April 2026. Royal Tunbridge Wells. “Well, I’m back in Tunbridge Wells again” says Mrs RM as we re-enter the Pantiles, almost getting nostalgic for her childhood home again, much as I might almost get nostalgic for the Sun and Chung Hwa. Almost. Actually, the Pantiles are worryingly quiet on a sunny Tuesday; things...

April 2026. Royal Tunbridge Wells. A gorgeous Tuesday night in Royal Tunbridge Wells, as blogging royalty headed out to see the state of pubs in commuterville. Mrs RM was racing down to the Pantiles, the picture postcard quarter, where I’d asked her to meet me in the Ragged Trousers, a long-term favourite from her...

April 2026. Royal Tunbridge Wells. Two nights in T’Wells as we tick parents and Americans (patience !) in quick order, and on a Schorchio ! day I get a chance to see posh Kent out enjoying pubs in the sun. Perhaps. Mrs RM has important things to do on her blog, so I leave her in the Russell to make a start in Mount...

April 2026. Royal Tunbridge Wells. I’m still driving down to see Dad every week, that smile is worth any journey, but now without the stress of checking on a house that had been “Sold Subject to Contract” for a year. We combined the trip to Waterbeach with one to Mrs RM’s parents in Kent, where the Spoons in...

April 2026. Skipton. Loads of pubs of all shapes and sizes in Skipton, and loads of disagreement over “the best”, whatever “best” means. I wanted to show Mrs RM the canal basin, as it’s where folk gravitate for boat trips and ice cream. They’ve named one of the ships after my musical heroine of 2025 ! It’s so posh...

April 2026. Skipton. Still in Skipton last Sunday, we explored the little strip of shops between the High Street and Sheep Street with entrances off both. “Yorkies” looks like a dolls house, but it’s actually a chippy (small fish and chips only £7 !); the third building is Hustle, a cute little bar I was about to...

April 2026. Skipton. I had (genuinely) brought Mrs RM to Skipton last Sunday for reasons other than beers (pork pies and canal basins, mainly), so it was disappointing when she stopped me on the walk to ask “What’s that pub like ?“. I assumed she meant the venerable Devonshire, with its attractive salted caramel...

April 2026. Bradford. I miss Richard Coldwell. A funny, intelligent, opinionated man, he would have had interesting things to say about pork pies and pub opening times. He’d have had an opinion on cafes like the Dales Cottage putting their entire menus on blackboards along the wall, too. I’d been putting off a trip...

April 2026. Skipton. I seem to have upset my many esteemed Yorkshire readers, something to do with gravy, so to redeem myself here’s a post on saving yourself £12.80 on your visit to Skipton Castle. OK, you won’t actually get inside the castle by walking round the woods, but there’s no pub inside the walls anyway,...

April 2026. Skipton. Last week we went to Skipton again. Three (3) reasons; a re-opened GBG new entry to tick, a blog post series idea to explore, and a pork pie to audit. In 2022 I had declared Stanforths the best pork pie in England, but a recent change of ownership (if not name) had seen a string of scathing...

One of the most exciting travel months for a while, with a Big Day Out in Tutbury the highlight, as we finally, finally, complete the sale of the family house. Sixty (60) different pubs in a month, that’s nearly two a day, surely ? A few old classics in that list. Sunnyside looked a picture when we left. I wonder...

April 2026. Salford. Greater Manchester’s pubs complete, I headed back to Wigan Wallgate, ignoring the lure of the Bass in the Swan & Railway, and joining a group of bewildered young women on a train heading to Todmorden via Victoria. “Where’s Todmorden ?“ “Never heard of it !“ “Somewhere near Blackburn ?“ What do...