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FyneFest Trip – Day 2

Over to Arran

This morning I got up unusually early, at 5.30! Just as well my internal clock was still on Belgian time, but nevertheless way too early! The reason for this was that CalMac Ferries decided to cancel the 11.00 ferry I booked, so I had to go on the 8.00 ferry instead. This meant I had to catch the 6.15 train to Ardrossan Harbour… To add insult to injury, there was no coffee or breakfast available, neither in the ferry terminal, nor on the ferry itself!

Needless to say, in Brodick, on the Isle of Arran, my first stop was the Little Rock café, for a full Scottish breakfast, and a coffee.

After that I was almost human again, and ready to walk a bit of the Arran Coastal Way to head over to Brodick Castle. Unfortunately it was in scaffolding, so the outside was completely invisible, but luckily the interiors and the beautiful gardens made up for it.

I stopped by at Arran Brewery, but since this brewery doesn’t have a taproom, I had one of their beers at neighbour The Wineport.

On my way to the Arran Heritage Museum I did some picknick shopping at Arran’s Cheese Shop.

The last stop on the island was the Ormidale Hotel, which seemed like a good place to have a whisky from Isle of Arran Distillers, which was a bit too far to visit in person today. I’ll have to save that for when they’re organising tours again, but for now, the Arran 18 Year was a nice consolation.

A ferry and a train brought me back to Glasgow, for some Greek/Turkish/Levantine food at a new, highly recommended place, Babs.

As my only real beer stop in Glasgow tonight, I went to the Innis & Gunn Brewery Taproom. I’m not really a fan of their own beers, but the guest list was stonkin’!

Since that dram of Arran brought me in the mood for whisky, I ended the night at The Pot Still, with their malt of the month, Smokehead.

FyneFest Trip – Day 0

Under the Sea & Under the Covers

It’s spring, and for me, that’s kind of the perfect time to go to Scotland! The main destination is FyneFest again, because I just couldn’t get enough of it last year. So once again, I found myself deep under the sea in a Eurostar, on my way to London.

After dropping off my bag, my first stop was Camden Coffee Roastery, since I hadn’t had time to have a coffee before leaving Brussels. Some cake would be very welcome as well, knowing beers would follow soon…

And indeed, 3 Locks Brewing Company was just a couple of hundred meters away. Unfortunately, they were only serving in disposable plastic cups, which for me was reason enough to move on after just one beer.

The next stop was The Black Heart. I had been there before, I’m sure, but either because of the the lack of cell reception, or the level of intoxication at the time, I hadn’t checked in a single beer there…

Just around the corner then, BrewDog Camden, the OG London BrewDog bar! Just a short stop this time, but I’ll make up for that on the way back.

The plan was then to have some Malaysian food at Roti King, but the queue in front of the restaurant was way too long! So I ended up at Yatri, an Indian restaurant conveniently right next to the place where I left my bag.

Then it was time for my traditional last pre-sleeper beer stop: the Euston Tap. Here again, only plastic cups, but this time they gave a reason for it: football…

Not wanting to use too much plastic, I then went to the first class lounge for a cup of tea and a muffin.

Finally it was time to board the Caledonian Sleeper! As soon as the train started moving, I made my way to the Club Car for a dram and a cheese platter, the best way to start a trip to Scotland!

A bit of blogging, and then it was time to get under the covers…

Running in Rotterdam

So this Saturday I went for a run in Rotterdam. As is the case for most out-of-town runs nowadays, it was a run with the Hash House Harriers, the FILTH H3 kennel, on this occasion. I had run with them before, when they set a trail in Liège, but this would be my first time with them on their home turf.

The start was at Rotterdam train station, and we were promised run of about 20 km, and a couple of beer stops at breweries and taprooms: a challenging run, but right up my alley! After giving the hare a ten minute head start, four running harriers gave chase. Some others went straight to the beer stop by public transport.

After almost 8 km, we arrived at the Stadshaven Brouwerij for a first beer or two. Although at some point we were very close, apparently, the hare was already enjoying a beer when we got there.

After giving the hare a head start again, we took off as well. This time, we came nowhere near the hare, since he put enough distractions on trail, like a weird art garden, and plenty of nice views.

Just when it was starting to rain, we arrived at beer stop number two, Kaapse Kaap, the taproom of Kaapse Brouwers. Distance run up to that point—including lots of ‘checking’—was 19,7 km, and we were still a couple of kilometres from the start/finish…

Since we almost reached the promised distance, and the weather had turned, it was suggested to end the run then and there. However, three of the runners still were up to run the last part as well, so just five minutes after the hare, off we went!

Another five kilometres—definitely not the shortest way—brought us to our third and last beer stop, Brewpub Reijngoud, after just missing out on catching the hare! From there, we just walked the last 300 m to Biergarten Rotterdam for the closing Circle, after 25,2 km in total…

Fittingly, there they were serving a beer with on the label a hare chased by hounds, in turn chased by a huge hare… Perfect end of a great day!

London Trip – Day 3

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More Hashing & Hammerton

Another day starting with a breakfast buffet! Not to fuel me for a morning of museums this time, but for a mid-day run. Today I ran with another kennel: the OG London Hash House Harriers. I packed all my stuff, put on my running gear, checked out, and headed to The Golden Fleece, where the run would start at one. More nice hashers—and some familiar faces from Thursday—a lot of banter, again a really nice, touristy trail, and of course some beer at the end…

After the run I still had some time—although less than planned—to check off a few more beery places on my list. Caps and Taps and Indiebeer are primarily beer shops, so an excellent opportunity to buy a couple of cans to take home. Of course I also had to taste a some of the beers they had on draught…

My last stop this trip was the Hammerton Brewery, a microbrewery in Islington. Unfortunately the kitchen was closed, so I had to forego the pizza I was hoping for… The beers and cracklings were nice, though!

Eventually I made it back to St. Pancras International in time for my Eurostar back home.

So long London, is has been a blast, and see you again in a couple of months!

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Yuletide Trip to Breda

After a largely failed attempt to enjoy Breda’s craft beer scene in 2020, I had more success this year! A train cancellation just before I was about to set off, didn’t bode well, but when I eventually got to Breda, all the bars I intended to visit where open, and serving a fine selection of local and not-so-local beers!

The coffee places were quite full, in this strange period between Christmas and New Year, so I decided to forgo coffee all together, and went straight for beer! On the itinerary for the afternoon were Zeezicht, Café Sam Sam, and Mr. Barley—which, in despite of its lack of bar, is not a self service bar!

Even though I had a decent brunch that morning, it was about time to line the stomach again before continuing with some more, quite strong beers. Being the peanut sauce fan I am, I picked out a satay place in the Foodhall Breda: Minang Kabau. It turned out to be an excellent choice!

The evening was then spend tasting many beers—one even straight from the tank!—in Brouwcafé Frontaal. It was quite empty when I sat down at the bar, but it filled up quite nicely behind me!

Then it was time to take the last train back to Brussels. It was quite a bit emptier than the train I had taken to get to Breda—train cancellations tend to have that effect on the next trains—so the journey home was pleasant enough, and uneventful.