Real Ale, Real Music

A visit to a new area for me, taking in some fine beer, a walk through some beautiful countryside, and a new football ground. Read on for details.... The train rattled through the last throes of the South London sprawl, and shortly afterwards, we were passing through the increasingly attractive Surrey countryside. A stop at Leatherhead, and then we alighted at the attractive Box Hill and Westhumble station, complete with traditional red phone box. Apparently it was often seen in the introduction to many of Michael Portillo's train tours, prompting speculation that the pastel-suited traveller may have actually lived around these parts. Back to today, and it seemed many of those who had got off the train with us had come to walk up Box Hill, the 224-metre (735ft) North Downs summit which overlooks the town of Dorking. It lies within the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, with part of the hill owned and managed by the National Trust. Situated less than 20 miles from Lond

A first visit to London for a while included an evening wandering around the central areas of Hackney, where there are several excellent and varied pubs and other establishments with plenty of decent beer to be found.... My old friend Richard had kindly invited me to stay with him in London last weekend which coincided with Halifax Town's first-ever visit to Dorking Wanderers, and so on Friday I caught the mid-morning Grand Central from Brighouse and save for the constant chatter of a hen party from Pontefract who had hit the prosecco before we had arrived in Doncaster, it was a pretty uneventful journey, which ended when the train pulled into Kings Cross around a quarter to two. Following a late lunch and quick turnaround at Richard's place in Worcester Park, we got the train back into central London, and after alighting at Waterloo Station, we took the tube to Bank on the shortest of the lines, the Waterloo and City, which simply ferries passengers between the two stations, a

One of our local micropubs recently celebrated its 7th birthday, and that set me off thinking about the growth of these small pubs and how they have became an integral part of the drinking scene over the past few years.... I called into the Market Tavern in Brighouse the other evening as the popular micropub, situated not surprisingly beside the town's market, was celebrating its 7th birthday. The place was busy, the beer was flowing, and the complimentary sandwiches and other bits of food on the bar were being eagerly consumed. I enjoyed a pint of both Goose Eye Chinook and Blue Bee Triple Hop, both spot on, and enjoyed conversations with friends, as I always do when I call in there. It doesn't seem that long since Snap and Debbie opened the town's first micro in a former storeroom for a nearby butchers, making it one of the first in Calderdale, following on from Calan's in Hebden Bridge, since when it has established itself as an indispensable part of the local drink

This small town beside the River Wharfe sits on the doorstep of the Yorkshire Dales and I recently went back there for the first time in about 40 years to check out how the local pub scene is faring these days. Here's what I found... Back in the early 1980's I spent three years living in a bedsit in the Leeds suburb of Headingley. Despite the cramped living space, one of the benefits of living there was that it was easy to get to other places beyond the city; from the local station it was possible to catch the train to Harrogate, Knaresborough, or even York, whilst a 10 minute walk in the other direction to the Otley Road gave the opportunity of catching a bus to the eponymous Wharfedale market town. In those days before pubs anywhere could open all day, Otley's pubs could benefit from the town's market town status and open for longer when it was market day, which made taking a 30 minute journey there a worthwhile proposition. And away from the student suburbs of the ci

The beer scene around Tyneside continues to flourish, as I found when I had a wander around Tynemouth and North Shields at the weekend.... The sun was shining and it was quite spring-like as I drove up the A19 towards Tyneside for my first visit there for almost a year. I had arranged to meet the family in Tynemouth for the afternoon, and had booked to stay over at the Premier Inn in North Shields, the cost of a stopover in central Newcastle on a Saturday night having climbed to ridiculous levels. But the fact that there were three entries for North Shields in the latest Good Beer Guide and I hadn't been in any of them before actually made staying there a decent choice. And North Shields seemed to be an interesting town. 8 miles to the east of Newcastle, it is a place which has its own distinct character. It was originally a fishing village, growing up around where the Pow Burn flowed into the Tyne and fishing still informs its character today. The town's location and geograph

As the long month of January fades into the distance, and February takes the reins, I take a trip over to Lancashire in which I enjoy some fine beer and an unexpected football result, whilst closer to home I get to a couple of excellent gigs. Read on for more details.... Another Saturday away day, this time a short trip over the Pennines into Lancashire. I got the train from Halifax (my original plan to go for breakfast at The Station Cafe and get the train over to Rochdale from Brighouse scuppered by the lack of any direct services on the day). It's not that I mind going from Halifax; the service is quicker, but a hearty breakfast in the town where I live is always a treat and whilst it seems that due to engineering works direct services between Leeds and Manchester via Brighouse have only been put on temporary hold, any reduction in the quality of train services for the second biggest town in Calderdale is frustrating. Anyway, enough of me moaning. I got to Rochdale where I was m