Local history enthusiast Shaun Stevenson and Chesterfield CAMRA’s InnSpire magazine editor Chris Fox, have teamed up to produce a high quality, self-guided Chesterfield pub tour booklet called “Historical Tales & Traditional Ales”.
The guide begins at The Rutland on Stevenson’s Place in the shadow of the Crooked Spire. The tour meanders through some of Chesterfield’s best pubs and many of its historical locations including the Crooked Spire and the Market place. With histories and anecdotes from 10 pubs open today and many more that have been lost to time, the booklet finishes at the Chesterfield Arms.
Shaun has been running the Chesterfield Great Historic Pub Tour since 2019 and has built up a wealth of information that he recounts in an engaging and easy to read style. Shaun remarked, “We wanted to create something accessible for anyone who is interested in Chesterfield, its pubs and their history. Something that didn’t cost very much and is entertaining, rather than just dry dates and names”.
The pages contain stories of murder, mystery and dark secrets. Everything from pop stars, a streaker, the Oddfellows and even a former prime minister who opened one of Chesterfield’s pubs. “Many people will enjoy a trip down memory lane because we also include some of the more recent history and anecdotes”, said Shaun.
In order to get as many booklets sold as possible the price is just £1 and it is available from every pub on the route – The Rutland, Pig & Pump, The Golden Fleece, the Portland, The Sun, The Market, Hidden Knight, Barley Mow, Gasoline and the Chesterfield Arms.
The driving force behind creating this booklet is Chris Fox. Chris says “Working with Shaun has been a pleasure, we are both really proud of the finished product. We just need people to go out and buy it, do the tour and support our local pubs”.
Anyone wanting a copy that can’t visit Chesterfield town centre can obtain a copy by arrangement with Shaun on 07908 183 160. The booklet can also be viewed and downloaded on the Chesterfield CAMRA website.
By the time you read this we’ll have already done three out of the five RambAles planned for this year. Back in April we had a walk around Redmires Reservoirs. The 51 bus took us to Shiny Sheff which only had one beer (Jaipur) on draft. Having done our walk round the reservoirs we called in Three Merry Lads on what was its last day of operating. Luckily it still had a choice of beers and food available. Our final stop was at the newly reopened Sportsman Inn where a new couple had taken over this well established and popular pub.
May saw us taking a 65 bus out to Eyam, with a field path walk to Bulls Head at Foolow. A drink there set us up for the walk up the hill to Barrel Inn at Bretton (pictured) for a drink and spot of lunch. Then a steepish walk down to Miners Arms in Eyam for our final drink to celebrate John’s 80th birthday before our bus back to Sheffield.
In June we used the annual One Valley Beer Festival as an excuse to visit Dronfield and some of the surrounding villages. Starting at Drone Valley Brewery, we sampled some of their excellent range of beers before walking up to Miner’s Arms at Hundall which was getting quite busy by now. A shortish road walk took us up to Traveller’s Rest at Apperknowle for another choice of beers and to wish Glyn a happy 78th birthday. We then walked down to Dronfield where the festival was really taking over the town. Dronfield Arms was busy inside and equally crowded out in their back yard where they had another bar. But queueing for 40 minutes for a pint soon had us heading for the exits and our buses home. We’ll choose a different route (or day) next year.
We still have two more RambAles planned for later this year which you can join us on. In July we shall be going to Stanton in Peak, Birchover, Darley Bridge and Bakewell. In August a trip out the Hope Valley Beer Festival via calls at Bradwell and Brough. Details in the diary and below.
Although we have a fairly regular group of people coming out on our walks, they are open to all CAMRA members and everyone is welcome to join us on any of these fairly leisurely short walks.
However you are advised to come suitably equipped for the day’s walking, which may be rough, wet and muddy in places (even in summer). You come prepared for the possibility of changeable and inclement weather and will also need to bring (or be able to buy) sufficient food and drink for yourself for the day. We hope you can join us on one or more of our RambAles!
Cheers, Malcolm and Jenny 😀🤓
Stanton in Peak Sat 13 Jul
Catch the 10:40 218 bus from Sheff Interchange to Bakewell to connect with 12:21 172 bus to Stanton in Peak for the Flying Childers Inn. We’ll then walk back to Birchover for the Red Lion. From there we’ll walk to the Square & Compass in Darley Bridge. Then a bus back to Bakewell for Joiners Arms and/or buses back to Sheffield.
