Halloween Post - The Hatchet inn

It's that time of year again where there's a crate of pumpkins in the supermarket, Film 4 are showing Scream, and I'm struggling to find a haunted pub worthy of a Halloween post.

My travels took me to Bristol, to a pub that once had pirates and ne'ever-do-wells as customers, plus ghostly occurrences on the upper floors and things that go bump in the night.
Unfortunately, it didn't feel at all creepy when I visited on a sunny October afternoon.

The Hatchet Inn (27 Frogmore Street, Bristol, BS1 5NA)
One of the oldest pubs in Bristol, this dates back to 1606 and has seen four decades of colourful characters propping up the bar, from pirates to bare-knuckle boxers, to hairy 80's rockers.

Let's start with the front door - as good a place as any to start when you arrive at a pub.
The gruesome claim to fame is that the 300-year old thick wooden door is covered with the human skin of executed criminals.

Quite why anyone would want to add a layer of skin to the front door, I'm not sure.  And no-one has ever actually scraped away the black paint to scientifically prove or disprove the story.

But Bristol has form with this kind of thing...in 1821 a young chap called John Horwood threw a rock at a girl he was infatuated with, causing her to die several days later from her injuries.  Horwood was hanged, then his skin was removed, tanned, and used the bind the notes from his trial.  The book now sits in a display in the M Shed museum.

The Hatchet Inn was also supposedly the chosen local of Edward Teach, better known as pirate Blackbeard, who'd knock back a few ales before heading off to plunder ships in the Caribbean.

There were all sorts of nefarious activities in the Inn in days gone by...
🐀 Rat Pit
🐔 Cock Fighting
✊ Bare knuckle boxing
A handful of symbols that have been phased out of the Good Beer Guide over the years.

So, what of the haunting?  Objects move of their own accord, hands brush by staff in dark corners, footsteps can be heard treading the boards in empty rooms.
Paranormal investigators have visited in the hope of seeing the bare knuckle boxer who is said to pace the upper rooms, or catch a glimpse of a ghostly woman mournfully crying as she wanders the building.

Thanks to an expensive makeover a few years back, the pub is fairly shiny inside, not offering the cobwebs and uneven floorboards and cracks in the wall that I like in my ancient inns.

The old boys in the corner were sinking pints of Doom Bar when I visited.  Robinsons 'Trooper', St Austell 'Tribute', and the local Wiper and True 'Kaleidoscope' were the alternatives, my pick of the Kaleidoscope being a well-kept and tasty pale ale.  The Hatchet is a decent city centre pub with an interesting past that is well worth a visit.

Whilst in Bristol thinking about haunted pubs, I may as well trek the short distance to King Street where you'll find another ancient inn with a ghost or fifteen...

The Llandoger Trow (5 King Street, Bristol, BS1 4ER)
Built in 1664, this is another ale house boasting some famous customers - Robert Louis Stevenson is said to have based The Admiral Benbow from Treasure Island on the 'Trow.  Daniel Defoe met Alexander Selkirk whilst drinking in the pub, a shipwrecked sailor who spent four years on a desert island and would be an inspiration for Robinson Crusoe.

There are a whopping 15 ghosts associated with the pub, as identified when the crew from TV show Most Haunted came to investigate.
The upper floor is said to be the the most haunted - including a young boy with a metal leg support clanking across the floorboards
Angry ghosts have pulled pictures off the wall and tossed utensils around the kitchen.  The Jacobean room and the cellar are both said to have haunted cold spots ('drafts' to the paranormal non-believers).

  

The Trow is a pub that I do like: photogenic timber-framed frontage, flagstone floor, grand fireplaces, nooks and crannies...and some fine beer and cider.
Cask ales on this visit were from Theakston, Adnams, and Bristol Beer Factory.  Apart from the hand pumps, there is a hefty draft menu on a blackboard, offering a fair few German brews, plus sours and nitro stouts, and crafty pales.

I opted to brave a still dry cider called 'Brain Twister', hoping it wouldn't live up to the name later in the day.

Another year, and more haunted pubs that prove not to be at all spooky when I visit.
But for those who enjoy this time of year...happy Halloween 👻

Look out...the ghostly decorations will come down in the pubs and the Christmas ones will pop up before we know it.  And that is scary.

Edmonton Green, you'll always live on in my dream

The previous post found me wandering the streets of Marylebone and visiting four pubs with wildlife-themed names - Eagles, Jackolopes, Stags, and Horses (do horses count as wildlife?)
My plan for the rest of the day was to travel into the northern suburbs.  But before descending into the tube at Euston, I wanted to poke my head into a recent addition to the Wetherspoon portfolio - the Captain Flinders having first opened the doors to the public in January 2024.

