Fancy a day out?

Some of you might remember me talking about a trip by train, to a UK destination that I’ve never been to before. As I get older, the realisation that there are still many places in this fair isle of our that I’ve never been to, becomes increasingly apparent, and reaches the stage where it’s something I’m more and more aware of. But what to do about it? The answer, of course, is to travel a lot more, and take up opportunities, as and when they arise, then do something to improve the situation.

I’m lucky in having parents who were interested in visiting different parts of the UK, and from a relatively early age, mum and dad would take me and my sister on holiday. These weren’t luxury or exotic holidays, as growing up in a post-war Britain, hit by crippling debts (thank-you Uncle Sam!), plus the costs of rebuilding both damaged infrastructure and bombed out housing stock, meant there was precious little money to go round. For the record, I was born, just 10 years after the end of the most damaging and devastating conflict the world has ever known, but none of that registered to a child who started school in 1960.

Family holidays ranged from a stay at a holiday camp – not Butlin’s (or even Maplin’s, for fans of Hi-Di-Hi), but a camp of sorts – that bore an uncanny resemblance to Jo Maplin’s, situated on Hayling Island. Traveling by motorbike and sidecar, the journey from our home in Ashford, seemed to take an age. I’m also unsure how my parents found room in our already cramped mode of transport, for our luggage.

Fortunately, dad was able to afford a car for subsequent holidays, even though the vehicle he acquired was a converted Austin A35 van. Small matter, as this little workhorse became our passport to the exotic lands of East Anglia (Suffolk) in the main, and later, South Wales. From staying with my paternal grandparents in Suffolk, and then later, staying at various Welsh caravan sites – Pembrokeshire and the Gower, my sister and I became quite well travelled, compared to some of our contemporaries. As always, the journey was part of the adventure, and with a very rudimentary motorway network, and a jumble of narrow and often crowded A roads, getting to our holiday destination, was often as exciting as the holiday itself.

At the end of my Vth year at secondary school, I undertook my first overseas visit, a two week, “educational” cruise taking in Portugal, the Azores and Madeira.  Oddly enough, this is the very same voyage that Mrs PBT’s are about to embark on, although the accommodation will be rather different. That’s for another time, though. University afforded more opportunities for travel, both home-grown, as well as overseas, and the latter culminated in a month-long journey, by train, around western Europe, accompanied by a student friend.

Regardless of the foreign travel, I’ve also always looked for opportunities to visit places closer to home, and over the years I’ve been filling in some of the gaps. This has been a very gradual process, and it largely just happened, rather than being properly organised, let alone properly planned, but in recent years there has been the added attraction of beer and pubs. Actually, that’s not quite so recent, because visiting a different part of the UK, or even a different town or village, invariably provided the opportunity to try a different brew, in a pub or even a town that I’d never visited before.

Since before the pandemic – that unpleasant dividing line that still separates more recent events from the more carefree times of less than five years ago, and continuing into the present day, I’ve enjoyed some excellent days out, in the company of some equally fine beer and pub enthusiasts. So, with legendary topers, like Retired Martin, Stafford Paul, Pub Curmudgeon, plus several other beer and pub enthusiasts, I’ve enjoyed some fine, “Proper Days Out” in places as diverse as Birmingham, Bath, Sheffield, Manchester, Burton-on-Trent, Farnham, Black Country, and even a strange little town called Shifnal, that I’d never heard of before.

But now it’s my turn, and as hinted at the beginning of this post, I’ve arranged a day out for myself, plus anyone who’d like to, or is able to join me. The location I’ve chosen is the Devonshire town of Topsham, a settlement on the River Exe, a few miles to the south-east of Exeter. Some readers might remember me writing about Topsham and its classic locals’ pub, the Bridge Inn. My interest was sparked after reading “A Pub For All Seasons”, by Adrian Tierney-Jones.  Adrian is former British Beer Writer of the Year, and the Bridge Inn is one of his favourite pubs. The Bridge pops up several times in Adrian’s book, which is perhaps not surprising, seeing as the author lives in that area of Devon, but ever since reading his book, I’ve had an increasing longing to visit it.

Today, I bit the bullet and purchased an Advance Saver, return ticket to Topsham, that whilst on the dear side, was a considerable saving on the standard fare price. I shall be making the return journey on Friday 21^st November, and if anyone cares to join me, my train arrives in Topsham at 10:35 and departs at 17:09. Apart from the Bridge Inn, I am looking to visit two other pubs in the town, and these are the Passage House Inn (free house), and the Lighter Inn (Badger). Timings are based around the slightly old-fashioned hours of the Bridge Inn (12-2.30 & 5.30 – 9.30), but with the Passage House opening at 10am, and as with the Lighter, offering food, all day, there should be ample opportunity to visit all three.

If anyone fancies a day out on the south Devon coast, then please get in touch, via this blog. I appreciate that Beer & Pubs Forum members prefer Tapatalk, but it’s a rather strange app, and one that I’ve never really got on with. Cheer, Paul.