Bradwell, Brough & Hope Sat 24 Aug
Catch the 12:36 272 Castleton bus from Sheffield Interchange as far as Bradwell where we’ll visit the Bowling Green. We’ll walk to Brough for a visit to Intrepid Brewery (if open) before making our way to the Old Hall Hotel at Hope for their Bank Holiday Beer & Cider Festival. Buses or trains back from Hope.
Our vice chair Paul Manning and his wife Bev recently visited Japan and South Korea trying the local beer scene on their travels.
Our 18-day adventure started with a brief flight stopover in the UAE at the ultra-modern sand dune shaped Abu Dhabi airport where we had time to sample a pint of 1758 Belgium IPA but at £13 each, they were easily the most expensive of the trip.
After 16 hours total flying time we arrived in Narita airport and, after a 40-mile taxi transfer, reached the excellent Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo which was to be our base for the first three nights. Fighting off the dreaded jetlag we headed out on a prearranged night-time beer and food tour round Shinjuku. Our tour group consisted off ourselves, three Americans, an Australian and our Japanese guide.
A great camaraderie ensued during the four-hour tour which consisted of stops at some great street food and beer stalls where the delights of fried chicken, dumplings and even raw horse meat were tried, washed down with copious amounts of the local beers – mainly Kirin and Asahi super dry lagers together with the local favourite, highball cocktail.
Shinjuku at night was like New York Times Square with neon lights, the famous 3D digital cat, a towering Godzilla and was crowded with people which wasn’t a surprise for the world’s most populated city where 34 million people live in the greater Tokyo conurbation. After a detour to a local Shinto shrine where we paid our respects, the tour finished in what could only be described as a dive bar and after more Kirin I tasted some snake infused liquor. It was basically a local Japanese whisky with a decapitated snake head occupying the bottle!
Having survived the horse meat and snake liquor our next two days were again on pre-booked tours of wider Tokyo and further afield. The city is an amazing metropolis but so safe and clean – no graffiti or litter in sight which contrasted wildly with home. We explored Tokyo far and wide on the first day visiting the emperor’s imperial palace, the royal Shinto shrine with hundreds of saki beer barrels, a trip to the top of the Skytree tower for amazing views and a trip round Tokyo bay.
Beer opportunities were a little limited, with some green matcha flavoured ale at lunch, followed by a dark Asahi pale at the tower summit and more Kirin on the boat. The 45th floor lounge bar in our hotel more than sufficed for a few more lagers and cocktails accompanying dinner with jaw dropping night-time city views.
The second day was bright and clear with the main highlight a visit to the snow-covered foothills of Mount Fuji which was out in her full glory (we were lucky as she is only seen out of cloud around 60 days a year). A cable car ride over a sulphur emitting dormant volcano and a pirate ship lake ride followed before another highlight being a super-fast return trip by bullet train to Tokyo. The ship had an excellent Gora Brewery Rising Sun IPA but our beer highlight was a visit to a Hitachino Brewing’s Nest Beer outlet just outside one of Tokyo train station’s numerous exits.
The craft beers were excellent at approximately £5 a pint, and we spent a good two hours sampling their Dai DaiAle 6% IPA, Amber Ale 6%, MikanSession IPA 4.5%, Nipponia 6% IPA, History 1602Pale Ale 5% and Espresso Stout 8%. I’d recommend seeking them out if ever in Tokyo.
The second part of our trip was a 12-night cruise down the east side of Japan onboard the cruise liner Celebrity Millennium. A great ship with attentive staff, great entertainment and food.
Onboard, craft beers were either bottled or canned and mostly American. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Goose Island IPA, Sam Adams Boston Lager, Lagunitas A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale wheat IPA, Guiness (on St Patrick’s Day) were all sampled together with some more interesting brews including 90 Minute IPA 9% imperial IPA from Dogfish Head Brewery, a Unibroue Brewery (Canada) La Fin du Monde 9% wheat beer and a Terrapin Beer (Georgia, US) Luau Krunkles IPA 6.5% passion fruit, orange and guava IPA.