Captain Flinders (34-38 Eversholt Street, London, NW1 1DA)
The pub is named after explorer Captain Matthew Flinders who was the first person to circumnavigate Australia in 1801-03.  The link to Euston is that his grave ended up lost under the expansion of the railway station until being uncovered during the recent redevelopment works.  So, we may never get a fast train direct into Euston station on HS2, but at least our extortionately expensive rail project means Captain Flinders gets a more respectful burial place and a Wetherspoon's named after him.

I'm a big fan of the tiling at the entrance..

But I wasn't so keen on the central London Spoons prices.  
Strangely enough, my Portobello 'Market Porter' was less than the advertised rate, which I'm not complaining about.

By Spoon's standards, this is a pretty small place.  It's a single room, divided into three by the chunky wood panelled pillars that stretch the length of the pub.  It was certainly busy on my visit - blokes sitting doing the crossword; the rowdy lads by the front looking like they were on the start of a big afternoon out; and - unsurprisingly - lots of folk with luggage at their side.
I sat next to some very cultured art work and enjoyed my fine London porter.

 

From Euston, I made an eight mile trip northeast.  Firstly on the underground to Tottenham Hale, continuing on the overground to Edmonton.  This part of the capital is home to some 615,000 folk, yet I've never had cause to visit before and know nothing about it.

The northern part of is known as Lower Edmonton or Edmonton Green, the southern part as Upper Edmonton - which is surely the wrong way around?! 
Chas and Dave released a 1983 song called Edmonton Green, from which I really hoped to score a better blog post title.

Here's my walking route...crikey 2-miles - it's healthy this pub crawling lark.

The route took me past the initial scruffiness of the shops by the railway bridge on Church Street, then past the splendid green tiled frontage of the Old Hammam and Spa,

Onto the long suburban streets of semi-detached houses.

Fifteen minutes after leaving the station (timing includes crossing the traffic lights twice after departing from the station in the wrong direction towards the shopping centre) I reached the Rising Sun.
With some magnificent old Taylor Walker lights...

The Rising Sun (243 Winchester Road, Lower Edmonton, N9 9EF)
The doorway takes you through to a porch with a conundrum of turning left or right, the pub being divided into two sections by a wooden partition.  I went right into the livelier half with pool table and locals sat at the bar singing along to Catatonia's 'Road Rage'.
Somewhere, hidden by the bar blockers, were hand pumps for Old Speckled Hen, Hophead, and something from Buckinghamshire brewery Vale.
I had the Vale.  I never did see the pump clip so I'm not sure what it was.
This one...

It turned out the other half of the pub was a comfier option, allowing me to settle on a cushioned bench at the far end.
The Rising Sun is a splendid pub - just the right amount of clutter to make it interesting, a well-worn carpet, and beamed ceiling.  Despite being quiet when I sat down and took the picture it quickly filled up whilst I was there, doing a good trade with prams, dogs, and locals livening things up.

Making my way to the next Good Beer Guide pub in Edmonton, I crossed the busy A10, strolled through Bury Lodge wetlands, then followed a footpath along Salmons Brook.  It all sounds much nicer than it really was - not a classic urban walk.  But the route took me to the  Beehive with its Madri umbrellas and grey-painted frontage.

The Beehive (24 Little Bury Street, Lower Edmonton, N9 9JZ)
This was much quieter than the Rising Sun.  Alongside me, there was just one table of folk, plus a couple of dog walkers who arrived to take their regular spots at the bar.
There was a Rev James or Greene King IPA on offer for the traditionalists.  Plus three unusual beers from home counties micros.  A Brentwood 'Falcon Punch IPA' for me - another super beer from a brewery that rarely lets me down.

I've filled the blog with a variety of pictures from the gents, usually featuring mild smut.
Plus the occasional photo of a beer barrel urinal or some ambitiously scented handwash.
But this is a first...there's an iguana in the gents!

Initially I felt very sorry for Blue (for that is her name), destined to sit and watch blokes in the toilet.  But the sign tells us that this is just a hide out which she has access to from a vivarium outside.  I still utilised the urinal furthest away, out of respect.

Leaving the Beehive, it was a straightforward early evening saunter through the streets to Winchmore Hill.  No disrespect to the Rising Sun and Beehive, but it was the next micropub, shortlisted for the CAMRA Pub of the Year award, that had brought me this part of London.

Little Green Dragon (928 Green Lanes, Winchmore Hill, N21 2AD)
In a show of dedication to the micro pub cause, Little Green Dragon owner Richard made a charity cycle ride around 100 micros before opening his own in August 2017.
Which is probably a good bit research on how to do it right - the Little Green Dragon was crowned Greater London Pub of the Year in 2018 and has won that title 5 more times since then.

