2016 a Year of Pub Crawling

2016 is now drawing to an end so i thought i would do a round up of all pub crawls done during the year and some of my best pubs done during the year.
It has been a very good years pub crawling with me doing over 500 new pubs that i have never set foot in before.

2nd January 2016

Bradford & Queensbury plus a few in Leeds Crawl

Mostly done in fairly thick fog when high up in Queensbury,a good day out and 23 new pubs done.

23rd January 2016

Bristol, Redcliffe & Bedminster Crawl

A great day out and my second visit to Bristol,a city i really like and a crawl that was well over due.,another 23 new pubs done.
A good start to January.

13th February 2016

Selby, Brayton & Leeds Holbeck Crawl  

I have wanted to do Selby for quite a while,so was looking forward to doing this crawl.
I quite liked Selby and did most pubs that the town had to offer,i also did a couple in Brayton and had a pleasant walk back and ended the day doing pubs behind Leeds train station.
22 new pubs done and a good start to February.

27th February 2016

Huddersfield

This was my second visit to the town and after a good many years,so i was looking forward to doing a crawl here again.
I did not pick and choose pubs so what i saw i did including the best named pub of the day being Bar Chaos.
22 new pubs done and a great day out even if it was freezing cold.

19th March 2016

Durham & one in Newark Crawl

Durham has been on my hit list for ages,so when i found a cheap train fare from Newark to Durham it had to be done.
A great looking city and a good stock of pubs of which i did most during the day.
24 new pubs done,so i was well pleased.

2nd April 2016

Bristol, Bishopton, Horbury, Ashley Down and City Centre Crawl.

After my earlier visit to Bristol which was so good,i had to do some more pubs in the city as i like it so much.
I did a good walk from the train station and got to the bottom end of Gloucester Road and decided to walk up it doing virtually all pubs i came across.
Another great day out in Bristol,no doubt more pub crawls would be done here during 2016.
Another 23 new pubs done.

16th April 2016

London,West Norwood,Herne Hill,Gypsy Hill & Crystal Palace Crawl.

After a 10 month gap without going down to London i decided to start again after being stung for a very expensive half in Chelsea.
I decided to do South East London where i hoped the prices would be cheaper,they were.
A great day out pub crawling in nice weather and i was already planning my next London crawl.
21 new pubs done,i was now heading towards doing over 2000 pubs in London.

7th May 2016

Nottingham City Centre

I had heard of a couple of new pubs opening in Nottingham,i had to do them as i like to keep up to date with all new pubs in the city which i love.
2 new pubs done.

14th May 2016

London, Forest Hill, Sydenham & Penge Crawl

Another crawl in South east London where there were rich pickings for me.
Another good crawl in good weather and some decent views.
20 new pubs done on the day.

28th May 2016

Wallasey & one in Liverpool Crawl

I had not been to Liverpool for many years and all visits were before watching Forest play at Anfield.
I decided to get the Mersey Rail train to Wallasey to see what it had to offer.
I had a bad start to the crawl when i got off the train at Wallasey i realised i had forgot to bring my hand drawn map of the area,so i got lost on my way to Liscard,where there was a good few pubs to do.
Real ale was not found in many pubs,so maybe the £22 return from Nottingham to Liverpool was not such a bargain after all.
23 new pubs done,a very dissapointing day out.

2nd June 2016

Newark Crawl

A town i really like and been there loads of times with mates and the wife.
There were some new pubs that had opened since my last visit a few years back.
10 new pubs done,a great day out.
I would bring the wife back here to do a crawl round the town in the next few weeks.

4th June 2016

St Neots, Eyensbury, Eton Scocon & Eton Ford Crawl

A birthday treat from my brother and i decided to do St Neots and area,a walk round St Neots and Eynesbury and then a drive down to Eton Socon.
A great day out in really nice warm weather.
19 new pubs done and in a new area for me.

11th June 2016

London, Kingsland, London Fields, Dalston, Haggerston, Hoxton & Shoreditch Crawl

This was a crawl done in the areas that straddle E8 and N1 areas of London and it seemed a bit confusing as to which area i was in.
The start of the crawl was not too good with a walk from Hackney Central to Kingsland road and passing six pubs that had not opened after 11am and on a very warm day.
But once pubs started to open the pub crawl improved and i enjoyed the walk down Kingsland Road though i had to dodge a few heavy showers.
20 new pubs done.

25th June 2016

Bristol, City Centre, Montpellier, St Pauls, Cotham , Stokes Croft plus one in Birmingham Crawl

A mid summer pub crawl in Bristol,that i was really looking forward to doing,it would be a crawl round St Pauls and areas to the North of it.
It all went off plan when i found out there would be very heavy rain,i did a quick walk up to Montpellier and then down to St Pauls but decided to go back to Stokes Croft where there were lots of pubs and bars close to each other,a very wise decision as the rain came down shortly after getting onto the main road through Stokes Croft.
Another great day out in Bristol,just a shame about the rain.
24 new pubs done,June was getting better.

30 June 2016

London, Romford & Gidea Park Crawl

After i found out my oyster card could get cheap journeys from Golders Green to areas of outer London,i decided to do Romford.
A good days pub crawling and i did almost every pub in Romford.
21 new pubs done on the day.

16th July 2016

Leeds, Chapel Allerton, Headingley & Woodhouse Crawl 

A quickly planned pub crawl after i found out National Express had altered their timings from Nottingham to Leeds,i was now getting into Leeds almost an hour later,not happy.
A wander round Leeds city centre trying to find the bus stop for Chapel Allerton was hard work,but i was lucky in finding a bus service from Chapel Allerton the Headingley,so i was well pleased.
It ended up being a very good pub crawl and lots of pubs done with the Otley Road pub crawlers in fancy dress.
22 new pubs done on the day.

