No.52 - The Five Bells, Wrentham, Suffolk

Saturday 10th November, 2012
With our next planned stop being closed for the afternoon we headed on over to Wrentham to pay The Five Bells a visit. With the weather now turning a bit soggy it was a nice sight to again be greeted with a warm open fire. In fact there was an open fire at each end of the public bar, but thankfully just the one was lit.
The pub dates back to the early 1800's and a lot of the original architecture remains. Lovely thick beams are still very visible, and as already mentioned, the 2 large fire places still look in very good condition. With it now being 3.30pm on a Saturday afternoon it was no surprise that we were the only ones in the pub, so we gathered round a nice big table in front of the fire and set up the scrabble.
Before starting, we had a chat with the new owners of the place. They had only been in charge for a week or two so were still finding their feet. The landlord spoke to us about all the newly fitted accommodation that was now available, and also the 40 pitches which were out the back of the pub put aside for camping. Obviously this was sounding rather appealing to us - camping in a pub garden !
With a choice of Ghostship, Broadside and Bitter, 3 Ghostship's and a Broadside were ordered. A very nice pint it was too with Andy being the brave soul to have a Broadside. Ghostship has really started to grow on me and with it now being available in tins, which we had back at the house, I would certainly now chose this over a Bitter.
The scrabble finally kicked off and the lead which I had accrued from the 1st game was slowly and surely being whittled away. Not even turning over one of the tiles to pretend it was a blank helped me, although this was purely an accident! The Landlord had now disappeared, but his wife did hang around behind the bar and performed a stirling job as 'dictionary corner' with her laptop, although some of the words we were throwing at her were a little desperate.
Once more time was our enemy and 4.30pm was soon upon us. Beers had been finished and Andy had completed a fine comeback in the scrabble scores. There was just enough time now for us to head into Southwold with our list of shopping that the girls had given us, and return home to help out with the children's tea. But, we were heading to Southwold, home of Adnams, would we be able to resist temptation and avoid having one final quick pint for the road?  Yes, was the answer! We had the phone call at 5pm!  Cheers chaps for the afternoon.     
 





  

No.51 - The Plough, Wangford, Suffolk

Saturday 10th November, 2012.
Strider - One who strides.
This was F.I.C.C.'s (Felixstowe & Ipswich Chaps and Chapesses) 4th year of going away together and this year Wangford was our destination. There were 3 pubs on the blogging list, but unfortunately only 2 were 'blogable', as one of them was closed on this Saturday afternoon while we were out with our passes.
The first was The Plough, which was just a stone throw from where we were staying, so armed with a scrabble board, myself, Andy, Ade and Damo headed on in to be greeted by a beautiful Labrador puppy and an empty pub, although a very warm one. There were 2 open fires with one of them roaring and crackling away. We grabbed a decent square table, designed for scrabble, and got the beers in.
It's not one of Adnams older pubs with records showing that it dates back to around the late 1800's, and the building itself has always been a beer house. With it's quirky wallpaper of stacked up books on shelves it kind of gives the feeling that your having a pint in a grand library! Being situated just off the A12 there is ample parking and I would imagine the place could get very busy as there is a lovely restaurant area now adjoined to the bar, and also a quite sizeable accommodation building.
There was a nice selection of beers available and I was straight in with a pint of Old, my first of the winter. Broadside & Bitter of course were available, and it looked like Fishermans had been on, but alas we were too late on this occasion as the barrel had run dry.

Although we had decided to seat ourselves in the main bar area on nice, decent wooden furniture, there was another side of the bar which looked far to cosy, and could have seen us staying put all afternoon.  Big cushions, soft leather chair's, Adnams beer and a warm fire...beautiful.
Meanwhile on the Scrabble front, which was a kind of speed version where myself, Andy and Damo were given 1 minute to get your tiles down, and Ade was given 2 minutes(!!!), I managed to somehow take an early aggregate lead, and that was despite not being allowed to have 'strider' on a triple!  It was far too early to start celebrating mind you as there were still another couple of legs to be played, so we supped up and moved on.

