Having conquered the centre of Newport, we headed off to explore what was on the eastern side of the river. The plan was to walk the couple of miles to St Julians where there was a long-standing Beer Guide pub, then continue on to the neighbouring town of Caerleon.
We passed by the remains of the castle, then crossed Newport Bridge...
We passed by the remains of the castle, then crossed Newport Bridge...
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| Muddy banks of the Usk |
It didn't take us very long to divert from our original plan...
Oooooh! Brewery Tap!
Yep, that's all it takes.
Oooooh! Brewery Tap!
Yep, that's all it takes.
Weird Dad Brewery Tap (23 Carleon Road, Newport, NP19 7BU - web)
Opened in the autumn of 2021, there are two interconnected rooms in these former retail units which make up the micro-pub/brewery mash-up. The bar is in the first room, shelves of bottles and cans in the second, plus a window looking through to the brewing equipment.
We received a warm welcome from the boss and two local drinkers, all three of whom got chatting to us about the best local pubs to visit.
Here's the beer list, with much neater whiteboard-marker writing than I could ever manage...
Opened in the autumn of 2021, there are two interconnected rooms in these former retail units which make up the micro-pub/brewery mash-up. The bar is in the first room, shelves of bottles and cans in the second, plus a window looking through to the brewing equipment.
We received a warm welcome from the boss and two local drinkers, all three of whom got chatting to us about the best local pubs to visit.
Here's the beer list, with much neater whiteboard-marker writing than I could ever manage...
There was a fine varied selection of beer and cider, surely with something to please everyone, including two cask ales from Ainsty and Pitchfork breweries.
I felt I should try the homebrew, picking the 'Mine's a Dark'. A fine dark mild at 3.5%, which was served from a keg but I'd never have known it.
As the folks in Weird Dad had warned us, it was a fair old trek to our next destination, much of it through housing estates, then across the motorway and onto a road that followed the river.
So it was good to see the pub in the distance as we rounded a corner...
I felt I should try the homebrew, picking the 'Mine's a Dark'. A fine dark mild at 3.5%, which was served from a keg but I'd never have known it.
As the folks in Weird Dad had warned us, it was a fair old trek to our next destination, much of it through housing estates, then across the motorway and onto a road that followed the river.
So it was good to see the pub in the distance as we rounded a corner...
This white and blue painted roadside pub has appeared in 28 consequetive editions of the Good Beer Guide, so must be doing something right.
Our first impressions were fantastic as we strolled in to find a band in full swing playing New Orleans jazz.
Enjoying the balmy good weather, I took my Bath Ales 'Prophecy' out onto the terrace.
Here's the view - not bad is it?
It was just ten minutes further along the B4596 to reach the town of Caerleon.
Coming toward the bridge we got a glimpse of the Hanbury Arms across the other side of the river, complete with Norman tower attached to the side...
Coming toward the bridge we got a glimpse of the Hanbury Arms across the other side of the river, complete with Norman tower attached to the side...
The pub is the oldest inhabited building in Caerleon, with a cracking riverside location.
I'd expected it to be much busier on a lovely warm weekend evening, but I suspect we missed the peak craziness, the evidence of which was the enormous stack of dirty glasses covering half of the bar.
Perhaps it quieted down because the evening sun leaves the riverside terrace in the shade, tempting folk across to the Ship Inn on the other side of the bridge for their evening pub garden antics.
Two cask ales were available from the big Cardiff brewer here - Brains 'Gold' or 'Bitter'.
Made more appealing by the fancy curved pump clips...
The 'SA Gold' was in good form and enjoyable enough, plus the pub gets extra points for serving us a very sensibly priced jacket potato.
We thought we'd missed the last bus back to Newport, consigning ourselves to a long walk.
So it was a pleasant surprise to see Google change it's mind, reporting on a bus 2-minutes away as we were leaving. Unusual good luck.
We thought we'd missed the last bus back to Newport, consigning ourselves to a long walk.
So it was a pleasant surprise to see Google change it's mind, reporting on a bus 2-minutes away as we were leaving. Unusual good luck.
Alighting a short while later, we still had one more pub from the current Beer Guide to visit on the east side of the river.
The part of town where the craft beer connoisseurs live...
The weekend revelry looked well underway in the nightlife venues along Chepstowe Road. What would Wetherspoon's have in store for us?
I do like a Wetherspoon's cinema conversion, so was chuffed to see the grand frontage of this building as we approached, even if Little India have set up in one side of it and spoiled the symmetry.
This was once the Maindee Cinema, opened a few weeks after the declaration of war in 1939. It boasted state of the art facilities, but can't have been a roaring success as it only survived as a picture palace for 22 years.
This was much quieter than expected.
I think all the 'action' was just down the road at the Maindee Hotel and Scrum Half Bar.
The front section of the pub with high ceiling was the most characterful part, whilst the bar counter and more seating was in the duller rear section which was Spoons-by-numbers.
There were a couple of guest beers to compliment the usual range with 'Jemima's Pitchfork' from Glamorgan Brewing Co being my pick.
Nice enough beer, but it took me ages to drink having thoroughly worn myself out.
We'd been to a good selection of pubs, done our mileage for the day.
Next up, after a good nights rest: Barry
I think all the 'action' was just down the road at the Maindee Hotel and Scrum Half Bar.
The front section of the pub with high ceiling was the most characterful part, whilst the bar counter and more seating was in the duller rear section which was Spoons-by-numbers.
There were a couple of guest beers to compliment the usual range with 'Jemima's Pitchfork' from Glamorgan Brewing Co being my pick.
Nice enough beer, but it took me ages to drink having thoroughly worn myself out.
We'd been to a good selection of pubs, done our mileage for the day.
Next up, after a good nights rest: Barry
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