Walking the UK, ticking off CAMRA Good Beer Guide Pubs and hunting for Geocaches.
The Winston Green Island A simple walk from my "Home of Football" and into the City outskirts at the Jewellery Quarter. The Birmingham Canal providing a green-ish corridor through an urban landscape. Graffiti, some of it excellent, rubbish and the most unusual hobo. Living in a tent at a bridge, with a pontoon harbour made of milk bottles to protect his canoe. He is friends to the geese. Today's…
Comparing Ancient Worcestershire Pubs It's a matter of days before the new edition of the Good Beer Guide is replaced. Where does time go? My usual commitment is to ensure that my home county, Worcestershire remains "greened". There are two entries to tick. Today, it is Honeybourne. Technically two villages - Church Honeybourne and Cow Honeybourne. Until 1958, one was in Worcestershire and one was…
Great Estate Our host has left a series of George (the dog we are sitting) favourite walks. King Alfred's Tower recommended for the shade provided by Penselwood, an ancient forest. Early and out for free National Trust Parking. How lovely! Usually the most expensive in the land. It's forest rides, ancient earthworks and hillforts until we reach Stourhead - a country estate, for which we were…
The Host Knows Our latest dog-sit brings us to Cucklington. It's quite possible over the three-day weekend that we may be able to do a walk in three different counties. We start in Dorset. During the introductions and our host listens to my planned walks at Castle Cary and Bruton. I can tell he is unimpressed and ask him where we should go. Shaftesbury is mentioned, but we have recreated bread…
Drinking with the Archers..... How Much! Inkberrow, Worcestershire, is connected to the county town by an infrequent bus service. Running only sporadically, it means that once I'm there, I'm stuck for a while. Fortunately, there are two pubs in which to while away the time. The bull seems to have been an animal of particular importance to past landlords, featuring in the names of both of them. The…
New Cicerone Guide Klaxon I do like the Cicerone Day Walks Guides. Always interesting, always on the right side of challenging. And my home county has a new 2026 release. Saves me having to think too hard Having the car, I decide on Walk 2. The Teme Valley. I ask AI what to look for in the hamlets of Eardiston, Stanford Bridge, Orleton, Eastham and Lindridge. It replies, "There is nothing of…
Early Harvest I may be two days early for Lammas, but the strange weather makes a mockery of the calendar. All the conditions for a pilgrimage walk seem to have fallen into place. The farmers are already bringing in the harvest, and I find an oak beneath which to eat my ham sandwich. I have neither loaf nor companions to complete the ritual as tradition prescribes. August brings Lughnasadh (or…
Spaghetti, Stadiums and Dead Centres If you take nothing else from this blog, take this. Do not stop in Perry Barr Square, waiting to get a signal on your GPS. You will be left wondering why extras from The Walking Dead need spare change. This walk from the AZ Series is primarily concerned with stadiums. The Alexander Stadium was re-developed for the Commonwealth Games. The Greyhound Stadium…
Hanging On Mrs M demands a Sunday lunch, I tell her to find the pub and I will plot a route to work up an appetite. The Fox and Hounds in Lulsley comes up with great reviews. I know the pub, just off the Worcestershire Way, but in the back of my mind, I remember reading it was up for sale. True enough, a Worcester News article from 2025 detailing how there cannot be a viable business and planning…
Around and around in circles for 5 years So what's a man to do when he has walked the Capital Ring , the London Loop and the London Country Way ? Each of these Long Distance Paths are circular, in ever more distant circles around the Capital. How about a Spiral walk that starts at Kings Cross and gets further and further out till you are dumped at Gravesend? There are two sources available -…
5 Years That's exactly how long ago - to the day - it is since I set out from King's Cross on the London Spiral. 26 day walks later, having crossed the Thames by bridge, boat, underneath and cable car. I've reached the end of the track. Although some variations cross the water again to Tilbury. But there be monsters. I've walked out of Gravesend on the London Countryway , and I was right to not…
The Modern High Street Overnighting in Bromley, as I go through the final knockings of the London Spiral Walk. Civilisation (ha!) and a Bar Trek route that offered a couple of Good Beer Guide pubs, made it a tempting base. Easy Crawling The town is quite pretty. A more or less pedestrianised high street. Some interesting architecture in the old shop frontages. A lovely park just away from the main…