No.50 - Angel Hotel, Halesworth, Suffolk

Saturday 30th June, 2012

Well, the final pub visit of the day was upon us. It was now about 4pm which gave us about an hour or so to enjoy the delights of The Angel Hotel before our train departed from Halesworth station at 5.40pm. We left our bikes still secure at The White Hart and walked through the Thoroughfare to the pub.
Again, this was a 'walk in' off the town streets kind of pub, but a lot more classy to where we had just been. The building actually doubles up as an Italian restaurant in the evening, so it was very clean and bright. The 16th century former coaching Inn is in a prime spot, right in the heart of the town, so attracting regulars and day guests like ourselves would appear to be no problem.
The layout of the pub was quite different too with at least 3 fairly large bar areas for sitting and eating in, and also a large outside area which when we arrived was packed. We made base in the back bar and again had pleasant conversation with the girls behind the bar. Once more my efforts to obtain a couple of pump clips were flatly denied, even though originally one of the girls thought we wanted an actual barrel of beer!
With a good choice of beers on tap (Broadside, Bitter, Spindrift and Flame Runner) it was a final Spindrift of the day for me, very nice and very cold. Some of the spare change in the whip was now being used in the duke box and quiz machine, and Oh we were so close to winning big, but alas, thats all it was - just so close.
Time had caught us up a little and at 5.15pm we departed the Angel and sauntered back to where our bikes were locked up - thankfully they were still there. We biked back up to the train station where bang on 5.40pm our train arrived and by 6.10pm we had made it back to Wicken Market. A 10 minute bike ride and we were back at HQ in Blaxhall. A little leg weary, a little bum achey, a little beer tired, but all in all we were very pleased with our days work.
As a result of earlier discussions, a decision was made that we would head back to Wicken Market for a chinese meal for dinner. This would be via the showers and The Ship Inn just down the road from our YH. Not a great deal happened during the evening and we were home in time to see Murray win the tennis at 11pm - although I will just mention a racist taxi driver, a telephone plant, a Fish called Damo, Antony Worrell-Thompson !!
It had been a brilliant weekend and much thanks to my mates Ade, Andy and Damo. Thoughts now turn to Norfolk next summer. Cheers chaps !  

No.49 - White Hart, Halesworth, Suffolk

Saturday 30th June, 2012

 Feeling a little more energised from our lunch we pushed on with our tails up and completed the final 3 miles or so arriving in the town of Halesworth, at The White Hart. Although relieved to have made it safely, there was a tinge of sadness that this was to be our last stop.
After securing the bikes up, Ade, Damo and Andy popped off to find a cash point whilst I hung around the pub to do the photo blog bit. There were a few strange looks from a couple of the regulars whilst I was doing this, but they did look a little worse for wear to be honest, so i just told them I was from the local press!
Despite the pub being quite dated-17th century-unfortunately being a town centre pub a lot of the old hall marks are lost. The design layout and beams are there for all to see, but the sticky carpets, tv showing horse racing and just general tattiness were just to prominent. Unlike the beautiful village pubs we'd been used to during the day, there was no special feeling with this one, nor any banter with the barlady / Landlord.
Still, the beer was good! There was only Bitter and GhostShip on tap, which I believe we ordered 2 of each, and all 4 went down very well. Despite now really struggling with his hayfever, Damo got his head down and thoroughly enjoyed his GhostShip, clearing his pallet of Lemon Tinkle! With the horses blaring out on the tv above the bar, it would have been rude of us not to have had a wager between ourselves. Damo, I still owe you a £1 for your lucky win!
With the garden out back not really being a garden - again being a towny it was more like picnic benches in their carpark - we finished up and headed off. Some boys at the bar, who had been playing cards, were reaching a crucial stage of their match and things were hitting a climax. It was all a little too much for us so we slid out the side door and back onto the Thoroughfare in search of the next Adnams establishment.

