Poet in a Pub?

Poet in a Pub?

I do love to hear of pubs finding novel ways to attract new customers. How about the idea of “Poet in the Pub” being tried in a number of Hampshire pubs?

According to the Hampshire Chronicle, The Three Horseshoes at Bighton near Alresford will host comedy ‘stand-up’ Elvis McGonagall on Wednesday June 2nd.

Customers are invited to write a short poem or limerick on the back of special Poet in the Pub beer mats and then Elvis will read these out before sharing a selection of his own unique poetry.

The theme is the village you live or drink in so it also helps to reinforce the message that the pub sits at the heart of the local community.

The idea comes from the Hampshire County Council’s rural arts scheme, known as Hog the Limelight, who usually bring their events to village halls. When they approached local landlords about using pubs instead they were met with an enthusiastic response.

The innovative pubs taking part are: (sorry you've already missed the first one!)

Wednesday 26 May 2010
The Cricketers Arms
Tangley, Andover SP11 OSH
tel 01264 730283

Wednesday 2 June 2010
Three Horseshoes
Bighton, Alresford SO24 9RE
tel 01962 732859

Wednesday 9 June 2010
Horse and Groom,
Woodgreen, Fordingbridge SP6 2AS
tel 01725 510739

You can either pick up a beer mat from one of the pubs or download a copy by clicking on Poet in a Pub beer mat.

Any pubs out there with other innovative ways of attracting new customers or bring back existing ones more frequently. Of course my favourite, easy and effective method is the one you'll find at www.myfavouritepubwalks.com/publicans.

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Latest Pub Walk... via River Whitewater and Greywell Moors to The Fox and Goose, Greywell, Hampshire.

Latest Pub Walk... via River Whitewater and Greywell Moors to The Fox and Goose, Greywell, Hampshire.

This circular pub walk from the Fox and Goose in Greywell is one of a series produced by the pub itself which is demonstrating a keen interest in catering for walkers.

Located a stones throw away from the Basingstoke Canal and River Whitewater, perfect if you enjoy riverside walks, this 16th century inn prides itself on its mostly traditional English fayre with the emphasis very much on home-made dishes.

As a Hampshire lad myself, this is a pub walk I am aiming to try out very soon so if you beat me to it, please add a comment to say what you thought..

To download full details of the route click on Fox and Goose pub walk.

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A Walk to a New Forest Beer Festival at the Beaulieu Road Inn, Hampshire

This Week ... A New Forest walk to The Beaulieu Road Inn Beer Festival, Brockenhurst, Hampshire

The New Forest has to be one of the very best walking areas in the country and the Beaulieu Road Inn sits right at its heart, surrounded by the open heathland.

I have just seen that the Beaulieu Road Inn is running a beer festival this weekend so this is a perfect time to repeat one of my all time favourite pub walks and finish with a pint of real ale. The easy circular pub walk takes you through a beautiful part of the New Forest, across some of its famous lawns and through mixed woodland with some great views across forest and moorland. There is always plenty of wildlife to see and the chances of glimpsing deer and even buzzards is good. And of course the infamous New Forest ponies are everywhere!

The Beaulieu Road Inn is running its beer festival from Friday 25th to Saturday 27th September and is offering 25 real ales, bottled lagers and ciders to accompany its home-cooked food created from locally sourced produce. Although it is a popular place, away from the inn you may often see no other walkers on this route.

To download full details click on The Beaulieu Road Inn pub walk.

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Pub Walk to The Black Boy in Winchester, Hampsire

This Week's Pub Walk... to The Black Boy in Winchester, Hampsire

Explore the ancient capital of Wessex including not only the river and cathedral but 'King Arthur's Round Table' as well.

The Black Boy is a popular pub and worth a visit not just for good value home-cooked traditional food and real ales but also for its weird and wonderful collections (ladies, check out the toilet!). Off the traditional tourist trail, its a traditional pub with bags of charm, earning a place in The Good Pub Guide. The Black Boy has a particularly good reputation for its evening meals but at lunch times the menu is more limited.

To download full details of the route click on Black Boy Pub Walk.

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Hampshire Food Festival 1st - 31st July 2008

Hampshire Food Festival 1st - 31st July 2008

This comprises 120 different events celebrating the county's food and drink. Many pubs are taking part, organising beer festivals, offering special local dishes and running fun events. One of the sponsors is Fullers Brewery and their pubs will be laying on some special dishes including at one of our favourites - the Wykeham Arms in Winchester.

Sounds like a good excuse to try our Wykeham Arms pub walk or a selection of our other Hampshire pub walks.

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Anniversary Pub Walk to the Beaulieu Road Inn, Brockenhurst, New Forest, Hampshire

Anniversary Pub Walk to the Beaulieu Road Inn, Brockenhurst, New Forest, Hampshire

One year on from the launch of MyFavouritePubWalks.com, we are planning our next walk in the New Forest and I thought it would be good to revisit the pub walk that was the inspiration for the website.

This is an easy circular walk through the beautiful New Forest, across some of its famous lawns, through mixed woodland with some great views across forest and moorland. Away from the Inn you may often see no other walkers on this route.

There is free parking opposite the popular Beaulieu Road Inn and Hotel which offers a good range of food and real ales.

For full details and directions go to Beaulieu Road Inn Pub Walk.

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This Week's Free Pub Walk - The Wykeham Arms, Winchester, Hants.

Free Pub Walk: Coupon No. 202-291007 (expires 29/10/07)

The Wykeham Arms in Winchester, Hampshire.

This pub has won just about every award going. Very popular with locals but also with an enviable reputation for good food and wine that has survived the passing of its previous legendary landlord Graeme Jameson.

