BRAPA MONTH END REVIEW - MARCH 2024

BRAPA represented by cat, Greater Manchester (left), Leicestershire (holding), Northants (bottom right)

Hello! Past the halfway point in the Good Beer Guide ticking year, and I can't lie, my copy is starting to feel a bit 'crispy', 'juicy' and 'spongy'. Like an overused cauliflower, perhaps.

But we are going great guns. 51 ticks for the month well above the March monthly average (29) moves me onto 60.7% GBG completion, that is 2,792 net pubs and 4,893 gross (and how gross some of them were!)

Releasing this earlier than the usual 9pm time because Daddy BRAPA is coming round soon to watch us get gubbed by L**ds later this evening.

So let us take a look at the six counties I've made progress in, picking out a favourite pub in each, and a few thoughts on how I might tackle them in the future.

Leicestershire (23 pubs, 94% completion).

Four left in Leicestershire after a surprisingly productive Easter break, I truly hadn't been expecting to make such good progress. Real decent quality too for the most part.

Nether Broughton might be achievable on a Daddy BRAPA chauffeur day in the summer, but otherwise I'm happy to leave Leics now and see what other gaps appear in the 2025 GBG (hopefully on bus routes and near Leicester, please!)

Pub of the month - Unicorn, Lutterworth

The most mid afternoon weekday pubby pub feeling pub you could hope for, great Bass too

Lancashire (12 pubs, 95% completion)

Down to six in Lancs after a good first half of March here, this is county I'm determined to get fully greened up before the 2025 GBG 'drops' in September.

'Easy!' you might think, but a Bass and Plum Porter hating beermat collecting cheeky chap from Blackburn called Ian has kindly volunteered to drive me around them, so it is finding a time we are both free on the same day! He's even muddied the waters with some E Lancs pre-emptives. But I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth! But if it gets to Aug and still no joy, I'm just gonna knock 'em off.

Pub of the month - Hop Shoppe, St Annes

Much improved from B.Jane's visits!

Derbyshire (11 pubs, 72% completion)

Not a county I had any intention of mopping up back in September, but a chance meeting with BRAPA pubbers of the month, Rich Birley b/w Steve Halstead led me to get the two awkward buggers in Parwich and Kniveton done, and suddenly I'm remembering what a strong pub county it is, and how accessible the majority of my remaining pubs are.

Matlock followed swiftly, more Rich helpfulness made my Spondon dream a drunken reality (am I the first person to have a Spondon dream?), and now I'm thinking the rest could be a nice 'train/bus day' county in the summer with Daddy B. days once this interminable football season is over.

Yes, once you get a flavour of Derbyshire, it is more moreish than most!

Pub of the month - Red Lion at Kniveton, Kniveton

BRAPA cheat mode .... activated

North Yorkshire (2 pubs, 98.6% completion)

A bonza day in Whitby/Marske brought my North Yorkshire tally down to just two. If I get them done before September, it'll be the third time I have a fully green NY. Such a hard county. And that's with me living there AND the help of Daddy BRAPA!

Ingleton is the real head scratcher. The limited opening hours mean that buses have finished running by the time the pub is open, and that goes for Saturday too. At least Hellifield is close by. Sleep in a ditch or Kirby Lonsdale, very long walk, taxi, hire foldable bike, Daddy B? Wait for it to disappear? There's always a solution!

Pub of the month - Quirky Den, Whitby

My new guest ticking mate from L**ds who tells wife he now wants to be a pub ticker too

Northamptonshire (2 ticks, 75% completion)

A late Northants morale boost to my already amazing Leics holiday was perhaps the most satisfying thing of all last week.

It was 00:51 the previous night, when I woke with a jump and the idea popped into my head, after all Ashley and Weston by Welland pair best with Market Harborough where I was off to anyway. Yes, I needed a taxi. Yes, they made a song and dance about it. Yes, the locals were insular and weird and a bit lah-di-dah, but the countryside and villages were beautiful, the beer was strong, the walk between villages wasn't a killer, and when Mahomed finally picked up to bring back from WbW, I was delighted!

Not got any great appetite to do any more Northants before Sept, but never say never.

Pub of the month - George, Ashley

Colin about to be scowled at

Greater Manchester (1 tick, 87% complete)

I've decided to put GMR on the back burner for now, but I think by the end of the football season, I'll be ready to get into it again.

Quite a few gaps as you can seem but what I like about it is a lot of what I need is close to Manchester, and Metro, trains and buses are a bit better there than they are in rural Northants! (free pub ticking tip for you there, no patreon required).

Pub of the month (by default, but still perfectly fine) - B33R@33, Horwich

Guest ticking Man City fans

And there's no letting up in the ticking for the first 10 days of April either, as I celebrate BRAPA's 10th birthday on Friday 5th with another away day trip to a county I don't normally do. My poor liver just wants to rest.

It'll get one after then, I'm planning a quiet 11th-30th, I've even blocked out a couple of #NotVeryThirstyThursdays to do things like visit the dentist and clean my self cleaning oven!

Have a great April, Si