April 2026. Sheffield-Grantham-Waterbeach-Southborough-Sheffield. Another week, another slog down and back up the A1, this time with the added bonus of a day trip to Tunbridge Wells to take my Mother-in-Law for surgery (all well, thanks). I’ve made this trip every week since COVID, and it gets tougher each time. Not...

April 2026. Sheffield. I did get back from Retford, eventually, and arriving in Sheffield at 10 to 5 gave me a rare chance of a seat and tea with Mrs RM in the Rutland. I gave my dearest an hour’s notice, so she’d only be half an hour late, and picked the seat closest to the jukebox so I could be deafened by the...

April 2026. Retford. I had a look at my last blog post from Retford (a bit like Alistair Cooke’s Letter from America without the golf ) while walking the mile into town and realised how little had changed. It’s a low-key market town of 24,000 (exactly, per Wiki) souls; nicely pedestrianised but far too quiet, though...

April 2026. Retford. You left me at Lincoln Bus Station, waiting for the Number 56 to Wragby that never came. There’s a sadness about missing out on a planned GBG tick that only the ticker knows. But if you can’t have an actual tick, have a pre-emptive tick in Retford on the way home. First visit since 2021, and...

April 2026. Lincoln. South Herts have made a splendid job of organising this week’s CAMRA Members Weekend, putting the emphasis on pub crawls curated surveys of licenses premises. If you’re in St Albans this weekend and see Paul Mudge, don’t forget to buy him a half. They’ve also just produced a leaflet promoting...

April 2026. Lincoln. I’m not adding the Ritz to my extensive “2026 Pubs Visited” spreadsheet, as I didn’t even have a can of San Pellegrino, so terrified was I of needing a comfort break on the bus to Wragby in half an hour, and having to get off at the North Greetwell stop and never getting home again. This is what...

April 2026. Lincoln. Easter Monday means one of a) pubs you expect to be closed are open, b) pubs you expect open are closed, c) trains don’t run, or d) you’ve got a hangover from Sunday night. I took a punt on the Adam & Eve in Wragby, a dining pub half an hour bus ride from Lincoln station. Yes, 2hr 44min from...

April 2026. Barkisland. West Yorkshire. As you’ll observe, I don’t tend to suffer from writer’s block, unless I stupidly follow pints of Old Peculier with pints of Wobbly Bob and suffer the consequences. Vikram Seth is still struggling with his follow-up to the epic “A Suitable Boy“, a novel so good I took two days...

April 2026. Norden. Greater Manchester. Look at those contour lines ! An underrated place, Greater Rochdale, with micros in the town and hills all around. And top blogger (and bloke) Tandleman and the lovely E close by. But what does Norden, 2 miles out of town on the road to Ramsbottom, have to attract the visitor...

A Gusty Good Day In Walsall.

April 2026. Norden. Greater Manchester. Closing in on a belated completion of Greater Manchester GBG entries now (two Wigan brewery taps left, and who can guess when they’ll be open). As you’ll know by now I tend to go stir crazy if I don’t get to visit somewhere new every week day hour, so I’m off to posh suburban...

April 2026. Bingley. West Yorkshire. A very quick in Steeton in the drizzle, then a hop back on the train to Leeds and home. Very unsatisfactory, there must be a worthwhile stop that isn’t Leeds or Wakefield. Where to break the trip back ? Keighley deserves a full day out (it probably doesn’t these days), Crossflats...