Tony, a friend and ex-colleague, invited us round as his local pub was having a beer festival. We could have taken the train but it was such lovely weather we decided to cycle. Are we mad?
The first part of the journey was through various parks until we reached Hampton Court where we picked up the Thames Path. We followed that as far as Staines and a final stretch of road into Wraysbury.
Mary is faster than me on the flat. By about an hour and a half in my thighs were starting to flag but had no choice but to carry on. There was a head wind and we were on gravel paths so we only managed an average of 9.3 mph: distance 25.7 miles, time 2:44.
We had soup and bread at Tony and Terri's then strolled down to The 'Percy'. They planned to have an interesting range of beers including brews from Windsor and Eton, Dark Star, Langham, Tom Wood, Mordue, Rudgate, Black Hole, Ilkley, Bristol Beer Factory, Titanic, Saltaire and Kelham Island amongst others.
They also had a live band, The Sam Kelly Band, playing an eclectic mix of AOR.
They did a six-pint deal so Mary and I had three apiece. Most of Tony's friends we had not met before but that didn't stop us having lively and enjoyable conversations. We started in the garden but moved inside after the first pint as it was cooling down. Plenty of room inside a proper English pub with a decent range of real ales - every village should have one.
Tasty beers, good company, live music - what more could you ask for?
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