I'm a 30-something male lifestyle blogger from Hampshire writing about craft beer, food and drink, pubs, restaurants and getting outside.
Alright, “love” might be a strong word here. I mean, who loves grocery shopping?
I much prefer shopping at discount-store Lidl to the bigger supermarkets like Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Asda though.
And it’s not because the bill is cheaper (if it actually is – I’ve never bothered to do a comparison).
Here are five reasons I love (OK, prefer) shopping at Lidl to the major grocery retailers.… Read more
Read on to discover five weird and wonderful places to drink real ale and craft beer in Hampshire. Then add your own suggestions in the comments at the bottom of the post.
A few weeks ago on a sunny Saturday afternoon, I popped along to the Bursledon Brickworks Museum near Southampton.
It was no normal day at the museum – today was its first beer festival, and it wasn’t long until I was browsing the museum’s collection of vintage arcade games with a real ale in hand.… Read more
Mention burgers in Southampton and most people think of 7Bone Burger Co or the Rockstone.
I finally got round to rating 7Bone’s offering earlier this year. Now it was the Rockstone’s turn in my search for Hampshire’s best burger.
I regularly visit the Rockstone for a beer or three. But it’s been a while since I’ve eaten there. That changed last week when Tiff and I popped in for an impromptu midweek burger.… Read more
With its clear, trout-filled waters and abundance of flora and other fauna, there are few better places to go for a evening stroll or weekend ramble in Hampshire than the banks of the River Itchen.
The Itchen rises near Cheriton in the middle of the county and runs for almost 30 miles across to the roman city of Winchester and then down to Southampton Water.… Read more
Until a couple of years ago, the Crown Inn was best avoided if you were after fine food and drink (think sticky carpets and faded Sky Sports banners drooping over the entrances).
Then came a £2 million makeover for this 16th-century coaching inn, which turned it from unloved watering hole into a posh pub, restaurant and hotel.
We headed to the Crown for a late-afternoon Sunday lunch last week.… Read more
If you like sightseeing and love beer, the roman city of Winchester is perfect.
Not only is there lots of history, heritage and fine architecture dotted throughout the city’s medieval streets, but there are also many excellent traditional pubs serving excellent real ale.
This pub crawl and walking tour of Winchester allows you to see many of the sights of the city while sampling real ale from some of Hampshire’s 30+ breweries.… Read more