The drinks choice offered four cask ales (pale, red, dark), key kegs, cider and perry, Old Bakery gin, and prosecco.  Something to suit all tastes.   

My taste was for a Hammerton 'Piece of Cake'.
Fudge cake stout..mmmm!

The pub has a range of typical micro high tables with a home-made look, plus regular tables, sofas, beer barrels acting as stools...

I sunk into the sofa and made myself comfortable enough to decide to stick around for a half of the Bluestone 'Red of Heaven'.
Next to the bar is something a little bit different to perch on, with some repurposed bus seating.  You;ll find an electronic display board above this table which shows the next departures from the local bus stops.
Which was handy, as I had no idea how to get home from here.

I ambled down the road in the dusk.
Contemplating visiting the one-time Wetherspoons, but instead found my way to a cracking looking pub in the side streets...

The Orange Tree (18 Highfield Road, Winchmore Hill, N21 3HA)
This used to be a regular Beer Guide entry, but has dropped out since 2022.  I suspect a real ale choice of Greene King IPA and 'Yardbird' weren't going to be attractive to the local CAMRA folk (two more handpumps turned around this evening, so perhaps the range is sometimes more enticing).
BUT - the Yardbird tasted great.  And I never thought I'd be praising a Greene King Yardbird.

A nice pub: large, full of character, a fair few customers around the corner.  Lots of interesting decorations, such as the run of Toby jugs above the bar.
Just a pity it was too dark for me to manage any decent pictures.

To be honest, I was more focused on how I was going to get home than on getting good pics for the blog.  It was a fairly long bus ride down Green Lanes, then onto the tube to Victoria, before I even started contemplating getting back to Oxford.  Via a doze on the Oxford Tube, I suspect. 

Four Pubs in Marylebone and Fitzrovia

An excursion to London, where I planned to take in a handful of central Good Beer Guide pubs before making my way out north to visit a micro short-listed for CAMRAs next national pub of the year award.
I made the familiar Oxford Tube journey...although it always seems to have gone up £1. And I always think we must be about there, only to look up from my book and discover we're stuck in a traffic jam at Hangar Lane.  And I always manage to bang my head when negotiating the stairs.
Alighting at Marble Arch, I wandered into the streets of Marylebone, where my first lunchtime destination awaited. 

The Golden Eagle (59 Marylebone Lane, London, W1U 2NY)
This is a marvelous 19th century corner pub, first licensed in 1842, then rebuilt in 1890.  It has been run by the same family for over 30 years.
And it's a proper classic central London boozer...  No food.  Cordoned-off area for be-suited outdoor vertical drinking.  Piano singalongs three evenings a week.

Cask ales on offer came from Fullers and St Austell, plus the Mauldons 'Pale Ale' from Essex, which was my light, easy-going pick.

I settled on the wall-hugging cushioned bench seating in the corner, next to a couple in Ajax shirts who'd already amassed a hefty collection of shopping bags by midday.
Shame that I wasn't here in the evening for the piano sing-a-longs.  I had to make do with Whitney Houston, Little Mix, and John Lennon's 'Imagine', which seemed a bit out of place amongst the pop.

Here's the carpet for BRAPA...

And the mild smut for me...

A great pub and a tasty first pint of the day.  The Golden Eagle was filling up as I departed, with a few hi-vis jackets and office folk taking pints to the pavement drinking area.
I had an 8-minute stroll to a pub in the mews...

The Jackolope (43 Weymouth Mews, London, W1G 7EQ)
This was built in 1777 and was called the Dover Castle in a previous incarnation, the name still visible in the etched glass of the windows.   For many years it was a Sam Smiths pub, but now it is run by the same company who look after the Euston Tap.

So, plenty of tempting options beer-wise, as you'd expect if you've been to the 'Tap.
Cask from Five Points, Moberley Brew House, Marble and Iron Pier.
The likes of Köstritzer Schwarzbier and Budvar on keg; Stone or 40ft Brewing Co, if you were feeling especially wealthy.

I ordered a superb pint of Iron Pier 'Joined at the Hop', brewed with First Gold and Ekuanot.
And settled on the stools and ledge by the front window, jazz sound-tracking my visit.

The Jackolope features a Thai restaurant in the basement - cue a few folk wandering in and looking lost, before being pointed down the stairs by the barman.

The aromas drifting up from the kitchen smelt delicious, but I was determined to make do with a Tesco meal deal and push-on with the pub excursions.
It wasn't far to the next destination and - wow! - what a building...

