Join me as I take a tour around the northern reaches of England's most northerly county where, amongst the historical towns and villages, and stunning coastline, there are some rather splendid pubs and beers.... After a great day before in Newcastle, and then following a good night's sleep and breakfast, I left the toon behind, heading out of the city centre late morning and up the Ponteland Road to join the A1 on my way further north. Driving up, the road north through Northumberland was busier than I would have expected, particularly considering it was a Sunday. And I have to say this stretch of the Great North Road is not my favourite, as it alternates between dual carriageway and single track, so traffic would bunch for a while and then speed off, and then converge again, whilst the general drift of the road is not the easiest to negotiate. The countryside was unfailingly pleasant though, with the odd sea view off to the right, and bright blue skies overhead, so I wasn'...
Ok, this is something a bit different as I take you to Huddersfield and the Colne Valley and then to Newcastle. Some live stuff written about the place I am sat in as I am away for a few days. So more random I suppose, some of it more like a diary, with a recurring theme of snacks.... Last Wednesday , a group of us who either work, rest, and/or play in the Grayston Unity and Meandering Bear in Halifax headed out for the afternoon to the nearby Colne Valley. We were heading to Marsden which with the ongoing Huddersfield Station works involved catching a train to Mirfield and a 35 minute wait to catch our connecting train. Needless to say, we made the most of our wait, wandering over to the nearby Navigation for some refreshment. Back at the station we boarded the train and after a journey of around 15 minutes, we were duly decanted at Marsden on what was a bright, sunny, and warm day for early October. Down the hill to the Riverhead we went after a short diversion along the canal to vie...