Category: Travel in Europe

With the guided Real Ale Walk with Lynne and Ian under our belts, the next day we set out on a self-guided walk. Armed with the a set of instructions provided by Ian, the eight mile loop would take us to the town of Holford and the Plough Inn.

Admittedly, I was a bit worried that we would take a wrong turn and end up in Cardiff, but the feeling more had to do with our ability to follow the instructions, not the quality of the directions.  The walk instructions were very specific, such as advising to turn right just after a “grassy clearing with a solitary tree”.  Lo and behold, we did in fact come across a clearing and turned dutifully to the right hand trail.

The walk took us through farmer’s fields, woodland, and finally along a trail astride to a meandering brook that lead us to the town of Holford.

After a little over four miles, we arrived at the Plough Inn ready for some pints and food. The pub had 3 real ales; two of which I had not tried yet. My favorite was the Tawny Bitter from Cotleigh, a Somerset brewery.

The publican was very friendly and when he saw me take the picture of the tap handles, he said he had something to give me to better remember my visit. He started digging in a bag – I thought he was trying to find me some bar mats – but he pulled out this nice Cotleigh bar towel and handed it to me.  It was a nice gesture and while we find friendly publicans most of the time, they are not always willing to give up their beer stuff.

They also had a real cider. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention cider, as Somerset is the home to English cider. The real ale pubs will have a ‘proper’ cider on and in the case of the Plough Inn, it was the cider from Cheddar Valley. It looked like orange soda, but the flavor was crisp and refreshing. If you make it to Somerset, you need to give proper cider a try.

Filled with a few pints and some food, it was time to head back to Nether Stowey. Our return journey took us through moorland similar to what we hiked the previous day and in no time we were back at the Old Cider House.

I was pleased. We finally got some exercise on a trip – two eight mile walks was just what the doctor ordered. But moreover, Real Ale Walks was everything I imagined it would be. Great walks, great beer, and great people.

We arrived in England a bit delayed, but safe and sound. We are staying in the Somerset village of Nether Stowey for a few days before heading back to London for the Great British Beer Festival.

On our way out to Somerset, we passed by Stonehenge and took a quick look at it. Chris said it looked smaller than he expected. I thought it was amazing, but almost a let down because it looks, well, just like all the pictures you see. Maybe next visit to England we’ll have time to pay to go into the park and get a bit closer.

We came out here to Nether Stowey for one reason; The Old Cider house and Real Ale Walks. Chris saw an article about them several years ago and we have wanted to come out here ever since. The idea is brilliantly simple and combines two of our loves, hiking and beer. You walk between villages on well-marked trails, enjoying the scenery, the fresh air and a pint or two or real ale at a village pub. It is really the essence of our travels.

Last night, the proprietors, Lynne and Ian prepared a beer-inspired 4 course dinner, including a mushroom risotto made with Guinness and dessert made with Hoegaarden raspberry wheat. Chris kept eying my dessert because he had already finished his, but I was not about to share!

Each course was served with one of  the beers from Ian’s Stowey Brewery. The first starter course was served with a beer made with nettle, which Ian used as a bittering agent. Stowey Brewery brews real ale and the beers are sometimes served in the local pubs. Ian admitted that not all of his beers have turned out good, but all of the beers we had were very tasty. I’m looking forward to seeing the brewery and drinking more of the beer tonight.

This morning, they offered us an equally tasty traditional English breakfast sans beer (darn!) and then guided us on a walk through the Quantock Hills.

Today’s hike was a nice 8 mile round trip jaunt to the nearby town of Crowcombe and their pub The Carew Arms. The hike took us over heather-covered hills and sheep-filled fields. The beautiful 360 degree view of the area included seeing Wales across the bay.

But the highlight of the walk was the pub that has been the center of Crowcombe village life for 400 years.

The front bar was very traditional and probably hadn’t changed much in 400 years. Chris wanted to take some pictures but the regulars didn’t look in a posing mood.

Another neat thing about the Carew Arms was a skittles lane in the old stable. Because it is a historic building, they had to keep the stable dividers. So now you can play skittles and sit in a booth where the ol’ gray mare used to eat her hay.

Skittles is a classic Somerset game similar to bowling. Played mainly in the winter, skittles really is a drinking game because as one team is playing, the other is in the bar having a pint. Still popular, the local area supports over a dozen leagues.

The hike was just challenging enough  for me, as it is our first full day here in England and I’m a bit jetlagged. Despite dragging a bit, we enjoyed the company of Ian, Lynne and two black labs Buster and Ozzy. We miss Porter and Stout, so this was a perfect fix of dog play. They allow dogs at the Old Cider House, so last night we also played with Gibbs, a spaniel here with his owners on holiday.

We still have several more days here and so far it has been a trip made in heaven; beautiful hiking, yummy beer, great food, and good company, all in one spot! This has been a great start to this month’s Year in Beer adventure. I’m sure it will prove to be a gentle adjustment to England before the craziness of the big city and the Great British Beer Festival.

August’s Year in Beer trip, to Merideth’s slight dismay, is about real ale.

This trip brings us to England: truly one of the centers of beer in the world and oddly enough, a place we have spent very little time. All of our short visits have been using London as a stopover either on the way to somewhere else in Europe or coming home.

But for the Year in Beer we make up for lost time, spending eight days in England, mainly staying in London to attend the Great British Beer Festival.

We begin our trip out in the Somerset countryside with Real Ale Walks. This will be our first journey outside London and we be walking the Quantock Hills. We’ll enjoy the scenery, the exercise and some real ale. We also get to drive by Stonehenge on our way out there.

Each day’s walking takes us to a traditional pub for a pint or two of Somerset’s best beer. In addition, the Old Cider House, the guest accommodation, has a half-barrel microbrewery, brewing beer for the house and local pubs.

After a few days of acclimation in the countryside, we return to London for the Great British Beer Festival.

Sponsored by the Campaign for Real Ale, the Great British Beer Festival draws over 60,000 beer enthusiasts in a five day span. And unlike American beer festivals where you get samples, at GBBF, you purchase pints or half pints. We will be sure to find out if that is a good or a bad thing.

And much to Merideth’s delight, there is a foreign beer bar where she can get her beloved German lager.

We will also be volunteering for the Thursday day session, so if you are attending, we’d love to pull a pint for you.

Our plans only have us going to three of the sessions, giving us plenty of time to explore greater London. Our friend Paul, the cellarman at the Old Fountain, is setting up a few brewery tours for us, including Red Squirrel – something I am really looking forward to.  Heck, we might have enough time to do tourist stuff like visit the Tower of London, ride the London Eye or take a Thames River cruise.

Whatever, we end up doing, I guarantee there will be plenty of real ale and good times.