While the East China Sea was at times rather rough, the weather was mostly dry if a little chilly. Our ports of call were varied with trips to more Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, castles, spectacular underground caves, and exquisite Japanese gardens mixed in with spectacular views over the cities of Okinawa, Kagoshima, Osaka, Kyoto in Japan, Jeju Island in South Korea and paddling in the Pacific Ocean in Shizuoka.
Of course, the alcohol side was satisfied by trips to a saki brewery factory and museum with an 18% saki beer purchased, Nanto brewery in Okinawa and a sweet potato shōchū 25% proof beer purchase in Kagoshima.
All in all, a spectacular trip with plenty of opportunities to sample Japanese culture, cities and the beer scene in Tokyo which is highly recommended.
My friends set off for Scarborough early Good Friday morning, but being a foolish football fan, I went to the game after booking a Northern train for the day after.
Saturday saw me rise at 03:30 to prepare and get the taxi for the 05:42 to Scarborough. The train was akin to a magical mystery tour, and my split ticket to Doncaster, then onwards took me through Goole, Beverley, Bridlington and Filey before arrival in Scarborough, but at least it was direct.
On arrival I went to my hotel the Palace Hill, a 260 year old listed building, just across from the Merchant. My friend and I had to leave the third person suffering from the previous night. One quick pint in the Golden Last saw a Beavertown Neck Oil on keg at 4.3%, as there was no cask. On arrival, the Spa Pavilion was already Filling up at 13:00.
Surprisingly for a punk festival, it had two real ales to its beer roster. I tried both, and they were well kept. The first was Wold Top Bitter, a very sessionable 3.7% from the Driffield based brewery. Second was the festival branded Scarborough Punk Festival IPA, a 4.2%, again brewed by Wold Top.
Awaking the next morning, and not with the first band I wanted to see until 16:40, I set out at 13:00 to have an ale adventure.
First stop was halfway down N Marine Road, where I had a well kept pint of Taylors Landlord, 4.3%, described as pale, but more a lighter bitter to me.
I then had a stroll round the North Bay before taking the open top bus to the South Bay. Alighting near the traffic lights near the Frigate, a lovely small real ale bar just up a small, steep cobbled street. I had a pint of Maxim Samson Bitter, a good, smooth bitter of 4%.
Next was the short walk to the Merchant, a lightly themed Irish bar, but with a nice WB Blonde on cask at 4%.
I then walked further up to the hill to Dickens, festooned with TVs and tourists. Theakston Summit, a bright, crisp 4.2% EPA was on offer, so that was partaken.
It was time to watch the bands again, so I strolled down past the Grand Hotel to the Spa Pavilion for a few more SPF IPAs. After a great four bands, we called in the Lord Nelson where a Theakston Best Bitter was drank for one more for the road.
The short hop to the hotel was uneventful. So all in all, somewhere I would like to revisit with two days to venture further afield to the bars I missed in Scarborough CAMRA’s recommendations.
The weekend of 11-13 May sees some changes to Derbyshire buses.
In Killamarsh service 80 to Chesterfield has a change of operator and route, with First South Yorkshire replacing Hulleys of Baslow. A direct bus to Sheffield is once again introduced with First bus 120k – this is the existing 120 with one bus an hour extended beyond Crystal Peaks. Timetables are available from Derbyshire County Council at derbysbus.info
In the Peak District Stagecoach’s Peak Sightseer open top bus service makes a return for 2024, this time with two routes – Blue route from Chatsworth to Castleton on an hourly frequency and Red route from Chatsworth to Bakewell every half hour. There are also some feeder trips at the start and end of day with pick ups at Meadowhead, Woodseats, Ecclesall and Totley. The ticket price this year is £9.50 for an adult or £25 for a group of 5 people with discounts offered for concessionary pass holders and Wayfarer ticket holders. The ticket is a “Gold DayRider” offering all day unlimited hop-on-hop-off travel on the Peak Sightseer services plus all other Stagecoach buses in the area. More information online at stagecoachbus.com
Also in our area with less significant timetable or route changes are buses 65, 208, 257, 272 and X17 whilst on Supertram there is engineering work from 25 May to 2 June – details at travelsouthyorkshire.com.
Peak Sightseer open top buses – Red routePeak Sightseer open top buses – Blue route
With our entry of the Old Hall Hotel into the North Derbyshire regional entry round of the national Pub of the Year competition comes an obligation to judge the other entries in our region, from the Matlock, Chesterfield and Dronfield CAMRA branches. This was a fairly easy trip on the bus to do so we made an ad-hoc social of it.