No.48 - Queens Head, Blyford, Suffolk

Saturday 30th June, 2012

2 Queens Heads in 2 days ! After what seemed like only a 5 minute downhill dash we came to a screeching halt at another grand looking pub, The Queens Head in the village of Blyford. Set in a huge area of land, it was another perfect looking 'summertime' pub. It was also a perfect surface in the car park for Ade to perform some skids on his bike.
Sitting right opposite Blyford church, it was another perfectly situated pub. There were a number of the 'older generation' in the bar tucking into lunch as we arrived which actually gave the atmosphere in there a nice calming feel. Obviously a very handy spot for the oldies to get to and from surrounding villages.
The pub dates back to somewhere between the 14th and 15th centuries and many of the original features can still be seen including the very low beams! The roof also was beautifully reed thatched which by all accounts were provided by the river just over the back running behind the pub. With only Bitter and Broadside on tap we were a little limited for choice, all of us going for Bitter, however there was one other Adnams related beverage available to us - Lemon Tinkle! Damo was now really mixing his drinks, something we were keeping an eye on.
We stopped for some proper lunch here, as although we had delicious sausage rolls earlier, cycling a mile here and there was hard work! Sandwiches accompanied by chips was the popular choice, with myself going for a crab mayo & rocket on brown. Nice!
The time was now creeping past 2pm so we'd been on the road for the best part of 4 hours and a few yawns were starting to creep in. I thnk it was just a cocktail of beer, food, warm sun and a restless night causing this slight drop in energy levels. So to pick ourselves up we turned our thoughts to the evening entertainment and tried to find something in the local paper that we could go visit. Unfortunately there wasn't a great deal on so we decided that we'd get back at dinner time, shower and head off to a restaurant somewhere. I tell you, all this biking makes you hungry!
Before leaving I tried my skills at negotiation and attempted to prize away from the bar staff the 'Diamond Ale' pump clip which was on show behind the bar. There was no chance. I was met with a resounding 'No' and that was even with the offer of making a donation to the local church !
After watching Ade do a few more skids in the car park we started our final leg towards Halesworth. Only 3 miles to go and our last destination would be reached. Farewell Blyford, thanks for the Lemon Tinkle.          

No.47 - Star Inn, Wenhaston, Suffolk

Saturday 30th June, 2012

2 miles on from Bramfield was the beautiful picturesque village of Wenhaston, home to the fabulous looking 18th century Star Inn. I think that we all felt like we'd struck gold a little when we arrived, as the pub looked fantastic in it's setting with the sun blazing down, petanque square and lush green hilly lawn. If this had been the final pub of the day, we could have easily seen ourselves staying for the evening duration rather than returning to our YH. As it was, there was a blog to be done, so it was off into the cosy wooded floor bar, again with a nice large fire for those winter evenings, to be greeted by a very freindly barlady, 'Fairy'. She sorted out our beers and snacks and even made a note of the website. Another potential follower?  With Sole Star, Ghostship and Bitter on tap it was decided that we'd go for the slightly lower strength beer 'Sole Star' as we still had a long day ahead of us. We moved on down to the lower end of the garden to where the petanque square was, and tucked into our Mr.Barton homemade sausage rolls and Walkers crips. Living like kings!

Armed with a set of petanque bowles, there was only one thing for it, and it wasn't long before the Wenhaston petanque championships had begun. Andy started off very accurately and was the clear early leader, but I soon got my eye in and may well have taken over as champ. However, interest soon dwindled and it was down to Damo and Ade to entertain us with their amazing juggling skills. Although I did notice a rather scary looking 'Fairies' mum keeping an eye on us, so we thought it best to stop messing around!!
Unfortunately, once again, we made the mistake of looking at our watches and realised it was time to move along. Blyford was calling. Rather reluctantly we took our glasses back into the pub, waved off Wenhaston and started up the Blyford Road to our next destination. I can be 100% sure, that I for one, will be returning to the Star Inn.  

