It is a long time since I produced a blog – so here we have a trip to North Wales as part of my 70th birthday present. No toasted teacakes this time – nor any Welsh Cakes!
13th to 15th September 2018
The weekend sort of starts at Shrewsbury as it is easy to get a morning train to North Wales. Stay at Premier Inn but it is of course necessary to visit a real ale pub or two. First to Loggerheads – Banks Amber – then on to the usual haunts of the Three Fishes and Salopian. Stonehouse Sundowner 3.8% and Morcado Notting Hill 4.2% respectively.
Next morning catch the 4 car set for Aberystwyth and Porthmadog. At Machynlleth the train divides. As we go through at Harlech weather improves – a bit of sun on Portmeirion. Walk from Porthmadog station to Ffestiniog Railway. I get tickets for today and tomorrow and sit on station thinking I have time for a pint in Spooners. Wrong – so board the Ffestiniog for Blaenau Ffestiniog and instead have a bottle of Welsh Gold from Great Orme Brewery to wash down my lunch. Catch the train to Llandudno and sleep a good part of it! Then a long, partly lost, walk to guest house. Late breakfast at weekends – another guest is going to Superpower and missing breakfast which I will as well.
To 3 pubs. Firstly a regular trip to Cottage Loaf where Conwy Welsh Pride (3.6), A new place is the Tapps micropub for Lytham Brewery Amber at 3.6%. Lastly across the road to the Albert for a Blonde (Ale that is!)
Saturday and after a Wetherspoons breakfast catch the X5 bus to Bangor and stay on same bus to Caernarfon in time for the 10.50 to Beddgelert. Old Ffestiniog Heritage behind Merddin Emrys. See old WHR set at Dinas with Taliesin and Lyn. Pass Garratt 87 at Rhyd. . A quick look round the models and a cup of tea then to Caernarfon behind 87 completes an excellent day. And my £20 ticket was never looked at or asked for once!!
At Beddgelert walk into village to buy lunch and return to station and travel back as far as Dinas then catch the Welsh Highland Railway normal set back to Waunfaur, Return to Dinas for a ride behind Lilla in old carriages – rough ride – and then a ‘footplate’ ride on Hugh Napier which used to be on display at Penrhyn Castle
Visit the same 3 pubs and beers include a nice pint of Cwrw ial (Community Brewery) Pocket Rocket (4%). A good welcome at Albert as recognised as a CAMRA member and get discount including extra which I missed yesterday! Beer there was North Country Anniversary – 4%
Sunday is the day I leave north Wales to meet Mrs M-T in Chester.
I had planned to re-visit the Great Orme but abandon due to rain. A cheap day ticket on the buses means I travel to Chester by Bus. The Sapphire to Rhyl (where it is still raining), change for bus to Holywell. The town calls itself the Lourdes of Wales – due to the shrine of St Winifred. Her shrine is part of the basis of the first Cadfael novel by Ellis Peters. Then a bus to Chester – which is in fact the same bus with a different number! Meet Mrs MT at railway station.
After booking in at Premier Inn and resting we eat at Wetherspoons, but real ale drinking is elsewhere. There are 3 Good Beer Guide pubs within 200 yards of hotel. The first was the canalside Old Harkers Arms. Very nice conversion, no music, and decent range of beers. Weetwood brewery Cheshire Cat (4.0%), and Eastgate (4.2)%. I was not super impressed with the beers. Then to Cellar where I am confused by the sign saying ‘Cornerhouse’ which is the other down the road. Apparently they are linked. The beers are very good. An American one – name forgotten – and Marble Pint (3.9%). Lastly to Cornerhouse for Salopian Oracle (4.0%) and Sirocco (3.9%).
We stayed in Chester for two more days. On the beer front the highlights were Telfords Warehouse – by the Canal, Olde Cottage – a regular CAMRA pub of the year and the Bear and Billet. Telfords is a lovely conversion of an old warehouse and the stand out beer was Chapter Parabola (4.7%). At the Olde Cottage (very friendly landlord) I drank Elgoods Golden Newt (4.1%) the house beer being Otter from Devon!. The Bear and Billet is a lovely old Chester building and the beer – from the Isle of Man – Okells IPA (4.5%)
The holiday actually continued to my old home town of Chesterfield -maybe more of that another time.
Beer, Steam and Toasted Tea-cakes 
Sounds like a really good trip.
I’m not jealous.
No, not at all…
Not sure I could handle all that beer, though.
lovely !!