23rd July 2016

Nottingham, City Centre

Two more pub openings in Nottingham city centre,so i had to go and do them.
2 new pubs done.

4th August 2016

London, Wood Green, Hornsey, Muswell Hill, Crouch End & Finsbury Park Crawl

I have had this pub crawl planned for the lest few years,so i finally got round to doing it.
The pub crawl went well but i did have to change my planned route halfway through,due to pubs not opening and due to it being a Thursday crawl, and some not being proper pubs.
I still really enjoyed the crawl and did another 22 new pubs.

6th August 2016

Newark

My promised return to Newark was done as it was a very nice warm day with no chance of rain.
A breakfast in the Wetherspoons and a couple of early pints then a good tour round the town,picking up some pubs i had not done for a few years,the wife loved the Castle Barge and Prince Rupert so they are a  a must to revisit.
Only one new pub done,but still well pleased and a great day out.

20th August 2016 

Wetherby, Boston Spa,  Clifford, Brabham, Thorner & Leeds City Centre Crawl

This was another pub crawl that i had planned and not done due to it being a difficult one to do,with me having to check what times buses were going from each town or village.
All went to plan,a great day out and quite a few Samuel Smiths tied houses done.
A great day out pub crawling.
22 new pubs done.

3rd September 2016

Hebden Bridge, Brighouse & Leeds City Centre Crawl

This was to be a full pub crawl of all pubs in Brighouse and area,but my plans were disrupted when i looked at the weather forecast for the day, Heavy rain all day.
I decided to stay on the train and do what i could in Hebden Bridge quickly and go back down to Brighouse to pick up the town centre pubs,the plan was to stay as dry as possible with less walking.
It did'nt work i got soaked to the skin.
19 new pubs done.

24th September 2016

Todmoreden, Walsden & Leeds City Centre Crawl

My plan was to do all pubs in Todmoreden which i virtually did and do a few in Walsden and then back to Leeds to end the crawl.
All went pretty much to plan,so a good day out.
19 new pubs done.

1st October 2016

Northampton Crawl

A large town that i have wanted to do for ages,but due to high train fares from Nottingham,i never got round to doing it.
My brother offered to drive me down and park up so we could walk round the town.
A great day out and Wellingborough Road was really good for the amount of pubs it had on it.
20 new pubs done.

9th October 2016

Beeston & Mapperley Crawl

There were a few new pubs and bars that had opened in the Nottingham area,so i decided to use the new tram extension from Toton Lane to get to Beeston and then into Nottingham and a bus up to Mapperley.
All went well,but with the walk up to the tram stop and it being slower than the bus service from Stapleford to Nottingham,not really viable for regular use.
5 new pubs done. 

22nd October 2016

Dartford Crawl

I had found out that my Oyster card could get me a good deal on travel from Golders Green to Dartford,so it was a National Express bus down to North London and off to Dartford,all new to me so i really enjoyed the crawl and did most pubs in the town,the highlight was the three Shepheard Neame pubs i did.
21 new pubs done.

4th November 2016

Marpool & Heanor

There were a few micro pubs to do in the area and a hospital visit made it a lot easier for me.
A bus up to Ilkeston and the hospital then a bus to Marpool and a walk up to Heanor.
3 new pubs done.

5th November 2016

Derby plus one in Duffield Crawl

This was a crawl picking up any fairly new pub or bar openings in Derby,which i do every few years to keep my almost virtual all pubs done in the city up to date.
Not that much real ale drank on this crawl.
13 new pubs done.

8th November 2016

Derby

After another hospital visit i took advantage and did a couple more new pubs in Derby.
2 new pubs done.

12th November 2016

North Nottinghamshire Villages Crawl

This was my brothers plan to pick up some North Notttinghamshire villages which had pubs we had not done before,ten villages visited and some just in South Yorkshire.
A great day out.
15 new pubs done.

3rd December 2016

Eastwood & Kimberley

A quick visit to the Nottinghamshire towns to pick up new Micro pub openings.
2 new pubs done.

30th December 2016

Barnsley Crawl

Only my second visit to the town,on the first we only did five pubs before watching Forest play at Oakwell.
I had no great expectations for the town,but still looking forward to having a good walk round to see what i could find,my A-Z let me down badly and i got lost when trying to do pubs to the South of the centre,i had to resort to my old habits of asking strangers while wandereing round as to where there may be pubs to do.
It was still a great day out and the Fish i had with scraps on in the town centre was one of the best i have had and only £2.70.
20 new pubs done and my last of the year.

This is a summary of all dates of new pub visits in 2016.

Top three pubs of the year.

Tinto Lounge  Bristol Horfield

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

A great bar with a really good vibe to it,there were no real ales on,but the keg Bath Ales Dark Side went down a treat.


The Swan  Brabham

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 A top class village pub with small rooms inside,well worth the walk up the hill to do it.

Castle Barge  Newark

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

 A barge moored by the River Trent and close to the middle of the town,my wifes first visit and her thoughts were it is like a tardis inside,very comfortable and we stayed for a few drinks.
I first did the barge when it was a North Country tied house way back on the 27th March 1983 while on a pub crawl with mates.
A top notch pub to have a drink in.

I decided not to list the worst pubs of the year as i like most pubs i go in to some extent.

A total of 505 new pubs done in 2016

I wish all readers of this blog a Happy New Year.