retiredmartin
retiredmartin
Martin
Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.
Latest Posts
June 2026. London. A day at the in-laws, bearing up in the Tunbridge Wells heat better than me, and then the 17:10 into Charing Cross for a gig. The rail advice was not to travel unless absolutely necessary. I asked ChatGPT for guidance....
June 2026. Royal Tunbridge Wells. We arrived back from Armenia at 1:30 in the morning, delighted to have won the Wizz seat roulette and secured aisle seats. A quick snooze in the campervan before a whizz down the A505 to see Dad in...
June 2026. Armenia. Our week in Armenia comes to an end with a late flight home to Luton, and who doesn’t dream of arriving home at Luton Airport at 2am in the morning ? But first, Mrs RM has got a “short” tour planned before a dash to...
June 2026. Kond. Yerevan. One more bar that last night in Yerevan, and a 20 minute uphill slog to Kond. We had no idea why Kond was a recommended detour, beyond it being inaccessible. This pic from We Did It Our Way hardly draws you in,...
June 2026. Yerevan. Our final night in Armenia, Sunday proved the busiest of the lot, the streets around Republic Square heaving with families. Pavstos Buzand Street in particular seemed as classy a dining street as anywhere in London...
June 2026. Yereven. At ten to nine, the whole city of Yerevan seemed to descend on Republic Square. And bang on nine, the singing fountains outside the national museums and Government buildings came to life. Press PLAY to try to identify...
June 2026. Yerevan. Armenia. After three years of delving ever further into eastern Europe and onto the Caucasus, you learn not to have too many preconceptions about countries you only know from Eurovision and the preliminary rounds of...
June 2026. Yereven. This is Mrs RM’s tick list for essential sites in the Armenian capital, denoted by camels. Reader, I saw zero camels in Armenia. These mini-posts are mainly to jog Mrs RM’s memory of an epic Yerevan mop-up day last...
June 2026. Yerevan. Armenia. Breakfast at our “Boutique” hotel was certainly colourful; it was the only free breakfast we managed that week, with no food till 9am and those early tour starts. Tucked just outside the ring road, next to...
June 2026. Yerevan. Armenia. Just the hour late, our tour bus returned to its slot opposite the Yerevan Opera House just past 7, and we turned down tickets for Sleeping Beauty just to bring you reports on the craft bar scene. We’ve found...
June 2026. Armenia. Back in bed from the Southern Armenia 16 hour slog, a 6am alarm on Saturday morning for another early tour was as welcome as a Maidenhead micro closure. But this northern exploration, centred on the lakes and forests,...
June 2026. Armenia. I’ll be honest, by the 5th day of our Armenia trip last week I was knackered. Or specifically, my legs were. Sunday afternoon – 4 hours drive down to Waterbeach then Luton Airport. Monday – 5 hours in window seat on...
June 2026. Yerevan. A second night in Gyumri, exploring a Soviet amusement park, but deciding against the wheel, before heading back to the wonderful station on Thursday morning. I don’t think it actually sells tickets or anything, but...
June 2026. Armenia. Churches, beer, statues, mountains, lakes. But what about Armenian food ? Well, there’s no obvious Chinese takeaway scene, but loads of pastries, and particularly good salads, notably at the smart Yaghli family diner...
June 2026. Gyumri. Armenia. Pubs, art, weird food, churches….what else is there ? Armenia certainly has the churches, and a fair few folk (FFF) have questioned whether what there is to do if you don’t like touring monasteries. Gyumri’s...