We try and meet up with friends and family when we're staying in Bristol - although sometimes we're not as good at is as we should be. Also, because we don't plan too far in advance we can't just expect people to bend their diaries to our whims.
So it was that we missed the chance to meet with big brother last time we came up - we arrived unwell, and so we swerved all sociability.
The day before we left, bro dropped me a text to ask how we were and whether we were likely to be up soon.
Sister-in-law having had a major operation on her ankle, meant that we needed to pick a location with care. Their natural instinct is to drive places and then one of them doesn't drink. We've been trying for years to get them to consider public transport.
This time I made a bold suggestion - for them to consider getting the bus into town and making the most of the East Bristol Brewery Trail. Brother said he would research the feasibility and if it wasn't, then drive.
They live far to the East of the city - almost touching on Bath and so the bus service is only hourly. However, it was close enough for sister in law to walk and at the town end I already knew it would stop very close to Wiper & True which I thought they may like.
Although there is a food offering (usually just gyoza) I did wonder whether it would be something my brother would really want to eat. So, on our way round we stopped and picked up pasties and popped them, steaming hot, into our rucksack.
It's only about a mile, and we'd managed to time it so that we arrived at their bus stop a few minutes before them - so we waited and met them off the bus.
They both instantly fell in love with the taproom and marvelled how easy it was to get the bus (brother is old enough to have a bus pass) and how pleasant it was. In fact, had her ankle been a bit more recovered, they would have been able to walk about half a mile from their house and have a bit more bus choice. I took the opportinuty to extol the benefits of the bus company's app for live tracking of buses.
We decided to sit inside since it looked like it may rain a bit. Whilst really busy, the bar staff were incredibly efficient and it took no time to get served. Sure enough it rained so we were glad we'd found a good table before that happened.
We all found beers we liked, despite being a tiny bit disappointed in the lack of 2/3rd meaures (and plastic glasses). Our visitors declared themselves utterly won over by the place and recommending it to their kids immediately.
All in all - and pasties included (which were still really warm after an hour in the bag) - as good a visit as it's possible to be. We may have persuaded the family that buses aren't all bad...and that Town may actually be worth visiting on one.
On the way back, the BBB and stopped at the Barley Mow for a couple (and a card game) - the pace was picking up there by the time we left so it was nice to be back home in the quiet of the flat for a bit of decompression.
Today? Actually, my main aim of being here for brewery trail wasn't Wiper and True (or almost any of the others...because most of them open weekly) - but Arbor. They only open during the trail so it would be criminal not to nip up the cycle track to pay them a visit.
Bu that's for later...no lunchtime drinking for us today.
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