No.46 - Queens Head, Bramfield, Suffolk

Saturday 30th June, 2012

Day 2, and after a slightly uncomfortable night, and a healthy cooked breakfast, it was back on the bikes for the longer leg of the weekend. The final destination for today was going to be Halesworth, but our first stop was The Queens Head in Bramfield. After 1 or 2 slighlty hairy moments along the A12, and the small hill here and there, we arrived safe and sound at the venue at about 11.30am, albeit a little out of breath and wobbly legged.
The pub is a Grade II listed building which has stood in the small village of Bramfield for a number of centuries. It's a lovely looking traditional pub with nice bar and an enormous fireplace, which during the winter must be a pleasure to sit and have a pint or two in front of. The garden was a little un-kept with a couple of areas where I'm sorry to say dogs had used, but the overall views were beautiful. An enormous church out the back loomed large over all the Adnams umbrellas.
With a choice of just Bitter and Broadside, 3 of us went for a very nicely looked after Bitter, but without wanting to name Damo, one of us plumped for an orange and lemonade!
If we hadn't had enough of Pop questions the night before, more quiz questions were being fired at us, by our new Quiz Master, Adrian. A rare old 1000 best pub quiz question book had been found in the bar by Adrian, but this particular version was the 1985 version. To say a few questions were a little out of date wouldn't be an innaccurate statement.
We sat out in the garden for about an hour, and it was beautiful out there. What few clouds there had been originally, had all cleared away and left a perfectly blue sky. We chatted about a number of things, including toilet phobias(!?), but at about 12:30pm it was time to make tracks. The promise of Andy's sausage rolls at the next stop was too tempting so we finished up our drinks and got on our way. Number 46 done!
    

No.45 - Crown Inn, Snape, Suffolk

Friday 29th June, 2012

 With a further 5(ish) miles under our belts, and the Snape Maltings in our rear view mirrors, The Crown appeared in front of us like an oasis in the middle of the windy, dry desert. We graciously dismounted and headed into the main public bar, which compared to the Oyster, was heaving! We eased passed the 8 or so people at the bar and ordered drinks. 3 Ghostships and a Bitter. Broadside was also available, but with a few miles still to bike back to Blaxhall, probably not the best idea.
We booked our table for food and headed outside for an hour to catch the last of the sun. Andy managed to find a Pop Quiz book amongst all the reading matter available, which never left our side for the remainder of the night. By the time we left, there were some truly memorable 'intro's' being performed.
Although not a huge pub, the 15th century smugglers Inn certainly had kept a lot of it's original old oak beams and brick flooring in tip top condition. The double Suffolk settle surrounding the fireplace is regarded as one of the finest in Suffolk, although unfortunately I don't think any of the 4 of us noticed this as we were too busy tucking into our 'Meat Splatter' starter and excellent fish and chips for mains. Best pub fish and chips I've had for a long time!
We got chatting to a fine old boy who resided over in Stowmarket, who swears by the food at The Crown. His wife, who Damo pointed out had a Michael jackson nose, also raved about it too. The old chap put us in our place a little by talking to us about his 90 mile bike rides that he would regularly do, putting our 10 miler into a little perspective. Although, the regular 90 miles had clearly done nothing for his style of walk!

Hmm..Really?

Before we knew it, 10pm was upon us and the realisation that we'd only got a front and a back light between us hit home. So with me at the front leading the way, and Mr. Barton bringing up the rear in his high vis jacket, we managed to convoy home safely the final couple of miles. We settled in back at the Youth Hostel with a cup of tea, after casually asking for some milk from the pub next door (!?), in front of the 12 inch tv, before retiring to our bunk beds at about 11pm. Rock 'n' Roll.        

