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<\/a><\/div>\nWe now come to the second day of my South Coast<\/b> mini-break, There wasn’t a huge rush to get up because Stafford Paul<\/b> and Paul Quality comes across in the taste of the ingredients, especially Moving swiftly on, Paul<\/b> and I enjoyed a Once the drinks were finished and the conversation had slowed After handing back my room key, and thanking the landlord for The train journey of just over half an hour, took us through As mentioned in the previous post, I\u2019d been to Portsmouth <\/b>once As far as pubs were concerned, we were aiming for a Fuller’s<\/b> We were not disappointed with the Bridge Tavern, <\/b>where the nautical We had an interesting chat, which included quizzing Dave<\/b> \u00a0<\/p>\n This was a shame, as from the outside, at least, the pub looked \u00a0<\/p>\n
\nand despite the late-night road works going on close to the Chichester Inn<\/b> (installing
\na Dutch-style<\/b> roundabout) I had a reasonable night\u2019s sleep. I awoke at around
\n7am<\/b>, feeling refreshed and raring to go. The outlook from my room, across a grey
\nand rather dreary looking Chichester<\/b>, was perhaps to be expected for
\nmid-February<\/b>, but the greyness was tempered by me looking forward to travelling
\nacross to Portsmouth<\/b> later that morning.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\nI weren\u2019t due to meetup with Dave<\/b> and Joan <\/b>until 11am. <\/b>Before doing anything
\nelse, I made myself a cup of tea, something I do every morning, regardless of
\nwhere I am in the world. After a quick shower, I packed up my trusty, small red
\nrucksack \u2013 the one that has been my faithful companion on various hikes across
\nsouthern England.<\/b> I\u2019d certainly travelled light this time around, taking
\ninspiration, from Christine Taylor\u2019s<\/b> excellent, One Small Bag <\/a><\/u><\/b>website. I then headed down to the bar ready for a full English
\nbreakfast, <\/b>which I knew would set me up for a walk around Portsmouth<\/b> and fortify
\nme against the chilly February<\/b> weather. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/b><\/div>\n
\n<\/b>was already there, and getting tucked into his breakfast. He was looking
\npleased because the landlord had furnished him with a nice large pot of coffee.
\nAfter checking my breakfast drink requirements, mine host brought me an equally
\nlarge, and most welcome pot of tea. As is common in many B&B
\n<\/b>establishments, breakfast was cooked to order, and when it arrived the plate
\nwas nice and hot, which is always a good sign! What really made it special, was
\nthe quality of the ingredients, a point I emphasise when out to breakfast with
\nson Matthew. <\/b>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\nthe bacon and the sausages \u2013 something you just don\u2019t get with cheap, mass-catering
\npacks from the Cash & Carry<\/b>. Mrs PBT\u2019s<\/b> agrees with me on this one, in fact she is the one responsible in our house, for\u00a0the maxim, “you get what you pay for”<\/i><\/b>, and if we could instill
\nthis one point into our son and heir, it will be an important life lesson learned. (Cost considerations, of course, play a part here, but if finances allow, it is usually worth splashing out a little bit extra, especially where quality is concerned!). Whether young master Matt<\/b> takes this on board, remains to be seen, but if he does, then maybe he will thank us one day.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\nleisurely, and very satisfying top-notch breakfast, which was spun out by the plentiful supply of tea and
\ncoffee we\u2019d be provided with. There was just the two of us left in the bar by the time we’d finished, and
\nwe spent the time chatting partly about pubs, but mainly about the Campaign for Real Ale. <\/b>We touched on memorable events associated with
\nthe campaign, both\u00a0 past as well as present,\u00a0 including various AGM\u2019s<\/b> we’d attended, (Paul<\/b> is way ahead of me there), and some
\nof the much-missed characters who seemed to come and go. CAMRA<\/b> certainly
\nattracted plenty of them and I think we both surprised each other bringing up
\nname after name, as well as the foibles associated with many of these people,
\nand how they helped shape the campaign, particularly in the early years.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\ndown, it was time to make a move. I collected my rucksack from the room, ready to
\ncheck out, but Paul<\/b> was due to stay another night at the Chichester Inn <\/b>and
\nwould be travelling back to Stafford<\/b> the following morning. I believe he was
\nplanning to stop off in London<\/b> on the way, where he had a number of carefully
\nselected “heritage pubs”<\/i><\/b> to visit.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\na most pleasant stay, I headed off into town, with Paul,<\/b> towards the station. We
\nhadn’t gone far before bumping into Dave<\/b>, who was heading towards us. He was