Stag's Head (102 New Cavandish Street, London, W1W 6XW)
The pub sits on the ground floor of a grand late-30's Deco building.  The Stag's Head was designed for William Younger & Co of Edinburgh, filling the single rectangular room with wooden panels and pillars.  The effect of which was slightly diminished by the dominant Pimms flags on this occasion.

Two cask ales were on offer, both from Tring:  'Side Pocket for a Toad' or 'Squadron Scramble'.  I took a Squadron Scramble to the perches opposite the bar.  Decent enough beer, but the only one of the the day that veered north of the £6 a pint price point (I'd been pleasantly surprised that the previous two pubs were no more expensive than Oxford).

There was a good retro soundtrack of Toto, Frankie goes to Hollywood, and Joe Jackson, in a pub that seemed to attract a crowd of proper punters, despite the hefty bar tariffs.

My departure coincided with an unexpected downpour of rain.
Being as I'm made of sugar and will melt in the rain, I veered into the Sam Smith's pub around the corner for some shelter.

Horse and Groom (128 Great Portland Street, London, W1W 6PS)
This is a pub that dates back to the late 18th century, with an impressive curved front window, recessed doorways either side, and murals of said horse and groom on the first floor frontage.
Located close to the BBC, it is said to have been a haunt of media types waiting to meet editors and producers, or rehearse before broadcasts.  There are also some scandalous tales of all-night 'board meetings' hosted here by a one-time owner of Sports Direct, featuring much boozy behavior and vomiting into the fireplace.

No such excitement on my visit.

Long gone are the days when Sam Smith's provided a bargain option in London.  £3 for a half of the keg Old Brewery Bitter here.  And I can't say I enjoyed it very much.

That's  not to say I didn't appreciate the impressive surroundings of the Horse and Groom, which was well worth making a short stop in.  

The rain had stopped, so it was time to move on. 
More from London in the next post where there will be Spoons, traditional boozers, a micro, and an iguana in the toilet.
But, sadly, no Bass...

I followed the pointing finger and peered into the saloon bar, but Bass there was none.

Propping Up the Bar in Cheltenham Spa

This was my first visit to Cheltenham since coming for the football in 2006.  I was surprised that absolutely nothing in the town centre looked familiar to me, which means my memory isn't what it used to be, or that I imagined my 00's ground-hopping and Forest being in the third division.

The day started - as all the best days do - in 'Spoons before midday.

The Moon Under Water (16-24 Bath Road, Cheltenham, GL50 7HA)
A bit of a photography fail on this, the second JDW branch in the town.  It's basically an old car showroom with a greenhouse on the front of it - unlikely to win any awards for most spectacular Spoons architecture.

Inside, it's spacious, stretching a fair way back, with the bar in the middle, and some nice decking overlooking a narrow bit of the River Chelt at the very back.  The Moon Under Water still bills itself as a Lloyds No1, with glitter balls, a dance floor, and adverts for DJ Rob suggesting this wouldn't be the ideal place to settle with a paperback for a quiet Saturday evening pint.

A limited menu due to some kitchen issues was probably the reason we found this place very quiet at midday (the more central Bank House Spoons had been packed when we passed it).

I was impressed by the line-up of cask ales - beers from Oakham, Wolf, Salopian, Kirkstall, and Glamorgan breweries on this visit.
I picked the Salopian 'Time Machine', starting the day at a sensible strength of 3.9%.  Let's see how long my beer choices remain 'sensible'.

Two great value pints later, we departed from Spoons and made a short walk from the Moon Under Water onto the High Street and out to the town's best known beer drinking pub.
A previous National Pub of the Year, winning the CAMRA award in 2015.

Sandford Park Ale House (20 High Street, Cheltenham, GL50 1DZ)
Entering through the front door, you can circumnavigate the whole pub.  There is a staircase to some upper rooms in the middle, a pleasant snug to one side, bar billiards in the next room, and the bar counter in the corner by the doors to a decent back garden.

The beer selection was pretty spectacular: 9 ales on cask making it tricky to pick one.  I decided it was cloudy and chilly enough for the dark stuff, ordering a Hop Shed 'Phoenix Porter'.

We had a bit of a pub food fail here, with the wrong items arriving at the table.  We got extra fries to compensate, but that was far more fries than I needed.   To top this off, I went back to the bar for an unwise half of the 8.4% Verdant 'What Are Dreams Made Of?'

We should really had have a good long walk to aid the digestion after the Ale House.
But instead we bowled into our next venue, The Strand, just a couple of hundred meters along the road.

