So this is Christmas, and what have you done? Another year over, and a new one just begun.

So sang John Lennon and Yoko Ono, 52 years ago, but despite the half-century time lapse, it's still a question that's well worth asking. Christmas Day and Boxing Day are now over, and apart from confirming that the Bailey family enjoyed an excellent roast turkey dinner, on the "big day," I want to take a look back at the year that is fast coming to an end, with particular emphasis as usual on the world of beer and travel.

After a brief respite on Boxing Day, the weather has returned to its familiar, damp and rather miserable pattern, so with nothing to tempt me outside, I want to use the time to present my annual round-up and look back at the year 2023.I’ve been keeping some rough notes which suggest that I didn’t achieve as much as I would have like to, in certain areas of my life with particular regard to pubs. I only visited 84 different pubs in 2023,     which was a lot more than I initially thought, but obviously pales into insignificance when compared to the exploits of pub-ticking legends such as Retired Martin, Si Everitt, LAF (Life After Football), and GBG completest over several years, Pubmeister. In mitigation, 23 of those pubs were new to me.

Despite this low tally – only three up on 2022, I enjoyed visiting all these pubs, which ranged from town centre locals, unspoilt rural gems, modern craft beer bars, to CAMRA National Heritage Pubs. The numbers were boosted by days out spent in a number of towns and cities, up and down this fair land of ours. Places visited this year, were Norwich, Henley-on-Thames, Birmingham, Manchester, Chichester, and Macclesfield, I also spent time in Dundee and Cologne, and whilst these visits were work-related, I still found time for a few beers.

We said a sad farewell, at the start of the year, to Mrs PBT’s brother David, who died unexpectedly in January, then, later in the year we had another family funeral to attend, this time it was Eileen’s aunt, who was just a few months short of her 100^th birthday! This meant a trip to the Bingley area of Yorkshire, for the funeral, and also to spend a few days with the Yorkshire branch of Mrs PBT's family. As on a previous visit, we based ourselves at the Bradford West, Premier Inn, which is on the edge of Bingley, in an attractive, semi-rural setting. (The adjacent photo, shows David, sitting next to me, in happier times, enjoying a summertime drink).

Eileen is a big fan of this Whitbread-owned, hotel chain, and whilst I agree with her statement that “you know what you are getting,” I personally prefer an independently operated, or even family-owned establishment, even though occasionally, it can throw in the odd “duffer.” A short, 1o-minute walk from the Premier Inn, takes you to the Airedale Heifer, a stone-built pub housed in a former barn, that was once part of the Old East Riddlesden Hall Estate. The Heifer, is also home to the Bridgehouse Brewery, with brewing taking place in a separate outbuilding, behind the pub.

During our time in Yorkshire, we spent a morning in Howarth and then took a drive across the moors to Colne and Skipton. The scenery certainly looked spectacular in the June sunshine, and we passed a number of attractive looking, stone-built pubs nestling by the side of the road. Our journey home, saw us skirting Skipton and the edge of Harrogate, before passing through the attractive North Yorkshire town of Knaresborough, and then on to the A1 and the road home.

Fortunately, the car behaved itself on this trip, which is more than be said after what happened in September, when it started malfunctioning on the M25, during a drive home from Dorking. Having to be recovered from Clackets Lane services, was an indignity I haven’t experienced before, but after having the faulty fuel injector replaced, blow me if the same thing didn’t happen again, on the Friday before Christmas. I limped the vehicle home this time, and it’s going in for a diagnostic check in a couple of days’ time. I mentioned previously that I’ve been looking for a replacement vehicle, but with the benefit of that wonderful thing called hindsight, I should have looked for one, earlier in the year.

One activity that definitely took a nosedive was bus trips, out to unspoilt and difficult to reach country pubs. I’m not how this came about, particularly as there was very little in the way of long-distance walking but trips out by bus were nowhere as frequent as the previous year. For the record I travelled out to Goudhurst – Star & Eagle, Eridge – Boar’s Head, Petteridge – Hopbine and Brenchley – Halfway House, Penshurst – Leicester Arms and Edenbridge – Old Eden, but that was it. This was despite my best intentions, and the fact that I’d compiled a list of “easy” places to visit by bus.

2023 was a disappointing year for walking, being marred by wet weather, particularly during the months of March and April. This didn’t help with my quest of completing the Tunbridge Wells Circular Walk, a 27.5-mile trail that passes through a rolling landscape of ridges, valleys, small fields, hedges, and broad-leaved woodland, as it skirts the town of Tunbridge Wells. Lying within the High Weald AONB, the trail explores the diverse and beautiful countryside which lies on the borders of Kent and East Sussex.  I have been following the official Kent Ramblers Guide, which divides the trail into four convenient stages, which vary in length from 5 to 10 miles, but so far, I have only completed two of the stages (Southborough to Pembury, and Pembury to Frant).

Still to come are Frant to Groombridge (7 miles) and Groombridge to Southborough (6 miles). These final two stages should be relatively easy, although the trail isn’t as well signposted as those along the North and South Downs. I aim to get started, once the wet weather eases up, and the days begin to lengthen again. 

Another feature missing on the walking front, has been the complete absence of CAMRA, related rambles. This follows on from the relocation to Portsmouth of one of the leading lights and driving forces of the Weekend Walking WhatsApp group. The garden also proved rather disappointing last year, and if truth be known, I probably expended too much time and effort on it, for very little return. On the plus side, it has forced a reappraisal on what’s feasible, or even worth growing.

Highlight of the year, even if it was a longtime coming, was the (almost) three-week Mediterranean cruise that Mrs PBT’s and I embarked on, back in October. Not only did it take up a large chunk of the month, it also represented by far the longest holiday that the pair of us have ever undertaken. Even better was the fact that we didn’t fall out, not even slightly, despite being in close proximity to each other for a long period of time. 

There were many memorable moments, and some amazing sights, such as passing through the Straits of Gibraltar, as well as the Strait of Messina, between Sicily and the Italian mainland.  Anchoring in the collapsed caldera, that makes up much of Santorini, was also memorable, even if on that occasion, we didn’t get off the boat. Then there was my ascent of the Acropolis, overlooking Athens, and getting separated from the tour party, when we reached the Parthenon. 

Both Eileen and I were smitten by the charms of Kefalonia, and have marked down this idyllic Greek island, as a place we would like to return to before our days are out. Cruising doesn’t always get a good press environmentally and is said to be worse for the climate than flying. There are other downsides too, such as limited time in each location and not experiencing the local hotels and nightlife, but the sheer joy of waking up almost every morning in a new or different port, or anchorage, certainly takes some beating. Let’s end the year on a high note then and await what 2024 has to offer us with a mixture of excitement tempered by a slight hint of trepidation.