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Pub 127 - Pirie's Bar

Just the one new check-in today but at least I've finished off Horsham. This was a pub I'd not been too sure on visiting given the low number of cask ales but actually the pale ale i had was both a new check-in and quite nice.

#pubs #gbg #good beer guide #beer

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Two more GBG pubs (London)

I had a bit of spare time in London and a chance to visit two new GBG pubs.

Pub 125 - The Edgar Wallace

This was a quiet and tasteful pub near the Royal Courts of Justice. The beer selection wasn't all that varied but the Landlord I had was decent enough. A peaceful oasis in a busy city.

Pub 126 - The Devereux

This was just round the corner from the Edgar Wallace. It was much livelier pub and had a nice looking bitter on draft for me to sample. I liked this pub a lot and may need to frequent it occasionally.

#pubs #london #gbg #beer

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Pub 120 - Plume of Feathers

This pub is in a super location right by Maze Hill Station and is a stunning old style pub. I had a very nice ipa by the Wantsum Brewery.

Pub 121 - Watchmakers Arms

I love this pub and have been here before a few times. Today they had a dark beer selection on offer which was immense. The beer was fantastic.

Pub 122 - Neptune

This is an old school pub with no frills and a nice atmosphere. I had a pint of Old Ale which was lovely (although a beer that I do know well).

Pub 123 - Foghorn

This pub is a good one. A nice ale selection and a good atmosphere on a busy Saturday afternoon. They had a dark beer on but I'd had that previously so I went for the very nice best bitter.

Pub 124 - Westbourne

This was on the walk back to the station and I was very happy to get here. It had a stunning 6.5% stout on which was delicious. A really good atmosphere and friendly staff makes it a winner.

#pubs #Greenwich #hove #beer #inns #good beer guide #cask

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I had a free Saturday and a nearby town with pubs I hadn't been to. I therefore got the train to Tunbridge Wells for a few cheeky ticks. The hope is that I'll also be able to end up at the Nelson on the way home.

Pub 115 - Grove Tavern

First pub of the day and it was a classic. Not the best beer selection (although my Seafarers Ale was excellent) but a very traditional and convivial atmosphere. I really enjoyed spending some time here which is the main point of a pub isn't it.

Pub 116 - Sussex Arms

Next up was the Sussex Arms down by the Pantiles. This is a great pub with a wide beer selection. My Vocation Coffee Stout was lovely and the overall atmosphere was superb. This is definitely up there with the best pubs I've been to.

Pub 117 - George

An incredible pub with a built in brewery. The food looked incredible and I was very tempted by the baguettes. Anyway, on the important stuff, the beer selection was great with a lot of great looking ales. My pint was fantastic.

Pub 118 - Royal Oak

This venue loses a couple of points for being card only but generally an amazing place for a beer. They had a dark beer on draft which was new to me, that's always good to see.

Pub 119 - Nelson Arms

OMG, what a pub. I've been here before but pt hadn't appreciated how amazing it is. Easily one of the best pubs in the South East. I only planned to have one beer here but ended up with two absolutely stunning pints. An incredible pub, and its was great to see it really busy!!

#pubs #tunbridge wells #beers #cask #Tonbridge #Nelson Arms #Grove #George #Sussex Arms #Royal Oak

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Pub 113 - Prospect of Whitby

I had some time this evening so walked back to London Bridge from Canary Wharf and stopped off at a couple of pubs. I was pleased to rectify the fact that I'd never been to the famous Prospect of Whitby. It was a great pub and I had a very nice pint of Porter, although there were loads of ales that looked worth trying.

Pub 114 - Town of Ramsgate

A great pub with a good beer selection and a nice atmosphere. I had a pint of Portabello Market Porter which was great. Not much more to say, but do you need anything else.

#pubs #london #beer

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More pubs (Berkshire now)

Pub 109 - King Charles Tavern (Newbury)

This pub is nominally a Greene King pub but seems to have a good range of beers. My pint of Hardy & Hanson bitter which was pretty nice. It seems a good local pub and definitely worthy of gbg-entry.

Pub 110 - The Lion (Newbury)

This pub was a former CAMRA pub of the year and was good, but not amazing. I had a pint of Black Sheep Bitter which was a long way from home.

