and Dan Barr (who kindly gave me a huge bundle of beermats he'd won on the tombola).
I won a GBBF 2002 t-shirt, just a BIT too big for me at XXL (think I'll give it to Bill) and a Battersea Beer Festival sweater (size L, much better). I ate a very nice pork and chive sausage hot-dog with spinach instead of onion, then got more beer - but I forgot what I'd bought!! It was definitely time to go home so I caught the 18.17 train back towards home.
Was so drunk that I walked home, went for a lie-down till 10pm, then realised I'd left my bike at the station! Had to get dressed again and go and get it!! I'm such a lush :-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
