In this issue: (click
on a title to jump straight to the article)
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The Pub Walker
The official newsletter
of MyFavouritePubWalks.com
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Issue No.4
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Look What's Coming - The Alternative
Isle of Wight Pub Walking Festival !
One and
one can make three !
We decided it was time for another first. You've heard
of walking festivals and real ale or beer festivals? Well
now we are planning the first ever Pub Walking Festival.
The Isle of Wight Walking Festival is in its 10th year
and is already the largest walking festival in the UK. Running
from 3rd May to 18th May 2008, its first weekend overlaps
with the island's Real Ale Festival and there lay our inspiration
- let's add one and one together and make three we thought
... The first Isle
of Wight Pub Walking Festival was born!
What does this mean for you? Well for a start, we are focusing
the next couple of weeks on adding more and more Isle
of Wight pub walks to MyFavouritePubWalks.com
and these will all be free to download, at least until the
festival ends on 18th May. As we go to press, we already
have 10 pubs/routes published with many more on the way.
This triple event is the perfect excuse you need for a
short
break to the Isle of Wight in May. We've produced a
check
list with useful links to make it easy for you to cross
the Solent and join in the festivities! Most important,
don't delay booking your Isle of Wight ferry crossing -
Cheap4Ferries.com
has a "best price promise" and deals with
all operators. We also have lots of ideas for accommodation
options ranging from cottages to luxury hotels to holiday
parks. Finally we recommend some extra items to take with
you to get maximum enjoyment from your pub walks, including
the Isle
of Wight (OS
Explorer Map Series) and The
Good Pub Guide 2008 of course but other
items too.
So what's
so special about the Isle of Wight ?
Not only is the Isle of Wight much more accessible than
you may think but it also boasts some spectacular scenery
as well as fantastic pubs.
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Over
half of the island is designated as an area of outstanding
natural beauty.
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500
miles of well-maintained and signposted footpaths.
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30
miles of dramatic Heritage Coastline with 64 miles of
coastal footpaths.
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Numerous
pubs of all kinds to choose from.
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Excellent
public
transport to ensure you gain maximum enjoyment from
your chosen pub stops.
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Plenty
of other things to do too - the island is famous for
its prehistoric legacy, water sports, and historic properties
like Osbourne House and Carisbrooke Castle.
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Family
attractions are also plentiful with Dinosaur Farm, Black
Gang Chine fantasy park and excellent beaches.
Of course MyFavouritePubWalks.com
is not just about downloading pub walks, it is also about
sharing your own favourites and rating all those that you've
tried. If you would like to share one of your favourite
pub walks for others to enjoy during the Isle
of Wight Pub Walking Festival then please just go to
our website and click on Submit
a Pub Walk. However if you just want to try out the
free Isle
of Wight pub walks submitted by others then that is
also fine. One of the values of an online database of pub
walks is that these can be constantly updated by users of
the site so do please add your comments to any pub walks
that you try.
If you live on the Isle of Wight, why not pop into your
local and encourage them to participate in the first Isle
of Wight Pub Walking Festival by running a competition
to find the best pub walk featuring their pub? They can
find out more abut this free adveritising opportunity on
our Publicans
Page if they are interested.
Where's
Our Next Pub Walking Festival ?
Good question - we're hoping you can help us here! We would
like to link this to either a pre-planned walking festival
or real ale / beer festival or, even better, a combination
of the two. If you have one of these taking place near you
ideally in a month or more's time then why not drop us a
line at leigh@myfavouritepubwalks.com
and we'll see if we can track down a collection of pub walks
for there too!
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Award-Winning Pubs - and where to find them
This section is a regular feature of The Pub Walker where
we include a range of pubs who have demonstrated excellence
in an area that is of interest to pub walkers. This may
range from how they cater for families, the quality of their
food or real ale, or simply their good old customer service.
We hope that by highlighting them here, more of us can
try them for ourselves and support the best in our pub tradition
and help them to thrive. Even better, why not use this list
as a source for ideas on where to create your next pub walk?
Either way, please email us with your experiences at leigh@myfavouritepubwalks.com.
