706. Wellington Inn, Lund
And once again, we were struck by the pretty village with church, green at the front of pub, and calm feeling of serenity. It was a big surprise then to find the car park full, and the pub busy just minutes after opening, with a fully active kitchen going 'all hands to the pump' (or spatula or whatever they do). We were immediately impressed by the landlady who presided over the Welly, a mixture of professionalism and friendliness. Yes, there was no Great Kelk 'learning our trade and feeling our way around', this pub knew exactly what it was doing. Three or four ales were on, the Great Newsome Sleck Dust and American thing from Scarborough's North Riding were both sampled, both immaculate. One criticism for me would be the food menu was a bit too lavish on the whole, so sandwiches were the way to go, and I tell you now that Brie, Mango and Sweet Chilli on soft white with homemade chips and a bit of salad was wonderful. The barmaid who served us was a friendly young thing, excellent hostess, she had the look of a girl who'd won "junior East Yorks barmaid of the year" for the 20th consecutive year. Another minor gripe was the music, Elaine Page's 'Wishing on a Star" in the middle of summer? Funny cos Dad hates it as our family Christmas album. But such gripes are simply to add colour to my review. The two men facing us seemed a bit perturbed by the influx of diners on a Tuesday lunchtime, fancying themselves as the Steve Coogan/Rob Brydon combo of East Yorkshire food critics. The locals were meanwhile dressed in the M&S 'Blue Harbour' range, it seemed the rule. The landlady complained dust from the refurb (going on in a back room) was getting everywhere, but such was the quality of the pub, you'd barely have known it was happening. Wonderful stuff.
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| The Wellington at Lund - it's 'boot'iful! |
Dad was soon setting his (pointless) SatNav for South Dalton (my GBG app could have got us there as quick) and about 1.5 miles later, hey presto we'd arrived. If Lund was a lovely village, South Dalton somehow eclipsed it with a stunning church and amazing cottages on the way in - it was truly picture postcard.
707. Pipe & Glass, South Dalton
We deliberately chose to eat in Lund rather than South Dalton because this place has a Michelin Star i.e. small portions for high price. Dad wanted to tell them his reason for not eating was that he was on Ramadan - not a point I actively discouraged but I gave him a disapproving look, and the danger was averted! I like to remind food orientated pubs that people can come just for their beer and that's what we did, eyeing up a nice range of Great Newsome and Wold Top ales. Again, the carpark was heaving but this time, the number of diners didn't seem to correspond. Staff were nice & buzzing around in aprons, the pub had a nice dark traditional lived in feel. They seemed a bit surprised we weren't eating, and we took our drinks to the extensive picnic tables at the front as it was quite a warm day despite the grey clouds. They'd gone full throttle on the foodie feel as the door to the toilets was almost blocked by tables! Luckily, there was a back way to the outside. We could really appreciate South Dalton from our vantage point, and we decided how 'Midsomer Murders' it was as shiny posh cars left the carpark over gravel, birds twittered from above and locals chuckled in the distance. A murder felt just around the corner, and surely if the beers had been Nettles IPA or Badgers Drift Best, it wouldn't have seemed out of place.
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| Arriving at the entrance to the Pipe & Glass, "you can shove your Michelin Star sideways!" |
So after those two crackers, we reflected how lucky we've been. Suddenly, the Marston's cloud has been lifted from East Yorkshire and this combined with Goodmanham, Ellerton and others makes for a pleasing village portfolio. Great stuff.
BRAPA Latest News
East Yorkshire could well be the first county I finish and I've put plans in place for our next trip next month, North Cave after a South Cave walk with Mum and Dad - let's do it! I really can't wait. The New Adelphi in Hull is the tricky tick opening 8pm but as Dad said "come to a home game and just leave early .... it won't be difficult (to leave a Hull City game early) HA HA HA".
West Yorkshire is the other contender for finishing first but I'm thinking my next midweek after-work tick will actually be Colton in North Yorkshire. It is next up alphabetically, busses only run Mon-Fri, it makes sense. And speaking of which, other North Yorks ticks would be better suited for after work - I'm thinking Cross Hills/Kildwick or Helwith Bridge.
My latest trip to Bedfordshire is on Saturday - part 6 no less. It's my third trip to East Beds and last night I spent AGES trying to work out how to do Dunton, Sandy, Felmerhsam and Great Barford on the same day without spending a fortune on taxis. It's all because Dunton's pub doesn't open til 2pm. It looks like a bus connection from Sandy-Bedford will fail to make for Felmersham by ONE MINUTE. I've tried to solve it from three different angles. Desperately frustrating but we'll plough on regardless!
I'm going to buy a lottery ticket every Friday for the Sat lotto draw. As they say "you've got to be in it to win it" and I think it's my destiny to complete BRAPA so I'd like to think forces from beyond will help me achieve this by stopping work getting in the way! I'd still pace myself and look for best travel options, even when I do scoop the £80,000,000 rollover.