Pub 111 - The Nags Head (Reading)

I wanted to visit this pub when I read about the huge beer selection. It is a superb pub with a really convivial atmosphere and an incredible beer selection. My pint (Shadow of Darkness) was incredible, such a lush beer.

Pub 112 - The Alehouse (Reading)

You sort of have to go here when in Reading. I have visited previously but that was a long time ago (when Palace were in the same division as Reading). It was good, definitely, and I'd love to have a pub like it in the middle of my town but maybe I'd been spoiled by the excellence of the Nags Head as this seemed a few rungs down from that.

#pubs #gbg #berkshire #newbury #reading

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Norfolk pubs

Pub 102 - Crown Inn (Sheringham)

This pub doesn't look all that special but I had a very nice beer and something to eat.

Pub 103 - Village Inn (West Runton)

This place was buzzing for a lunchtime and my beer was very good.

Pub 104 - Red Lion (Cromer)

I'd been looking forward to this pub and unfortunately it wasn't quite as good as I'd hoped, mainly because it was quite busy. The beer was good though.

Pub 105 - Hop Inn (North Walsham)

This micropub was fairly busy and had a nice atmosphere and good beer; recommended.

Pub 106 - Fat Cat and Canary (Norwich)

This is great, a superb pub with good beer and a lovely atmosphere.

Pub 107 - Fat Cat (Norwich)

What a pub! Amazing beer and a lovely atmosphere. I love this place!

Pub 108 - Alexandra Tavern (Norwich)

A very nice pub near the Cat Cafe in Norwich with a good dark beer on draft.

Pub 109 - Brewery Tap (Norwich)

Another great Norwich pub with a superb beer selection.

Pub 110 - Artichoke (Norwich)

Yet another good Norwich pub with great beer and a good atmosphere. Would be a world beater anywhere else but just another Norwich pub.

Pub 111 - Coach and Horses (Norwich)

I ate here and had a pint of their own brew stout it was great.

Pub 112 - Jubilee (Norwich)

I just managed to sneak this in before getting the train home. An excellent pub, as they all had been.

#norfolk #norwich #pubs #gbg

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Pubs in Cambridge and Bury St Edmunds

Pub 92 - Alexandra Arms

This Greene King pub had a good range of beers and a nice atmosphere.

Pub 93 - Maypole

The Maypole is a super pub with nice Italian food and a great range of beers. Unfortunately I had the wrong dark beer and should have had the stronger Moongazer beer.

Pub 94 - Haymakers

A Milton pub where I had the 7.5% Marcus Aurelius and a Lasagne to soak up the beer.

Pub 95 - Live and Let Live

This is a nice pub which was bustling on a Monday night.

Pub 96 - Elm Tree

I went here with my friend and had a very nice beer.

Pub 97 - Cambridge Blue

The Blue Moon wasn't in the guide (nor was the Kingston Arms) but this classic was as good as always.

Pub 98 - Oakes Yard

Bury St Edmunds is well stocked for pubs and I found the Oakes Yard great for both food and drinks

Pub 99 - Old Cannon Brewery

This is an excellent venue that does its own beer, the Black Pig was particularly nice.

Pub 100 - The Nutshell

The famous pub is supposedly one of the smallest in the country. It has a limited beer range but is a fascinating place to visit.

Pub 101 - Royal William

The pub is near Stowmarket station and had an excellent beer selection when I visited. A lovely atmosphere and great beer.

#pubs #cambridge #bury st edmunds #gbg #beer

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I went up to Anglia this week and pubs were on the menu. The GBG pubs visited so far are:

Pub 82 - Bishop Stortford Sports Club

This pleasant little Sports Club had a great range of beers and a friendly atmosphere. My pint, a bitter from Tring brewery, was great.

Pub 83 - The Star

A busy town centre pub with a really good range of interesting beers.

Pub 84 - The Castle

This is a great pub, a neighbourhood local with good beers and friendly locals

Pub 85 - The Three Horseshoes

An excellent food led pub which doesn't forget the importance of good ales

Pub 86 - The Railway Arms

An absolute winner with a great range of beers and a very buzzy atmosphere

Pub 87 - The Kings Arms

This city centre pub in Saffron Walden was good, if inevitably quite busy. The chocolate porter I had was nice

Pub 88 - The Coach and Horses

I'm sure this is a great pub but we didn't see the best of it. Still, my beer was perfectly serviceable.

