I had been in Rochdale on a fleeting visit only last week en route to watch FC Halifax Town away at Oldham, but having been made aware of a few new establishments in the town selling real ale I decided to take the opportunity of a free Sunday and make a quick return.... I was later catching the train than I'd planned from Halifax, but fortunately it is only half an hour to Rochdale on the fastest trains, and with a regular connecting tram services even on a Sunday it doesn't take long at all to get to the heart of Rochdale town centre. Whilst the approach down Drake Street with its forlorn and rundown look with boarded up premises in and amongst the takeaways, vape shops, and Polski Skleps doesn't look promising at all, as you arrive at the tram terminus things start to brighten up. In fact, I think it is no exaggeration to say that one of the finest open urban spaces in the country is the area around Rochdale's newly refurbished town hall. After several years shuttere...
Another piece from the Midlands, this time featuring Shrewsbury where I stayed for a couple of nights the other week. I had been here a few times before, but with it having been a few years ago, I was curious as to what the pub scene was like these days.... Shrewsbury is one of my favourite towns in England. Not only does it have some cracking pubs, it has an incredible history and is also home to some stunning buildings, whilst its setting in and around a loop of the River Severn gives it, like Durham and its similar relationship with the River Wear, something of the feel of an island, a place apart that moves along in its own individual, time-honoured way. The local poet A.E. Houseman wrote of the town in his famous poem A Shropshire Lad: " High the vanes of Shrewsbury gleam, Islanded in Severn stream, The bridges from the steepled crest, Cross the water east to west" Shrewsbury certainly has a rich history, with Anglo-Saxon roots, whilst the Romans had a settlement close...