Out of (with) the blocks - Racing underground - Beer Quarry

Beer is a small village on the south coast of Devon, it is mainly known for the stone that was quarried in the hills above.  The houses in the picture are partly built with the local stone.   The other industry here is fishing; there are still fishing boats on the stony beach.  The village is surrounded by steep hills and has a stream running down the main road (Fore Street).

We arrived in the Car Park a little before lunchtime.  This is Charlie's Yard, where we sat to eat lunch.  While eating we watched the swifts flying in and out, collecting food for their young nesting in the roof.  After lunch, we walked into the village.  St Michael's church is huge, and a mixture of traditional (the bibles) and modern (the children's work and use of the space).

Leaving the car park was difficult, we were parked on a steep hill, pointing downwards.  The spaces are made for 1960s cars.  The Sharan refused to go backwards.  I ended up using left foot braking to control the car, to get enough revs to move and not collide with the car behind.  Then up to the quarry. We changed into walking boots and put a coat on.  The temperature in the quarry varies between 7 and 10 Celsius.   Today it is a little over 8.  The guide was brilliant.  Telling us about the Roman, Saxon and later quarrying techniques, and showing us some of the evidence the various historical characters have left behind.  Guided tours are essential, the quarry covers 40 acres.

Greene King @ Bury St Edmonds

Today's trip was to Bury St Edmonds to visit the Greene King Brewery.  It is open at 11:30 for the tour only on Sundays.  The forecast was heavy showers - an entirely accurate forecast.  It was a very relaxed start for us for a Sunday.  A bit of a lie in and an unhurried breakfast.  Then we set out on the 30 minute drive to Bury St Edmonds.  The brochure said there was limited parking outside the brewery.  There is space for five or six cars.  There was one space left.  We were 20 minutes early.  We strolled towards the Abbey Gardens and back in time for the start.  About 13 of us were on the tour.  The young lady taking the money - and leading the tour started well - while she was taking the money.
"That's taking its time"  I said as we waited for the card to be authorised.
"Yes," she said, "we're still on dial-up", then after a short pause "Well we are a museum".

A good line, but not strictly true.  The brewery is still working (but not on Sundays).
We were taken up to the roof and shown the enormous site, and the huge water tanks.  Then we worked slowly down the building, tasting the different types of roast barley, smelling hops, and learning about the process.  It was a very interesting tour.
At the end we were taken to the bar and allowed to try many of the Greene King beers.  I'd already tasted most of them.  You can't turn them down though.  My favourite, that I had not even heard of, was Strong Suffolk.  That's one of the beers that is only available in bottles and is stronger than the tap beers.
Once the beer was server - very small samples for drivers and slightly larger for the rest - the visitors started to relax and chat.  One lady gave out poems she had written and it seems she keeps a supply with her just for that purpose.  There was also quite a discussion about CAMRA and their attitude to Greene King.
The tour was over but the normal souvenirs were not available, so we were allowed one bottle of beer per couple.  "Strong Suffolk" was the obvious choice.

After the tour we drove to a car park and ate our sandwiches.  It was raining.  It was still raining when we finished.  Shortly after that it dried up and we wandered through the town to the Abbey Gardens.  There we made a note of the road and went back for the car (the car park ticket was about to expire).  We drove closer to the Cathedral and then took a look around.  Evensong was about to start, so we looked around quickly.  St Edmondsbury is an ancient building, and also a very modern one with works still in progress to develop the building.  We also walked in the Abbey Gardens and looked at the Abbey ruins.  What would England be like if the monasteries hadn't been destroyed by Henry VIII?  The Abbey is thought to have been the fourth largest in Europe.

Pictures will have to come later - I left the card reader behind.

The Bull, Blackmore

We went for a walk centred on 'The Bull' at Blackmore. Blackmore is in rural Essex and is one of the prettiest villages, with a duck pond in the village green. We walked past the church, which has its own claim to fame, and out into the fields around. I must first admit that our guide book is 15 years old. Things change. That's OK, but moving footpaths is not allowed. In one place the path was overrun with nettles, in another it had been ploughed into non-existence. We added over a mile to the planned walk because the locked gate that you are supposed to be able to walk past was firmly planted in the hedge on both sides. Without a machete or bolt croppers, there was no way through. I had brought the sat-nav, so when we did arrive at the road we were able to check that it was the right one. I also had my compass, and the binoculars. Both proved to be essential in finding the path, or at least in linking the posts that mark the path. At one point, use of the binoculars clearly upset the local residents - who began watching us back. The path we were on was not correct, the one we should have been on was in the process of being ploughed. Jo is standing near the point where the 'river' Wid crosses the road. Sometimes it is in flood, but today it was barely a muddy ditch. To the right is the walkway supplied to allow pedestrians to cross the river - when it is a river. We arrived back at The Bull. It being Tuesday, there were only a few people in. There was a guest beer, so I tried that. I've forgotten the name, but that's OK because I wouldn't rush back for another pint. The first pint I was served was decidedly vinegary and was quickly changed. The first main course I ordered was off the menu (all gone). The food was good, and the service was good. Sadly, there was nothing to make me want to go back. On leaving The Bull, we were treated to a starry sky - Blackmore has no street lights. We were fortunate to still have a car to return in, judging by the skid marks on the road just feet behind our car. They were not there when we parked! On the drive home we spotted a deer at the extremity of the headlights, and shortly after a rabbit - much closer. I'm not sure about the fate of the rabbit, but I now know that the anti-lock braking system works a treat.

Hoop Beer Festival

In honour of my getting (even) older, we spent the afternoon at the Hoop Beer Festival. As you will see, if you follow the link, there is a large marquee which serves as an extension to the pub. There are many different beers to try, more than I could possibly get through in a week, and certainly not an afternoon.
Between us we tried a number and shared the glasses round so that we got to taste many more. Being the sort of person that I am, I naturally scored the beers on their taste, here are our combined, agreed scores:

Brewery	Beer	Rating
Brentwood	Lunberjack	********
Brentwood	Summer Virgin	*******
Brentwood	Marvelous Maple Gold	******
Crouch Vale	Essex Boys Bitter	********
Crouch Vale	Brewers Gold	******
Crouch Vale	Best	******
Downton	Maroonmaker Mild	*********
Goffs	White Knight	********
Goffs	Jouster	*******
Hop Back	Summer Lightening	*******
Summerskills	Hopscotch	******
Titanic	Anchor	**
White Horse	Wayland Smithy	****
	Farmhouse Cider	**********

There was a general high approval rating, but one or two were not so good. Usually because the flavour was too strong.

The festival itself runs all week. If it's as crowded for the rest of the week as it was today, the publican can take a long and expensive holiday. Food was also available, so I ditched the diet (just this once) and went for the 'hog roast' - a large burger, with carved pork, stuffing, apple sauce and crackling. Very nice, but not really quite enough - still the beer fills you up!

A very enjoyable afternoon with my family and my sisters family.