The brief is simple. A two-day hike with a railway station at either end and a pub with rooms in the middle. No need to carry much, just a change of clothes, some lunch and water. I don’t want a circuit; I want a straight yomp across magnificent countryside with …
Read More »A walk on Norfolk’s Boudicca Way to a classic village pub: The Crown Inn
Why are some towns so disconnected from their railway stations? That’s what I often ponder at Diss in south Norfolk: the most direct walking route into its historic centre is a fiddly manoeuvre through 1960s cul-de-sacs which would be so much more visitor-friendly if it were clearly signposted. But upon …
Read More »A lochside walk to a pub with live music: the Old Mill Inn, Pitlochry, Scotland
The loch reflects scattered clouds, gaps of sky, sunlit mountains and an imposing modernist dam. A watchful heron stands on a rock in the shadow of the concrete cliff. Pitlochry dam is one of nine power stations in the Tummel valley hydroelectric scheme. Before it opened in 1951, only one …
Read More »A coast and hill walk to a great village pub: the Britannia Inn, Gower peninsula
A pub is a vital part of a country walk, but which way to do it? The whole walk first, then pub for well-earned food and beer? Or pub as halfway mark, to restore flagging body and spirits, the uncovered miles making that second or third beer a bad idea? …
Read More »A canal walk to a great pub: the Aqueduct Inn, Llangollen, Wales
The canal boat drifted gently across the sky, 40 metres above the ground. Two men in a canoe followed. They were wearing lifejackets, although parachutes might have been more appropriate. There is, it is safe to say, nowhere else in the world that you can float your boat so far …
Read More »A great Pembrokeshire coastal walk to a great pub: the Old Point House Inn
I should have set out on this walk at dawn – it’s shaping up to be a warm day, and as I leave the car park of the Old Point House I’m thankful for the shade of the trees on either side of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. I head towards …
Read More »A great coast walk to a great pub: the Anchor Inn, Dorset
Some walkers find coastal walks dull. Their main gripe is sameness: too blue, too green, too straight, too twee. Sometimes they say it’s not “real” enough, by which they mean they prefer the grot and slog of mud and mountains. I defy any of these people to walk from Seaton …
Read More »A great moorland walk to a great pub: the Pack Horse Inn, West Yorkshire
Despite its name, Midgehole, the starting point of this walk, is rarely enveloped in clouds of the little pests, while any you do encounter will be left behind once you get up on to the moors. And this is a walk that, thanks to the stiff climb from the National …
Read More »A walk across fells to a great pub: the Kirkstile Inn, Lake District
The Kirkstile Inn was first documented in 1549. Then a farm, it was sold by west Cumbria’s St Bees Priory after the dissolution of the monasteries. Today, it’s a pub with low-beamed ceilings and old fireplaces popular both with locals and tourists stopping for a post-walk meal and a pint …
Read More »