A group of us met on the X17 bus from Sheffield to Matlock Green for our first pub of the day, the Red Lion, which is also home to Moot Ales. A range of their own beers plus guests were on the handpumps with an overall range of six cask ales available (seven were advertised but the Bass was unavailable).
Despite slightly windy conditions the sun was out and it was pleasant enough to take a walk into Matlock town centre and over the river bridge for a couple of bonus extra pubs – bod Matlock, Titanic Brewery’s café bar, where a little light lunch was enjoyed, before a further cheeky half a few doors down in the Twenty Ten bar, the Matlock branch award winner last year!
Back on the X17 next, to Chesterfield, followed by a bit of a walk (some of our party regretted not waiting for a connecting bus!) up to Brampton to visit the Rose & Crown. The main part of the pub was packed and the outdoor drinking areas were fairly busy for the time of year too, however the snug room was empty so we made ourselves comfy in there and enjoyed a couple of well kept ales from a fairly extensive choice served by staff who were friendly and helpful despite being busy.
Lessons were learned and we caught a bus from Brampton back into Chesterfield town centre in order to catch the 44 bus up to Coal Aston to visit the final pub to be judged, the Cross Daggers. This is a traditional community local which only opens in the evening and at around 6pm on Saturday when we arrived was packed with a great atmosphere, we were lucky and managed to squeeze in on an empty table!
The beer range wasn’t as exotic as the other pubs we’d visited – Tetley Bitter, Adnams Broadside, Timothy Taylor Landlord and a Drone Valley beer providing the LocAle representation – however all the beers tried were in immaculate condition and served by efficient staff.
Having visited all three pubs we were required to judge a good number of the party headed home from here, however a couple of us jumped in a taxi for the short trip down the hill into Dronfield and enjoyed an excellent pizza at the Dronfield Arms (which is also home to Temper Brewing) and saw a band performing at the Green Dragon before boarding a 43 bus back to Sheffield.
Bus X17 runs limited stop between Sheffield, Chesterfield and Matlock every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday daytime and hourly on Sundays. Bus 44 runs from Sheffield to Chesterfield via Coal Aston and Dronfield hourly in the daytime and every 2 hours in the evening. A Derbyshire Wayfarer pass for all buses in Derbyshire (including direct buses from Sheffield to/from Derbyshire) costs £8 for the day or single fares are currently capped at just £2 per ride.Check out more details of the pubs at whatpub.com.
In May last year I went on a short weekend break with friends to Wrocław, Poland to coincide with the Wrocławski Festiwal Dobrego Piwa, which translates as the Wrocław Good Beer Festival. Held over three days in late May or June each year. Last year was the 13th Festival held on 26-28 May.
The event took place on the concourse of the Tarczyński Arena, a football stadium in Wrocław built for the 2012 European Football Championship. It is indicative of the Polish love of cured meats that it is sponsored by a sausage company! Over 70 breweries from across Poland operated stands selling beers, ciders and meads direct to customers. Numerous stalls selling a variety of Polish savoury and sweet food options and a stage with live bands/DJs complemented the drink offerings.
Our plan was to attend the festival in the late afternoon and evenings and spend the rest of our time visiting some of the many nearby tourist attractions.
The historic city of Wrocław itself is located on the river Oder in the southwest of Poland. The German border is around 150 km West and the border with Czechia less than 75 km to the southwest. One of the popular landmarks in Wrocław is the market square in the old town. Here beneath the Old Town Hall is Piwnica Świdnicka one of the oldest restaurants in the world, open continuously since 1273. In front of the town hall we sampled some of their own beers from an outside portable bar. We then had a dark beer, Ciemne Piwo, at the nearby Spiz restaurant.
Friday morning day we drove out to the Stołowe Mountains National Park on the Czech border. Here we explored the unusual rock formations on this section of the “Table Mountains”. We then walked a few miles across into Czechia to small hostel to have refreshing glass of KrakonošCzech Pilsner.
That evening we headed to the beer festival sampling various beers including Attack of Fruitiness(Fruited Gose) from TankBusters, Sangriale(Fruit beer) from Pinta, and much needed plate of golanka, a Polish pork knuckle dish.