So, the 700 up achieved in Aberdeen and now the question is, what will be the damage when the new GBG comes out? I mean, I will probably be able to get up to about 740 before I receive the 2016 book in early Sept but I'm sure I'll drop back below the 700 mark, but hopefully not massively so!
Stay tuned,
Si
I love Lund, I really do. Village green, ducks, friendly locals. What more could you ask for. I didn't realise the Welly actually had a car park, I just assumed that people parked around the green or walked from within the village.
ReplyDeleteThe one problem I have with your Dad's Ramadan line is that he wouldn't be allowed to have a pint, I just say it's a pub, not a restaurant.
I have never knowingly listened to said Elaine Page number. I intend to keep up that record for the rest of my days on this planet.
Be careful with North Cave opening times, it is limited / non-existent in the day. I'd even be tempted to ring if it is a Sunday lunchtime you are thinking of, last time I was there there was a sign outside saying no food at the moment (in fact, I think it was the last two times I was there).
I know it slows Beds down a little, but could it be worth doing Great Barford from the Bedford end on a different trip if you can't get the connections to work, and if that generates time this week then do something like Biggleswade on the way back as a fill in? I suppose it depends what else you need round Bedford.
Which Lottery draw are you going into? I shall let Christine give you the lecture, she is better at it than me.
I remember your target was 750 by the end of the year. That gives you a net of 43 to gain. So if you get to 740 when the new book lands on the doormat, that gives you 3.5 months to get 10 plus the deductions. Remember, your pre-emptives will come in useful here, as will anything that has gone out of the guide and back in.
I think you can easily afford a net loss of 50, as that would give you 60 to get in three months once you have had time for bookwork, so 20 a month, 5 a week.
It is a bit like me deliberately getting my shack tick at Rochester in full knowledge that a closure notice is in place and I will at some point have to get the new one 100 yards north. I wonder how many of the crossovers I will never get.
Great feedback as always Tom! Glad you've been to the Welly (is any Wellington pub ever going to have another nickname?) and yes we took a chance on the car park when we realised we felt we were blocking half the village by parking on the road.
ReplyDeleteGood point re North Cave, it doesn't open until 4pm Mon-Thu so we have changed our day from Thu to Fri as a result. I still may check an official website if they have one just to check food etc.
I've finally come to a similar conclusion re tomorrow's trip to Beds. The whole getting from Sandy to Bedford was time consuming and expensive no matter how I approach it. So only 3 official ticks, but one very pre-emptive and two which I'm going to call 'bonus' pubs which are travel stop gaps as much as anything but do serve cask at least. I'm going to do another "outer Bedford" day on my October trip (24th).
I saw an intriguing lottery draw on channel 5 just now. Looked suitably tacky but 25k isn't a life changing amount (relatively), so probably the main one. I'll let Christine tell me off before I commit!
I like your numbers. Yes I did say 750, it's always been the number in my mind. I am expecting less of a drop this time, but maybe 50 like you say. Yes, bookwork might slow me down a bit in Sept, but I'll be back with a vengance come the autumn.
I really fancy a Kent overnight stop some time soon, you could join me for some or all. Though St Agnes on Isles of Scilly by seaplane is my ultimate goal for 2016!
Cunning plan time. Barring an abandonment when 5-2 down at home to Ipswich, leaving a game early is clearly deplorable. Therefore, what about making it a midweek BRAPA all on its own (unless something enroute somewhere like Brough or a new Selby one gets in the 2016 guide).
ReplyDeleteI see no reason for bookwork to slow you down. Simply do bookwork on 4 nights a week, and BRAPA trips on the remaining night and at weekends. I see no reason for Sunday not to be local busable BRAPA day.
See http://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/offers-and-destinations/value-tickets/kent-rover/ for what I think is a good value Kentish ticket. I need a fair amount of track in Kent, it's certainly worth looking into.
Tom, yes it is deplorable. As a side project, I am doing an A-Z of music gigs for the Yorkshire Bank Newsletter and being a 'venue', I wondered if I could combine my New Adelphi trip with this. Only on letter B, either that or C would do - they are published quarterly.
ReplyDeleteI compare September bookwork and the Tuesday's off with an owl malting it's feathers from the months May-August where you just don't hear them, but April and September, wow, they go crazy. I feel like a reverse one month owl.
I'm looking at 2 or 3 long distance over nighters for next year so we'll make Kent one, alphabetically, my first port of call would be a Wetherspoons by Ashford International. onto Folkstone and Dover Priory perhaps with some village busses to keep things interesting.
'I feel like a reverse one month owl' will be quoted in on the 17th of October, you mark my words. Y
ReplyDeleteAshford (Kent), please none of this modern International or Parkway rubbish (apart from the purpose built Parkways for distinction purposes). I require a lot of track in that area, along with most of the shack ticks.