So on Thursday the great day finally arrived, my overnight journey to Doncaster to collect my latest purchase courtesy of Micky ... his 2018 Royal Enfield Himalayan.
Plan being, train Cardiff-Sheffield to sample the many pubs in the City that my real-ale-drinking friends are always banging on about. Hotel overnight. Bus to Doncaster in the AM to meet Micky.
"I love train travel these days", said no-one, ever. Noise-cancelling BOSE headphones front-and-center!!
Changing onto a trans-Pennine at Stockport, I had time for a quick pint in this dodgy pub near the station. Lots of Northern Soul and Union jack references (you get the picture) and the only beer was keg Boddingtons
Arriving at Sheffield, first stop was the wonderous Sheffield Tap on platform 1, famous in the CAMRA world, and I was straight on the Thornbridge with a much-needed home made Pork Pie
The rest of the evening was a bit of a blur, I did manage visits to several famous Sheffield pubs - the Harlequin, Kelham Island Tavern, Shakespeares and this beast - the Fat Cat, with a brilliant selection of ales and real fires, my kind of pub, especially when the landlady took pity on me and opened the kitchen 30 minutes early to cook me pie & chips
So home to bed for the night at The Crow Inn via a splendid single malt nightcap or two, onto day 2 and I might actually mention motorcycles.
Plan being, train Cardiff-Sheffield to sample the many pubs in the City that my real-ale-drinking friends are always banging on about. Hotel overnight. Bus to Doncaster in the AM to meet Micky.
"I love train travel these days", said no-one, ever. Noise-cancelling BOSE headphones front-and-center!!
Changing onto a trans-Pennine at Stockport, I had time for a quick pint in this dodgy pub near the station. Lots of Northern Soul and Union jack references (you get the picture) and the only beer was keg Boddingtons
Arriving at Sheffield, first stop was the wonderous Sheffield Tap on platform 1, famous in the CAMRA world, and I was straight on the Thornbridge with a much-needed home made Pork Pie
The rest of the evening was a bit of a blur, I did manage visits to several famous Sheffield pubs - the Harlequin, Kelham Island Tavern, Shakespeares and this beast - the Fat Cat, with a brilliant selection of ales and real fires, my kind of pub, especially when the landlady took pity on me and opened the kitchen 30 minutes early to cook me pie & chips
So home to bed for the night at The Crow Inn via a splendid single malt nightcap or two, onto day 2 and I might actually mention motorcycles.