August 2026. Coventry. The last of our eight/nine/ten (appropriate as appropiate) Coventry pubs last Wednesday, though just because you have “Tavern” in your name doesn’t make you a pub. Things get more interesting on the approach to the station from Chapelfields, with many, many, decisions about crossing the dual...

August 2026. Coventry. Nearly finished. But not quite. Oxford Nick and I found a short cut to the legendary Broomfield Tavern tucked away off Spon End, and I immediately sighed “Oh, that’s the Broomfield“. In my mind, I visited all the 14,000 odd pubs on my spreadsheet (the big one) in either 1996, 2001 or 2022. If...

August 2026. Coventry. I thought I’d picked an ambitious crawl around Coventry last Wednesday, and so it proved as we tackled the wonderful terraced pubs of Chapelfields. Never mind a “scratch ‘n’ sniff” edition of this blog; you need something on your laptop to give you a whoosh of 33 degree heat* as you approach...

August 2026. Coventry. Right, let’s leave inner Coventry and head to the underpass, follow those scooters. Spon End is the heart of the light manufacturing quarter west of town, watchmaking mainly, a place few tourists tread. Of course, most tourists tick the cathedral(s) and the music museum that Lana just found,...

August 2026. Coventry. When I suggested a route for the Cov Crawl a month ago I’d used the Beer Guide as my starting point, but skipped the newish micropub in favour of an extra trad pub out west. Will gently chided me for this omission, and 3 years ago I’d noted of Hops D’Amour the cheery drinkers, lovely staff and...

August 2026. Coventry. Life After Football is that essential component you need on a pub crawl, the bloke who will veer you away from the GBG craft micro (ugh) in favour of the desi boozer, keg bar with pick-pockets, or Shisha bar with Jamaica tonic wine. I guess those are the sort of places that top professional...

August 2026. Coventry. See how many times I nick Nick’s map of the Official Proper Day Out in Cov. I didn’t really need to think about a half dozen Coventry pubs* for our half dozen Pub Men. Town Wall Tavern (temporarily closed), Gatehouse Tavern, Broomfield Tavern, Nursery Tavern (there’s a theme here), Old...

August 2026. Coventry. Right, let’s steal Oxford Nick’s map; I did ask him if I could nick it from his excellent Prop Up The Bar blog (better photos than me) 5 minutes ago, which is plenty of notice. Last Wednesday was another Proper Day Out when the rest of the group out-pubbed me, using more efficient trains and...

August 2026. Coventry. A decent break from pubs between Frome and my next Big Trip Out, which I used dreaming up alternative blog titles to “Sent to Coventry“. I’ve been struggling with the relentless driving of the last few years (never mind the 30,000 a year of the previous 20), so it’s back to Platform 5 at...

August 2026. Bristol. A day in Bath, a day in Frome, two (2) identical Chinese takeaways from Twerton’s wonderful Bamboo Garden, which proves I know how to live. After the Zig Zag beer in Frome, the Zig Zag rail journey home, as a fallen tree (posh version of cows on the line) near Bristol Parkway meant heading back...

August 2026. Frome. Finally, Frome finshed. The mile back to the station from the Royal Oak has the odd closed pub, but overall there’s a healthy mix of pubs left, and our last one firmly in the “smart family pub” camp. A rambling place, with perhaps the highest age range of the day (excluding our dozen casketeers)....

August 2026. Frome. A long, long, day in Frome moves towards its conclusion with an actual NEW Beer Guide pub west of town, away from the cutting-edge art and scary shops, and neatly kept courtyards. The Royal Oak is your roadside pub on the way to (checks map) to Vobster and Mells, the pub with bowls of peanuts on...