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...

August 2026. Frome. Yes, I’m really milking the Frome Folly Jolly for content, and appropriately Pub 7 talkes us to Milk Street, former home of Milk Street (now Frome) Brewery. The Griffin is the perennial GBG entry, the quirky local embodying alternative Frome with its legendary live music. I’m guessing it gets...

August 2026. Frome. Pub 6, or 7 (seven) for those on our Frome Roam who had popped off to Palmers Bottle Shop after Just Ales. I can tell you nothing about Palmers, which means it is guaranteed to make the next GBG. The pace was relentless, and some of our group went MIA, or possibly AWOL. Most of us made the Lamb...

August 2026. Frome. Pub 5 on the Frome Frolic, and having retrieved Kentish Paul from the chaos of the rail system it was time to do a rapid tour of the town, and head for the GBG micro up the hill. Oddly, we lost Stafford Paul at this stage, opting for a well earned breather rather than a squeeze into a micro that...

August 2026. Frome. The pub blogging community is very tight knit and supportive. Oxford Nick aka Prop Up The Bar has been receiving our support since posting this photo on Tuesday night; I shall be stealing that Olivia Rodrigo reference for future blog titles (see also : Bad Idea, Right). Kentish Paul had...

August 2026. Frome. It’s 12:13 last Saturday and we’re already on Pub 3 on the Great Frome Pub Survey, or whatever we’re calling it. It’s something called Archangel, without the “The“, like Architects without the definitive article. And that’s where the notes stop, at least until the pub where the cider was £2.80 a...

August 2026. Frome. Oh look, spoiler, a map showing our pub crawl route in Frome last Saturday. The best is yet to come, but every pub deserves a Retired Martin post, even the George, the most stately looking place in the market place. I just looked up room rates this weekend; minimum 3 night stay at £128 a night,...