The Long Walk

 More exploration yesterday.  I promised the boy a walk with green stuff.

I'd realised it was possible to get to Purdown (the place with the big comms tower) very easily by bus.  I've never visited it before.

So we hopped on a bus and off again, ambled up the road in Lockleaze a bit and found ourselves on a big hill.  Pre-spring is never an exciting time for walking since it tends to be a bit underwhelming from the point of view of flora and fauna - but it was sunny and dry so it made for an interesting way to see the outside.

I'd planned the simplest possible walk of 3 miles to the south western end of the green space, and then through to St Werburghs.  However, we took a bit of a diversion and by the time we got to Mina Rd, my poor ol' knees were not having fun.

The boy suggested stopping earlier than our planned first stop of Wiper and True.

We haven't been there for ages and ages so it seemed a good time to reprise it.  100% Dawkins on the cask selection - and we've never loved their beers.  Still, we picked something 5% and IPA-ish, collapsed on the sofa in the quiet roome and were very pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed it.

The locals of this pub are mainly a very specific demographic - young professionals with a friendly  social and artistic air and kids called "Fern" and "Bark" (I'm really not sneering, it's a VERY specific family vibe).  I quite like the pub - I just wish the beer were more to my taste.

We always end up interacting with some of the many small kids who attend with parents.  There's definitely no population quite like this in Eastbourne and it's a shame because "coding in the pub" could really be a thing there.

Legs slightly recovered, we decided to head to our originally planned stop.  Wiper and True are not beers we drink all that often - again not totally to our taste on the whole, despite being of very high quality. We popped in, found it a bit chilly (the boy had got very cold on the walk) and the beers not being what we were after.  So we popped out again.

Just down the road is Fierce and Noble so we popped in there.  Their taproom is just like a traditional pub snug.  The boy settled into a seat by the radiatior to warm up as I collected the drinks.  This brewery is probably the least polished in terms of presentation and marketing - they probably have an even smaller marketing budget than most. Nevertheless - I really like the homespun feel to it all.  We got a genuinely friendly welcome and a bit of jolly interaction when another member of staff was wrestling a piece of furniture past our table.

After our drink we really needed to get back home to eat so we grabbed a couple of cans to go, and headed the final mile or so home.

We had an abortive attempt to grab a last one in the Barley Mow - with the possibility of trying their food but the bar was rammed with one (maybe two) group who are clearly pub amateurs (like the ones you see at Christmas).  The look of frustration on the bar manager's face was palpable as he tried to plough through the order.  We gave up and came home and cooked dinner instead.

I'm thinking we'll be a little more relaxed today - maybe an amble around the corner to Moor with their solid but eccelctic range of beer styles.  At least I hope we'll be more relaxed, I'm not sure my knees are ready for another 6 miler.