PubChef Food Excellence Awards 2008
| PUB
NAME |
LOCATION |
CATEGORY
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| Wellington |
Wellington,
Herefordshire |
(1) PubChef of the Year 2008
(2) Meat Category winner - roast rack and faggot of
speckled faced lamb with roast garlic mash
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| Grundisburgh
Dog |
Grundisburgh,
Suffolk |
(1) Pub Classics
winner - venison and liver and bacon
(2) Global Cuisine winner - Tandoori baked rabbit |
| Cricket Inn |
Totley, Sheffield |
(1) Game winner - local
honey-roasted Chatsworth partridge, crispy game dumpling,
creamed savoy cabbage and duck-fat roast potatoes
(2) Seafood winner - chowder of British Isles seafood
with Old Bay spice and shrimp toast |
| For a complete
list of winners and their dishes click
on PubChef
Food Excellence Awards 2008 |
Publican Awards 2008
| PUB
NAME |
LOCATION |
CATEGORY
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| Durham Ox |
Craye, York,
North Yorkshire |
Freehouse of the Year
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| Ye Old Sun
Inn |
Colton, Yorkshire |
Pub Food Pub of the Year
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| Three Compasses |
Hornsey, North
London |
Community Pub
of the Year |
| For a complete list of
winners click on Publican
Awards 2008 |
Northern Hospitality Awards 2008
| PUB
NAME |
LOCATION |
CATEGORY
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| Shoulder
of Mutton |
Kirkby Overblow,
North Yorkshire |
Best Pub
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British Pie Week Awards 2008
| PUB
NAME |
LOCATION |
CATEGORY
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| Duke of
Cornwall |
St Austell,
Cornwall |
Best British Pie 2008 - Hand Crafted
Cornish Steak Pie
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If you try any of these award-winning pubs and would like
to give feedback, please send any comments to leigh@myfavouritepubwalks.com.
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New Pub Walks to Enjoy - and Some Updates
Recent
Additions
Since our last newsletter, we have found many more pub
walks and are working hard to get these published as fast
as we can. In the last two months we have added more pub
walks in the following areas:
We are always looking for more pub walks so if you have
some favourites then it would be great if you could share
those with us all too. It's easy to add
a pub walk to the database! With more than half of England's
counties already represented, we always want to hear about
your other favourite pub walks especially for the missing
English counties, as well as for Wales and Scotland.
QuickSearch
for a Pub Walk
You can do an instant search for a pub walk simply by entering
your search term into the box below. If you cannot find one
in your area, you can now get some help by posting a comment
on The Pub Walker blog
- if we have some nearly ready for publishing then we'll see
if we can bring them forward in the queue; and if we don't
have any yet then we'll do our best to track some down for
you!
Some More
Quick Updates
One
of the advantages of an on-line database is the ability
to keep information updated whereas a book can quickly become
out of date as pubs change hands, footpaths become blocked
(or even roads collapse, as you may recall happened for
the New Inn, Cropthorne, now thankfully accessible once
again!). A few important updates on some of our pub walks
are below.
- Tite Inn, Chadlington, Oxon - Now re-opened after
refurbishment by new owners Kitty and Robert John, so
why not give it a try?
- Cross Keys, Cambridge, Cambs - Currently up for
let so for now try a short detour around the corner to
The Prince Regent.
If you have any other updates you can give us an any of
the pub walks featured on MyFavouritePubWalks.com
then please do email us at leigh@myfavouritepubwalks.com.
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Special
Offers!
As you are reading this I think its safe to assume that you
love pub walks, like me. So here are a few special offers
that caught my eye and which I hope you find interesting too.
Money Off
Vouchers
If you are visiting Cambridgeshire, it is worth visiting
LocalSecrets.com
to download free vouchers redeemable at some of our favourite
pubs. Try our Axe
and Compass pub walk at Hemingford Abbots and choose from
vouchers
offering £5 off £20 spent in the restaurant, or
a free bottle of bubbly for the birthday boy (or girl) or
even 10% off weekday lunches and Monday to Wednesday evening
meals.