No.44 - Oyster Inn, Butley, Suffolk

The Under 40's Beery Bike Blog
Friday 29th June, 2012

 

After months of serious(!) planning, myself and 3 other brave souls -Andy, Ade and Damo) set off from Meadow Crescent with our 4 bikes in tow, heading up the A12 to Blaxhall YH. Our mission - to visit 7 Adnams pubs in 2 days and to survive 48 hours without our ladies being around to take care of us. Once checked in, beds made up, and getting over the disappointment that the Blaxhall Festival was basically just a Flower Show in the local church, we mounted bikes and sped off heading in the direction of Butley for our first pint.
The Oyster Inn at Butley is a pub that I've driven past a few times en route to Orford, so it was nice this time to finally stop off. The pub dates back to the early 1800's and still has many of it's original features, which were all visible inside.  We locked bikes up in the garden and headed on into the bar. The bar area had a typically dark solid wooden floor, with plenty of tables for sit down meals, but this did not encroach too much on the drinking area of the pub, which remained fairly spacious. The pub was empty, but I guess it was still a little early for the evening rush. We were greeted by a friendly Landlord and also a new beer !!   'Flame Runner' - a beer brought out to celebrate the Olympics this summer, so of course we ordered 4 pints !
We took our drinks outside into the warm sun drenched garden, only to realise the disasterous situation we found ourselves in - 3 of the pints were off! The bottom of the barrel had been reached! As tempted as we were to still drink them, we returned them to the Landlord, who to be fair, was rather distraught himself, especially as he knew we were there for the blog! With Bitter, Broadside and Spindrift all available, we plumped for 3 Spindrifts, and a good call it was too. You can't beat a nice cold Spindrift on a warm sweaty evening. Plus we had the bonus of all still being able to have a gulp of Ade's Flame Runner!
Once we were done supping, it was time to move on to the next watering hole as time was pushing on and we were concious of the fact that food would very soon be required. We said our farewell's to the LandLord, and the half dozen locals who had now ventured out, and hopped back onto bikes and sped(?) off into the sunlight enroute to Snape. 

  

No.43 - The Ship Inn, Burnham on Crouch, Essex

Sunday 6th May, 2012

With Mrs.Blake cruising the North Sea en route to Ostende and Amsterdam, I thought it a good opportunity to head over the border into Essex to visit The Ship Inn.  With family also based in that area of Essex, it made for a good chance to catch up over a pint or two of Adnams. After about a 30 minute drive along some very bendy roads, we arrived in the picturesque village (small town) of Burnham on Sea. Luckily finding a parking space outside the old clock tower meant we were only a short walk across the road from the pub. The Blake / Judd's were the first to arrive from our group so we headed straight in - well actually it was Florence who headed straight in to check out where we were going to be seated.

The interior of the pub, as you would imagine, had a very nautical theme. Bar looked very ship shape (!), photo's of ships on the wall, and even the back garden had what look liked bits of old ship so sit in. Exterior wise the it was very pleasing to the eye with some lovely hanging baskets and plenty of foliage about.

Ghostship, Broadside and Bitter were on tap, so myself and Tony both plumped for a Ghostship. For a Sunday lunchtime (12.40) the pub was very quiet, so it was nice when the rest of the family arrived to give the place a bit of life. Andrew, Helen, Margaret, Tony, David and George all popped along to meet up and we enjoyed a good couple of hours together.
Unfortunately, due to the inclement weather we weren't able to sit outside, but it was warm enough, and comfortable enough inside, to not worry too much about moving. In my opinion it wouldn't be the kind of pub you would visit for some posh grub, but the food which we ordered Flo for her lunch looked very tasty and there were no complaints from the lady herself. Fish fingers and chips - Gone !

We were at the pub for a good couple of hours before deciding it was time to hit the bendy roads again. We'd had enough Ghostship between us and Flo's attention span was beginning to dwindle. Very pleased to have got this pub ticked off the list as it was quite a lengthy journey for us Ipswich folk.  Also, it's now nice to know where the pub is situated for future ventures down to see the Banners at Burnham.