Penultimate Pleasure The final two days on the London Spiral act as a metaphor for the whole route. Today, it's lovely countryside walking on great paths. Tomorrow, the grim descent into Gravesend. The route has never been a 100% success but I am not a quitter. The other good things about these final throes - single digit walking. From Knockholt station, two pubs are instantly possible but even I…
12 Miles of Nothingness The idea for this walk came from the "Boundary Walk" for the Beltane Pilgrimage . AI based research managed to find 8 out of the potential 29 Boundary walks. A tick-list was formed. Rare access to the car, meant I could head off to Tenbury Wells for a route that I approached with justified trepidation. In this part of the world, the paths are usually in chronic condition. A…
Temples and Yew Trees There was simply too much inspiration in section 2 of Jonathan Meades Travels with Pevsner. The main topic was Georgian Pershore but how could I ignore "the most momentous building in Worcestershire". This is the Temple of Theseus. Built in 1758 by Lord Lyttleton, so he could look out over the Malvern Hills. It is the first example of neo-classical architecture in Europe.…
Pevsner's Pershore The second part of Jonathan Meades Travels with Pevsner details Pershore. A perfectly intact Georgian town. A Walk Midlands Rail Trail from WalkMidlands has been on the to-do list for a while. Time to knock this off, and investigate Toyah-town with eyes afresh. After a couple of city walks, it's good to be in the countryside again, even if this falls at the boring end of the…
Football Crazy The day after the night before. That old familiar England supporter feeling. We were so close, yet nowhere near. Even my Gareth Southgate-hating mate was admitting he may have been hasty. Only one thing could cheer me up. More football. Admittedly, I'd booked the rail tickets before consulting the wall chart. The traditional "knocked out of a major tournament" whisky may have been a…
Quadruple Inspiration to Find "Sand Well" A lot going on for a simple walk between two West Midlands Railway Stations. History West Midlands Podcasts My monthly listen is the opening podcast about the Black Country, focusing on the post WWII glory years. Full employment, workers rights, massive house building. Setting the boomers up for a life of good luck unavailable to the future generations.…
Borderland I am guessing the river Lim marks the boundary of Dorset and Devon. Not that there is any condiment faux pas to be made regarding baked goods. Being 100% honest, I wasn't necessarily up for this walk. We had completed an hour with the dog before the heatwave really struck home and the thought of going on a march in the midday sun was only appealing to mad dogs. Yet Mrs M was right. She…
Diversion but Destination Remains the Same Today's route was downloaded from the Cicerone book "Walking the Jurassic Coast". The good thing about the Cicerone books is that they publish regular online updates. As you would expect - this area has a lot more updates than others. The most unstable cliffs in the country. Leading a group walk for five, it was a good job I made a visual inspection from…
Golden Cap Views Charmouth becomes the base of our latest dog sit. 5 days in heatwave number 3 of 2026. We are unsure how many of the planned walks we will manage to execute but we start with the shortest. Charmouth is a picturesque coastal village in west Dorset, located on the Jurassic Coast between Lyme Regis and Bridport, where the River Char meets the sea. Famous for its fossil-rich cliffs…
Late, for the Summer Solstice This was meant to be walked on 21st June. It was also meant to be walked at sunset. I was meant to light a fire. My first excuse is that I have been busy on the coastal walking. My second excuse is that we have the 1am England Mexico game this weekend. I am not staying/getting up late twice in succession. My third excuse, I would be shot for lighting fires in the…
Beat The Clock A new walk for us today. Requiring a ferry and on the other side of the Dart Estuary, it may not quite be within the South Hams that we have come to love so much. We've a lot to pack in today. A 6 mile walk, two ferry crossings and a substantial lunch. It's pack-up day today and England KO at 5pm. We intend to be on the road back to the Midlands bang on 7pm, hopefully to contemplate…
£2 for a plastic cup Here I go again, on a stunning walk in the South Hams. This is an easy one, to a special place. Catch it right, and you can walk on a sand bar - with waves lapping at your feet to the east and to the west and visit the oldest pub in Devon, The Pilchard. You've just got to navigate a bit of a stupid system. Beer, of below quality, is served in plastic glasses for which you pay…
Save Up for Portlemouth Down This is another of our "must walks" in The South Hams. Salcombe Town lies on one side of the Kingsbridge Estuary. It's all winding streets, artisan gin and equally artisan ice cream outlets, with plenty of other shops competing for your holiday dollar. A £3 ferry ride is all it takes to reach the opposite shore, where golden sandy beaches and some of South Devon's…