Its in the Good Pub Guide of course and this year the Guide has just awarded it the title of Best Food Pub in Hampshire.

So this is a great opportunity to try a pub walk in Winchester with plenty of variety and historical interest.

Download for free using the Coupon above - click on the pub name above, then order the pub walk and enter the Coupon Number during the checkout process. No payment is required so if you arrive at the Paypal page, hit the back arrow and look for the box at the very bottom of the previous page.

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Natural England Welcomes Return of Goss Moor to the Wild

Natural England welcomes return of Goss Moor to the wild

Last week saw the first occasion when a major trunk road was diverted around a conservation area. It was great news for all those interested in preserving our countryside and natural habitats.

The A30 has been redirected away from Goss Moor, a European Special Area of Conservation and one of the largest areas of wetlands on the south west peninsula. Goss Moor National Nature Reserve in Cornwall has an abundance of rare wildlife such as dormice and adders with this time of year also being an excellent time to visit and see the dragonflies, flowers and heathland.

For more information , click on Goss Moor.

Today's pub walk: The Filly Inn (Walk 2) in the New Forest, Hants.

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Free Pub Walks

Free Pub Walks

I asked someone if they would like to add their own walks to MyFavouritePubWalks.com to get free access to all the other pub walks on the site and share in the site profits. His very public response was that his pub walks would remain free "rather than be prostituted to inane gimmicks and money grabbing." Ouch!

OK, time to set the record straight.

Firstly, I will let every pub walker in the country download as many of the pub walks as they like, completely free of charge! All I ask in return is that they add at least one of their own favourite pub walks to the site... one pub walk = one year's free access; two pub walks = two years' free access; and so on. As soon as their first walk is published, all the other walks become free.

Secondly, those who just want to download other people's favourite pub walks but not add their own are welcome to do so, but then they do have to pay. This is their choice - they could buy a book instead (not free) or they can search for other free pub walks online (not quickly in my experience). I aim to bring hundreds if not thousands of pub walks into one place for instant download and enjoyment, and create a community that shares a common interest in all that pub walking offers.

Having said all that, the response I received from this person stood out because the general reaction from walkers has been incredibly positive and supportive across the country. This offers great promise for the growth of what I hope will become the biggest and most up to date collection of pub walks anywhere!

Today's pub walk: The Filly Inn in the New Forest, Hampshire.

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Countryside Communities Under Threat - Cornish Village fights back

Well you have to hand it to them. Many people complain about the impact on their village of the loss of their post office, pub, school or other focus of the community. But the residents of Lanreath in Cornwall did much more than complain, they took concerted actions.

In Monday's BBC2 "Power to the People" series, we saw the invasion of Islington Green by a small Cornish village protesting at the closure of its treasured school. This was the final straw following the demise of their post office, pub, shop and dairy farm. So they transported a cross section of the village to the centre of London, including a few cows, sheep and the morris dancers, all coordinated by the WI with help from the BBC reporter.

Sadly their protest fell on deaf government ears but the effort mobilised the community of Lanreath to the extent that they then successfully re-opened their local pub and post office as community projects. There was a strong message in here to any villager feeling they are powerless to perpetuate the village way of life.

For anyone interested in fighting to rescue their local pub from the threat of closure, see this earlier post How to Save Your Community Pub.

Today's pub walk: The Beaulieu Road Inn in The New Forest, Hants.

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The Publican encourages Pubs to Find Best Walks

The Publican magazine for the trade includes an article in today's edition showing publicans how they can use a pub walk to market themselves to the walking community. It includes a 10 step guide showing them how to maximise the publicity they get from the event and includes quotes from yours truly! It is a well presented article and if you'd like to take a look just click on Walk into new trade.

If you are a publican who would like to participate in the event and benefit from the free advertising, you should also take a look at MyFavouritePubWalks.com/publicans to get further details.

Today's pub walk: The Rising Sun in Warsash, Hampshire.

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Value For Money More Important than Quality of Pub Food?

According to a new study of eating habits by the British Pig Executive (anyone heard of them?), value for money is the main factor for 25% of consumers when they choose a pub to eat at. The Publican covers the story and says that quality of the food is a lower priority at 18%.

It is interesting that the report, ‘Pork in Foodservice’, highlights convenience or location as the primary factor for eating out generally (rather than for pubs specifically) and this is thought to be due to time pressures.

It leads me to wonder whether pub walkers would place a greater emphasis on the location, or should I say walk, rather than elements of the pub. Certainly I would but maybe this could be an interesting survey to carry out later ...

Today's pub walk: Ye Olde Whyte Harte in Hamble, Hampshire.

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Take it to the Top

A new survey by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has today revealed that one in four pints in the UK are served less than 95% full and this is costing beer drinkers a staggering £481 million every year! CAMRA has today launched a nationwide petition calling for the Government to end short measures as they promised a decade ago.

This problem does not just affect real ale drinkers but of course lager and cider drinkers too - so if you want to enjoy the full pint you've paid for then why not sign the petition and add extra weight to this campaign?

To sign the petition online go to www.takeittothetop.co.uk and let's see if we can help to make the difference.

Today's pub walk: The Old Ship Inn in Lower Swanwick, Hampshire.

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Make tracks for this special website

The word is spreading! It seems almost every day I find that a mention of the Quest for the Nation's Favourite Pub Walk appears somewhere else in the media. Today it featured in the Hampshire Chronicle under the headline "Make tracks for this special website" where they gave us a good write-up and renamed pub walks as "a pint and a plod"! I think I might use that myself...

Today's pint and plod: The White Hart in Campton, Bedfordshire.

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Posted: FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2007