Saturday morning we headed over to Książ Castle. A very impressive 400 room castle, once home to the Hochbergs, one of the wealthiest European noble families. It is built in the Renaissance style with surrounding terraces and landscaped gardens. Despite is fairy tale looks however it has a dark past. In 1944 the castle was seized by the Nazis. Under SS supervision, a vast network of underground tunnels was dug below the castle using forced labour from a nearby concentration camp. Parts of these tunnels are now accessible to the public on guided tours.
After following the interesting audio guided tour around the castle, while waiting for our tunnel tour, we relaxed in the terraced gardens with a cheesecake washed down with a Książęce Cherry Ale.
In the evening we then made our way back to the beer festival. Beers sampled included a Podróż na wschód (Polish Session IPA) from Markowy brewery and a Berliner Weisse from Lobster brewery.
On Sunday we headed north to the town of Żagań. During World War II however, this was the German town of Sagan and home to the Stalag Luft III prison-of-war camp, made famous by the 1963 Hollywood film The Great Escape and also featuring in this year’s Hanks/Spielberg mini-series Masters of the Air. There is a visitor centre and museum, featuring a full-size reconstruction of Hut 104 from which the tunnel “Harry” was started. To the west of the site you can drive into the forest to the location of the North Compound used for British and Commonwealth POWs. Here are stone slabs marking the route of the “Harry” tunnel, memorials inscribed with the names and nations of the inmates and a reconstructed guard tower giving views across the site, where the foundations of the various buildings can be seen.
In the evening, we headed back into Wroclaw to see the multimedia fountains (one of the largest displays in Europe) at Szczytnicki Park near the UNESCO World Heritage Centenary Hall.
On the final day we visited various outdoor drinking locations in town, including a bar on a riverside floating pontoon. In the evening, we went to the Solidarity themed restaurant Konspira. Here we enjoyed some regional Polish dishes, washed down with some Polish cider, seated in the back of a jeep located in the venue’s courtyard.
This was my second visit to Wrocław, and I would certainly recommend it as European weekend break location. This year’s festival is from Fri 21 – Sun 23 June 2024.
A new Demand Responsive bus service has launched in North East Derbyshire called Travel Derbyshire On Demand, funded by the county council’s bus service improvement plan.
This is a minibus service operated by Derbyshire Community Transport that is open to all and is designed to cater for journeys not served by regular scheduled buses. The fare is a flat £4 per ride for adults (Derbyshire Wayfarer tickets also accepted) and you need to book your journey in advance either on their app or on the phone. The system then designs a bus route around all the passengers wanting to travel around that time.
This bus is available for pretty much any journey within North East Derbyshire and operates on weekdays between 7am and 7pm and on Saturdays between 8am and 5pm.
The area of operation stretches from Dronfield, Ridgeway and Eckington in the north down as far south as Alfreton. There’s some good rural pubs in that area this bus could be useful for getting to in an afternoon!
In other news, the Sheffield City Centre “Sheffield Connect” bus service sees improvements from 8 April. The existing service will be numbered SC1 and operate longer hours – 7am to 7pm – and a second route, SC2 will be introduced running from Sheffield Interchange to the Moor then along Arundel Gate, down to Millsands (for Kelham Island) and back to the Interchange via Castlegate and Flat Street. At the same time the existing minibuses are due to be replaced with electric single deckers too.
Both the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) and First bus recently consulted on changes to some bus services from 7 April. Routes in Sheffield affected include 10, 10a, 24, 31, 32, 52a, 58, 72, 72a, 73, 97, 135, 137, M92, X1, X5, X10, X78. If you use those services check before travelling!
Supertram changes operator from 22 March with Stagecoach’s operating concession coming to an end. A new publicly owned company (controlled at arms length by SYMCA) will take over as the new operator. There are no changes to services planned initially but there will be some changes to ticketing with it no longer being a Stagecoach service. Supertram runs on four routes – Blue route from Halfway to Malin Bridge, Purple route from Herdings Park to Sheffield City Centre, Yellow route from Middlewood to Meadowhall and Tram Train from Sheffield to Parkgate via Rotherham Central. The maximum single fare is currently £2.80 and various unlimited travel passes are also available.
