GETTING DRESSED UP FOR GRAND NATIONAL DAY

Its Grand National Day today and it reminds me of a pub crawl we did in Thirsk , North Yorkshire , on that day  in 2012. There was six of us and we caught the train there, arriving at 1030 am.

The station is over a mile from the town centre and a brisk 30 minute walk ( so we got the bus) . Directly opposite the station is a pub called the Old Red House. While waiting for the bus , I ambled across to see what time the pub opened. No sign of anything with opening hours on . As I was peering through the windows having a nosy, suddenly one window opened and a female voice, non too pleased,  shouted " Yes Can I help you? we don't open till noon ". There was an unspoken "now bugger off" as she slammed the window.

So we caught a bus into town and found the Three Tuns, a Wetherspoons, in the Market Place, in time for breakfast and a couple of pints.

Just along from the Three Tuns is the Golden Fleece Hotel. This is an imposing former coaching inn with a small bar and a posh Writing Room with large comfortable chairs. We settled in the latter with Yorkshire Dales Golden Fleece Ale, which is a 4.5% bitter brewed by the Yorkshire Dales Brewery in Askrigg exclusively for the hotel.  

We suddenly noticed we were one short. " He must have gone to the gents".

Now remember its Grand National Day and he was gone a while, so I walked round to the loo and suddenly there appeared the missing person, dressed as a horse and jockey. As you can see I have pixelated his face but not that of  the horse !

Well the next 20 minutes were a riot, just as well we had the room to ourselves ! We laughed so much we all felt a little hoarse. 
 

Once we all settled down and after a couple of pints we left the comfort of the Writing Room chairs and walked to the other side of the Market Place and  the nearest betting office. 

( If you can imagine someone in a horse and jockey fancy dress walking across a zebra crossing.)

I didnt go in, as I  was sussing out more pubs but I am reliably informed said horse and jockey went unnoticed in the bookies. No one even glanced over from the screens.

He got changed in the next pub, the Black Bull ,where we watched the race.

By now the Wetherspoons breakfast was wearing off so we found a fish and chip shop for a brief drinking pause, then it was into the Darrowby Inn, also in the Market Place. 

After about an hour the last bus back to the station was due. The lack of public transport integration meant that there was a three quarters of an hour wait for the train so it was into the aforementioned Old Red House for the last one. 

The only handpump was Black Sheep and the pub was just ticking over. There was this strange drain-like smell emanating from one corner of the bar. So after a quick pint, it was over the road to catch our train back home.

A fond memory seared into my brain. 

FRENCH TARTS AND FUN WITH A PICNIC TABLE

Last weekend saw six of us doing a pub crawl by bus. We thought it would just be a gentle sort of day, visiting town and country pubs ; not to be.!

We met up in The Wild Boar, Houghton Le Spring for a traditional Wetherspoons breakfast and a couple of pints. The place was buzzing when we walked in , to discover, to our delight, that about 5 tables were taken over by 30-40 girls dressed as French Tarts, on a hen weekend. ( what ! no photographs - Ed).

They were all talking at once but we managed to discover they were heading on a coach to York. Half the men in the pub, including ourselves, were asking if there was any spare seats. "To hell with this pub crawl, lets do York instead".

Sadly they left without us so we headed down to the bus stop for a 5 minute ride to the Copt Hill, just outside the town. 

This pub used to be run by a certain Bobby Kerr and a plaque on the newly repainted pub displays his name.

 
Despite the fact it is in The Good Beer Guide we were confronted by 3 empty handpulls. On the verge of leaving and getting the next bus, I muttered to one of the guys, You wouldn't think this was in the Good Beer Guide would you. The barmaid overhead me and said, we have Doom Bar on, I just dont have a pump clip. So 2 pints of Doom Bar in the pub garden, with fantastic views while we waited for the bus across to Seaton

So, this is where the fun starts. The next pub was the Dun Cow in Seaton Village, , tucked away in a quiet cul de sac. Four handpulls and a large sunny garden with picnic tables greeted us. Ordering some Oakham JHB and a Guinness, the 6 of us headed for the ( as it turned out) most unstable table in the garden. 

Two were sitting opposite me ( so combined weight was greater than mine.) Someone said, "move along so we can all get on", so I dutifully stood up to move sideways. The opposite side of the bench was now heavier than my side, and being on slightly unstable ground, this resulted in a slight tilt towards the heavy side. 4 pints of nearly full glasses went flying , tipping most of the contents over one of the other two opposite. 

NOTE THE EMPTY GLASSES AND BEER STAINS

We were too busy laughing to offer any sympathy as the drowned rat proceeded to strip off his jeans to dry on a wall. I will spare you the worst sights, just the wet offending table. I took the empty glasses back into the bar and relayed our incident to the barmaid. She said " Oh yes, I know which table you mean, that's happened before !"  We got free replacement drinks. So no profit for the Dun Cow from us then !

Once dry in the sun, we then walked to the Seaton Lane Inn nearby for a couple more uneventful pints, then down into Seaham for the final drink in the Hat and Feathers and some fish and chips. I mention this because some of the split beer must have soaked into his brain, because believe or not, this last picture is a plate of fish and chips. 

So a great day out with free entertainment, helped by fantastic weather , interesting pubs and great beer , (that hadn't been spilt.). For those that need to know, the bus mostly used was the 238 which runs between Houghton, Seaton and Seaham. Again, for those that need to know, the dodgy table is the one in the bottom left hand corner of the Dun Cow garden