Pub 89 - The Rose and Crown

A top pub in Stansted where I had a roast alongside a couple of Bishop Nick pubs

Pub 90 - Fleur De Lis

This historic pub was a winner with a great atmosphere and decent drinks

Pub 91 - The Maypole

This pub in beautiful Thaxted was great with a nice range of beers, mainly from Bishop Nick, and a busy convivial atmosphere.

After this I went up to Cambridge and added several more pubs to the list

#pubs #bishop stortford #essex #stansted #beers

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Pub 81 - The Black Jug

This pub in Horsham had been on my hit list for a while. It's perhaps a bit too food for my liking but a decent ale selection with my pint of Gowers Gold being very nice.

#gbg #pubs #horsham

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I planned to go to St Albans today but train issues meant I had to look elsewhere. Worthing had appealed for a while so I went down there with the aim of getting a few ticks. I think the new GBG has really changed the GBG accredited pub landscape in Worthing but I'm just going to try to find good beer.

Pub 76 - Selden Arms

This seems like it has been removed from the 2024 GBG which feels like an oversight. The beer selection was great and my Downlands Black Treacle Stout was excellent. A good start to the day.

Pub 77 - The Egremont

How is this added and the Selden Arms removed. It's not in my 2023 GBG but I think it was added for 2024. Anyway there were three beers on offer and I had the high five. This was OK (although on the turn) but, at 5.10, was pricier than the excellent (and much stronger) stout i had at the Selden.

Pub 78 - Anchored In Worthing

Superb! A lovely Stout and a very friendly owner who kept me entertained for the duration of my drinking. I loved this pub!

Pub 79 - The Green Man

Another very good pub in Worthing. A good range of beers on offer and the Porter I had was very nice (although I would question whether you can call a 4.8% beer a Baltic Porter). Anyway it was a great pub with a very nice atmosphere.

Pub 80 - The Brookstead

I was slightly worried about this one but it was amazing. They had a German themed beer festival on but also a very nice stout from the Cloak and Dagger brewery which was amazing. The venue was rocking and the beer was immense so I was very pleased with the decision to come here.

Overall Worthing was great and I think I need to get down here more often!!

#pubs #gbg #Worthing #Sussex #beer

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Pubs on a trip to Cornwall

I didn't plan to visit many new GBG pubs on this trip but will try to fit a couple in.

Pub 74 - Ye Olde Malthouse (Tintagel)

I wasn't expecting much given the tourist trap location but it was surprisingly good and had a very nice range of local Tintagel beers.

Pub 75 - The Bush Inn (Morwenstow)

I first visited this pub six and a half years ago and it's just as good as it was then. The beer selection was decent and the food was good. We spent the night there and it was a very atmospheric place to stay.

#pubs #gbg #beer #cornwall #Morwenstow #tintagel

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More GBG pubs

I'm off to walk another bit of the South West Coast Path which gives me a chance for a few more pubs.

Pub 69 - The Mad Bishop and Bear

A great Fullers station pub at Paddington. The ESB was super and generally this place had a really nice laid back attitude

Pub 70 - The Ring of Bells

I snuck this Taunton pub in walking to our hotel. It was a busy, and pretty foodie, pub but generally seemed pretty great. It offered a good range of ales and a really buzzing atmosphere.

Pub 71 - the Ship Inn

I live this pub! I've been here before and it never disappoints. The Beast was incredible and the ambience is just perfect.

Pub 72 - The Panniers

A pretty standard spoons in Barnstaple but a decent range of ales available, and all seemed to be well kept.

Pub 73 - The Reform Inn

A very local pub but great nonetheless. It is the tap for Barum Brewery and so you get some unique beers here. I liked it!

#gbg #devon #pubs #coast #beer

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GBG Pubs in Chichester

I went down to Chichester today with the aim of ticking off 5 pubs.

After a decent journey down I wandered impatiently around the City waiting for the first pub to open.