The Strand (40-42 High Street, Cheltenham, GL50 1EE)
The beers in this bright, airy bar were listed on a giant mind-boggling wooden board to the side of the counter.  It looked like they had a Red Willow takeover, with all 4 cask beers and 7 of the keg picks coming from the Macclesfield brewery.
I ordered a Red Willow 'F200 Nelson Idaho 7', because I love a catchy name.

If I'm going to pick faults with The Strand, I'll grumble about the uncomfortable high stools.  But it serves a purpose as a modern craft bar; the beer was on decent form; and there was a good range of folk in the L-shaped room, tucking into plates of food and enjoying a wide range of drink options.

 

We moved on before Mrs PropUptheBar could spot the rum and caramel boozy shakes on the drinks menu.

Next up, we decided to venture a little further outside the town centre to visit the Kemble Brewery Tap, a 2024 Good Beer Guide entry, although it has dropped out in the new edition.
Our route took us past some impressive street art...

We found our route to the pub through some tranquil side streets (thanks Google, I'd have struggled in the days when I relied on a hand-scribbled inaccurate map of inconsistent scale). 

The Kemble Brewery (27 Fairview Street, Cheltenham, GL52 2JF)
Disappointingly, it's not a brewery at all.  What a fiddle.
In fact, it was originally built as a butchers shop in 1845, before becoming a pub in 1847.  At one point, a landlord produced cider in the back yard, which seems to be where it got the name from. 
It's a single narrow room, pretty traditional, with various instruments hung from the walls.

I ordered a half of Salopian 'Lemon Dream' - other options being Salopian 'Darwin', Wye Valley 'Butty Bach' and 'HPA', the latter two billed on a small balckboard as "Kemble Inn favourites".
A good quality beer, in a reasonably comfy pub, although I'm not sure we really needed to make the trek out of town to it.

Our next destination was the Bath Tavern.

The Bath Tavern (68 Bath Road, Cheltenham, GL53 7JT)
I do believe that this was once an unspoilt trad city pub, run by the same family for some 130 years.  Although I've arrived a bit too late, with it now under new management and having had a bit of a refurb and smartening-up.
That said it was still a pleasant place to sit and while away 30-minutes and sheltered us from a sudden rain shower.
The Wye Valley 'HPA' was the sole cask option, and was on reasonable form.

I'd promised Mrs PropUptheBar craft beer in Cheltenham.
So let's put the remaining GBG pubs on hold for a future visit and delve into some stupidly strong keg murk in Planet Caravan - not just a Black Sabbath album track.

Planet Caravan (25 Bath Street, Cheltenham, GL50 1YA)
Somewhat dangerously, this bar in a converted estate agent was hosting a Left Handed Giant tap takeover on our visit.
Just pick something easy-going and sensible.
Ooooh! 'Blender Celebration' - a 12% imperial stout concoction.  Doh!

It was probably for the best that this small bar was uncomfortably busy whilst we were there, lest we decide to stay and work our way through more of the LHG beers.  Even the upstairs room was full - and upstairs rooms in micros never get full.  My dinky wooden stool was situated on the dog-leg of the route through the bar, necessitating acrobatic movements to avoid being clobbered by folk on their way to the WCs.

Right.  We'd switched from the cask to the craft, so we may as well continue the theme.
We headed into the bustling Brewery Quarter, where there is little left of the old West Country Brewery, closed in 1998 and demolished (with the exception of the main brew house) in 2004.
In this entertainment quarter you'll now find Brewhouse & Kitchen, the Botanist, Alchemist, Cosy Club, and all those sorts of things.
And Brewdog, who opened this branch in February 2022...

Brewdog Cheltenham (Unit 3, The Brewery Quarter, Henrietta Street, Cheltenham, GL50 4FA)
I know it has been a while since Brewdog were hip and trendy, and this was a serious distraction from ticking off the beer guide pubs.  But we've got a little collection of those Brewdog venue postcards and wanted a Cheltenham one.

The branch of the chain is situated in a former restaurant - one big square room with a high ceiling with some odd foliage hanging from it.  Plenty of people on the high tables closest to the bar, although the half set aside for eating was looking painfully quiet for a Saturday evening.

I do appreciate the choice of beers at Bewdog, displayed on the giant white illuminated beer board, especially their guest options.  A Fuerst Wiacek 'Feral' double IPA was the beer that threatened to send me to sleep on the train journey home.

And it was toward that train home that we headed.
With a quick stop at the Railway en-route.  

Thank you, Cheltenham, for a pleasant day out.
We will be back, as we forgot to do any sight-seeing, have another Wetherspoons to call in to, and several more pubs to visit.  And it's a much easier train trip from Oxford via Worcester than I'd previously thought.