Although there has been plenty of talk recently about cuts to bus services in South Yorkshire that happened in the last year or two, mainly due to the South Yorkshire Mayor not having sufficient budget to support as many non-commercial bus services and subsidised fares that he’d like to it is worth reminding there has been good news when it comes to buses into Derbyshire with the County Council implementing their Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) they successfully won government funding for. From Sheffield this includes route X17 with more buses to Matlock, an hourly extension via Matlock Bath to Wirksworth and an evening service between Sheffield and Chesterfield; route 218 gaining an evening service between Sheffield and Bakewell; route 272 gaining a later last bus from Sheffield to Castleton on Fridays and Saturdays; extension of Sunday journeys on route 257 beyond Yorkshire Bridge to Glossop and Castleton; extension of evening and Sunday journeys on route 44 beyond Dronfield to Chesterfield. Other buses from Sheffield into Derbyshire include the 65 to Buxton, 43 to Chesterfield via Dronfield, 50/50a to Chesterfield via Eckington and 53 to Mansfield via Clowne.
The majority of buses in our area continue to have the £2 maximum single fare offer funded by the government, there are also various unlimited travel passes available.
Barnsley, a town I had not visited for decades, in fact not since racing my cycle through its streets and precincts in the ’80s races held their. So, after hearing good things about its transformation, I decided to make the trip on my NR £2 return.
I started my day with a couple of swift drinks in the Bankers Draft. The first pint was a very nice Salamander Juicy Lucy, a pale of 4% with banana overtones. As the train was departing at 11:35, I followed this with a half of JHB bitter of 4.2% before the walk to Midland Station.
As always, or so it seems, the announcer stated the train would depart from 4a, rather than the 1a we were all sat on. The mass exodus over the bridge was quite chaotic. The short hop to Barnsley quickly passed, and before I knew it we arrived in the town.
As usual, I had a little exploration before hitting the bars. I must say that they have regenerated the town centre with great success. It is nice and bright, with a mix of old, new and very few vacant units. The market in particular is worth a mention, busy and vibrant with a variety of stalls to suit everyone, and a very busy food hall with Artisan food vendors. There was a Deli that sold tapas style dishes, now I love pitted olives with chilli, but be aware these were dynamite and good value at £2 for around a dozen or so.
With my mouth tingling, it as time for a drink. I made my way up Market Street to The Kestrel. A little like a Wetherspoon, but with music, TVs and a very good darts set-up. There was 2 beers on from the 6 wickets on the bar. As one was Landlord, I plumped for Ringwood’s Razor Back, a 3.8% session bitter at a reasonable £3.60 and served by a friendly girl.
A customer recommended my next port of call should be the Old No 7, so off I went up Market Hill. As I approached, ready to take my photograph, there was a chap about to have a cigarette who kindly stepped back in while I did so. This turned out to be Matty, a customer and part-time custodian of the bar. I was immediately impressed with the 8 pumps, only 1 of which had run out. I plumped for the Acorn CF299 IPA, a full-bodied 5% of English heritage. I also put a SALT Suede stout in the pump and a very tasty 4.1% with notes of chocolate and coffee, nicely roasted it was.
Manager Adam certainly knows his stuff and after moving from Skipton’s Blackhorse, he is certainly making this establishment a success. Beers regularly come from Acorn, Thornbridge, Little Critters and Ossett, as well as further afield.
Matty had said that my next visit should be Bar Ruelle on Regent Street S, as it was another that carried an impressive array of cask. A little awkward to find, but close to the Interchange on a little side street. The bar nestles in-between small shops. Stepping in, you are faced with a bright and modern interior with the normal sight of regulars sat at the bar. As stated the pumps were varied between dark and light beers including Acorn, Theakston’s and Titanic. My first drink was Fixed Wheels Chain Reaction, 4.2% APA with Ossett’s White Rat 4% EPA closely following on. I still had over a hour to go, so 2 more beers were consumed here, those being Acorn Barnsley Bitter 3.8% and a rather nice Old Moor Porter 4.4% from the same brewery.
I left to make the short journey across the road to the Interchange for my train home. Faced with a short delay, the train arrived 10 minute late for the short journey home. As it was still fairly early, I popped in the Old Queens Head for one last drink. The pumps on the bar have changed slightly with 4 of them being dedicated to Thwaites beers, so I plumped for a pint of Vocation Bread & Butter 3.9% APA and very nice it was too.
All in all, a very pleasant and successful reconnaissance for a summer social to the town with the branch. As Arnie said “I’ll be back.”