Eastgate (Pub 64) - We started off well in this excellent Fullers establishment. The HSB was great and the ambience was excellent. It was very busy and everyone seemed to having a great time, the food looked like proper pub grub. This is everything a pub should be.

Little Monster Tap (Pub 65) - Formerly the Hornet Alehouse, I was unsure about going here following the change of hands but it proclaimed Cask Ale from the outside and my pint of Vocation Heart and Soul was very good. It was quiet, especially compared to the Eastgate, but definitely a venue I would be happy to return to.

The Bell Inn (Pub 66) - this is in the North part of Chichester and was a bit tricky to get to. However others obviously didn't find it difficult as it was buzzing when I got there. I had a pint of Bluebell Bitter which was very nice. The ambience was again fantastic, you can't beat a proper British pub.

The Chichester Inn (Pub 67) - a fairly standard town pub but with a decent beer selection that seemed to be kept well. It was a bit quieter than the other Chichester pubs but still a very nice ambience.

The Hole In The Wall (Pub 68) - A large pub with a decent cask range. My pint of Bitter Late than Never was great. It was a busy venue with lots of cask ale being sold which was great to see. Overall pubs seem alive and well in Chichester which is great to see!

#sussex #pubs #gbg #chichester #beer #ale

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Brighton Pubs

Down to Brighton today to tick off some pubs

Brighton Bierhaus (Pub 59)

A quirky welcoming pub with a good cask ale selection and a nice character. The keg selection was very impressive but I went for a low abv session omb by Downlands brewery which was also a new check-in.

Basketmakers Arms (Pub 60)

What a classic pub. A wide range of cask ales and a fabulous atmosphere. My beer was quite pricey but hard to care when a pub is this good.

Lord Nelson (Pub 61)

A pleasant enough pub near the station which served a range of Harvey's ales. I had the Nelson IPA which was fine.

Battle of Trafalgar (Pub 62)

An old school pub that had a relatively relaxed atmosphere and was noticeably less crowded than other pubs I'd been to. The pint of butcombe rare breed I had was good, also a shout out for the excellent music choice.

Evening Star (Pub 63)

I couldn't miss out the Evening Star although I have been here a few times before. The beer selection was excellent as usual and the collaboration stout I had was fantastic. This is a superb pub and a real credit to Brighton.

#pubs #gbg #sussex #brighton

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Lewes

I headed down to Lewes today as there were a lot of pubs listed in the GBG that I hadn't sampled before.

After walking around town for a bit it was midday and time to start my ale adventures.

Pub 54 - Elephant and Castle

This is a fairly large and atmospheric pub with a good ale selection on offer. I had the Broadside which went down very well. There was even a Camra discount which always goes down well.

Pub 55 - John Harvey Tavern

This is a Harveys tap and had a good selection of ales on offer. I went for the John Harvey IPA as that counted as a new check-in.

Pub 56 - Gardeners Arms

I have been here before following our walk on the Sussex Ouse Valley Way. They gave a good ale selection offered and I had a pint of Saltaire Unity; this was nice but quite strong.

Pub 57 - Rights of Man

A foody pub that seemed to have a great reputation. I had an Olympia that was absolutely lovely. The food was very tempting but I had some bits for this evening so didn't succumb.

Pub 58 - Brewers Arms

This is a good pub! They had a great ale selection and the Dark Mild that I had (from the Left Handed Giant brewery) was lovely. The food looked more pubby than the rights of man but still very tempting. This is the sort of pub I really enjoy, friendly locals, good beer and a great atmosphere.

#pubs #gbg #beer #lewes #sussex

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Three more GBG Pubs

Dorking was the venue for three more Good Beer Guide pubs today.

Old House (Pub 51)

A rambling establishment with a good set of handpumps. It was a fairly typical town pub but certainly met with my approval.

Cobbett's Ales (Pub 52)

A little micropub that I have been to before. A very friendly establishment with a nice selection of beers on tap.

Cricketers (Pub 53)

A very nice Fullers establishment. The pint of ESB I had was well kept and went down very nicely. I was also pleased to see a huge range of previous Good Beer Guides on the bookshelf.

#pubs #gbg #beer #dorking