Pub Guides
Have you seen that the AA
2008 Pub Guide is half price on
Amazon?
It is a real pleasure to use and is in full colour throughout
with numerous photos. The 2000+ entries cannot compete in
number with the 5000+ entries of The
Good Pub Guide 2008 but it screams AA quality and compliments
the other very well with often less overlap than you may think.
So at the offer price it may be time to try it yourself.
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Dates
for your Diary - special events, festivals and deadlines
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DATE
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EVENT
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May 3 - May 5
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Isle
of Wight Real Ale Festival includes ales from
around the UK as well as from the island's three local
breweries. It takes place at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway
and can be combined with the Pub Walking Festival and
Walking Festival below.
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May 3 - May 18
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Alternative
Isle of Wight Pub Walking Festival is featured
at the top of this newsletter and it will be great to
combine this with the Walking Festival and Real Ale Festival.
Remember to check out the growing collection of free pub
walks to download. |
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May
3 - May 18
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Isle
of Wight Walking Festival is now celebrating
its 10th year and has over 300 organised walks. Why not
combine this with our Pub Walking Festival or the Real
Ale Festival over the Bank Holiday weekend? |
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May
19 - May 23
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Walk
to School Week is a great idea, encouraging children
to make walking a social activity and to notice how their
environment changes with the seasons. No doubt a good
training ground for (future) pub walkers! |
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May
23 - May 25
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Waitrose
Spring Food Festival includes cooking demonstrations,
farm tours and small producers stalls. The Leckford Estate
in Stockbridge, Hampshire, was a private estate but is
now part of Waitrose and includes a farm that produces
arable crops, fruit, milk, mushrooms and much more. Much
of this ends up in Waitrose stores around the country. |
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June
1
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Open
Farm Sunday is organised by LEAF (Linking Environment
and Farming), it aims to show how farmers work in harmony
with nature to produce good food with environmental care.
More than 500 farms are expected to take part and offer
activities ranging from farm walks to nature trails and
mini farmers markets. |
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June
15
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Fathers Day - what are you doing for Dad this year?
Maybe treat him to a pub lunch or take a look at one of
our Special Offers? |
If there are any events you think we should include here in
our next edition then please do let us know by emailing leigh@myfavouritepubwalks.com.
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Have
you seen The Pub Walker blog?
Our blog is updated two or three times a week with topical
news about pubs, walking and the countryside together with
"This Week's Pub Walk". If you have a pub walk you
think we should feature then please let us know by emailing
leigh@myfavouritepubwalks.com.
Recent posts have featured news on such diverse topics as
Community Pubs Week, National Pub of the Year, children's
menus, Festival of Winter Walks, "The People's £50m"
awarded for new walking and cycling routes ... indeed anything
that we feel pub walkers will want to read.
Why not subscribe to our blog now to find out about new pub
walks and hear the news on pubs and walking first? Take a
look at http://thepubwalker.blogspot.com
and remember to subscribe.
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What
are you thinking?
We mean it when we say your views are important to us
so please send us your feedback to leigh@myfavouritepubwalks.com.
What do you think makes a great pub walk? Is
the pub or the walk the most important element or do you consider
them as equal? Please write and tell us what you look for
in a pub walk by emailing to leigh@myfavouritepubwalks.com.
Is once every 2 months the right frequency for The Pub Walker?
Should the articles be longer or shorter, more or fewer? Or
maybe you would like to see features on particular pub walks,
pubs, or special events? Maybe you have an article you would
like to submit? We'd love to hear whatever you have to say!
If you prefer post to email, please address your comments
to:
Leigh Salkeld
The Pub Walker
MyFavouritePubWalks.com
Norwood
Southdown Road
Shawford
Winchester
England
SO21 2BX
Leigh Salkeld
Website Founder
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Newsletter
Archive
Remember if you have missed any of our earlier editions of
The Pub Walker, you can catch up by visiting
our Newsletter
Archive which we have recently added to our site.
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The Pub Walker
The official newsletter
of MyFavouritePubWalks.com |
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