\nalone, as Joan<\/b> had decided to enjoy a quiet day back at their Airbnb<\/b>, so the
\nthree of us continued on to the station. A little grumble here regarding the new
\nstyle tickets recently introduced on Southern Trains,<\/b> which sees thin, flimsy
\npaper replacing the card ones, that have been in universal use across the rail
\nnetwork for decades. Promoted as “kinder on the environment”<\/i><\/b>, but rather too easy
\nto lose, or mislay, as Dave<\/b> discovered, although fortunately he found his ticket, in the end. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\nthe relatively flat coastal area of West Sussex, <\/b>and into Hampshire.<\/b> As a bonus
\nthe sun was peeping out from behind the clouds, which was the first time I\u2019d
\nseen it for several weeks. There was still a cold wind blowing, as we
\ndiscovered when we alighted from the train at Portsmouth Harbour,<\/b> but spirits
\nwere running high, and we were looking forward to getting to sampling a few of Portsmouth\u2019s
\n<\/b>finest public houses. I’d been lazy again and had left the planning of the trip
\nto Paul<\/b> and Dave<\/b>, and they came up with a good selection. The plan was to work
\nour way from the harbour station and then make our way back slowly towards Portsmouth
\n& Southsea<\/b> – the other main rail station in the city. On the way we would
\nbe calling in at the pubs selected by the two pub men.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\nbefore, but that was almost 60 years <\/b>previously. Consequently, there was
\nnothing of the city that I recognised, and that includes the iconic harbour \u2013
\nspiritual home of the Royal Navy.<\/b> As we exited the harbour station, we could
\nsee the sea with the recently restored, Victorian<\/b> warship, HMS Warrior<\/b> taking pride of
\nplace. Launched in 1860, HMS Warrior <\/b>was the world’s first iron-hulled warship,
\nand was larger, faster, and more heavily armoured than any ship before her. Her
\nimpressive size and firepower made her a symbol of British naval supremacy. <\/b>We
\ncouldn\u2019t see Portsmouth\u2019s<\/b> most famous preserved ship, HMS Victory<\/b> because that
\nis berthed in a dry dock, on the other side of the National Museum of the Royal
\nNavy. <\/b>The Victory<\/b> is undergoing an extensive renovation so we wouldn\u2019t
\nhave been able to have visited it, anyway. Nelson\u2019s flagship<\/b> is probably the
\nonly thing that I do remember from that 1969<\/b> visit.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\npub situated at Camber Dock<\/b>, on the opposite quayside to the Isle of Wight<\/b> car
\nferry terminal. It took a bit of finding, and we had to double back on
\nourselves at one point, but the Bridge Tavern<\/b> <\/a><\/u>was well worth the effort. The
\npub overlooks the water, and there were several boats moored up next to the quayside.
\nSome were so close that, if you wanted, you could literally jump on board. Dave<\/b>
\nfound this area particularly interesting given his experiences, several decades
\nago, of working on a lobster fishing boat<\/b>, operating out a Maine <\/b>port \u2013
\npossibly Portland. <\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\ntheme extended into the pub\u2019s interior. There was an impressive bar counter, set
\ntowards rear of the building and a number of alcoves leading off either side. We
\nsat, close to the window, in one of these, from where we had an excellent view
\nof the nautical scene outside stop. I opted for a pint of Gale\u2019s Seafarers,<\/b> a
\nbeer we don’t often see in Kent,<\/b> but HSB<\/b> was also available, alongside the
\nubiquitous London Pride <\/b>\u2013 and before RM<\/b> asks the question, I have no idea as to
\nwhether the Pride was \u201cdrinking well.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\nabout his time spent lobster fishing, before deciding to move on to the next
\npub. This was supposed to be the Sally Port Inn<\/a><\/u>,<\/b> a famous Portsmouth pub created
\nin 1947<\/b> from a war damaged residence, dating back to the 1600’s.<\/b> Situated just
\na few yards from the seawall, in the midst of Old Portsmouth’s High Street, <\/b>the
\npub takes its name from the gate in the fortified section of the seawall, which
\nis known as the \u201csally port\u201d.<\/i><\/b> There was some uncertainty regarding the pub\u2019s
\nopening times, but a visit to the Sally Port <\/b>confirmed this was 3pm, as listed
\nin What Pub.<\/b>\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\nwell worth visiting, but for those interested in the cold war, tales of
\nespionage and the charismatic naval diver, Commander Buster Crabb RN<\/b>,<\/a><\/u> there\u2019s a
\nfascinating piece about Cdr. Crabb<\/b>, who disappeared after embarking on a secret mission to investigate a Soviet warship<\/b>, as part of a unauthorised spying exercise. Crabb<\/b> had spent the <\/span>night, prior to his disappearance, at the
\nSally Port. <\/b><\/span>So, it was best foot forward and off to the next pub.\u00a0<\/div>\n