Food – Page 3 – Curious Bystander

Warwick, England – A hike along the Grand Union Canal (to Hatton)

The last week, I had the fortune to be in south England for a week, and was based in the charming town of Warwick. Warwick resembled Ludlow (from a few weeks ago) but was on a smaller hill with no castle, though it did have a multitude of older, cute buildings, which I will blog about later in the week.

What I did do, as I was normally in the flat, working; was to go on a short, charming canal walk, with a subsequent visit to a beautiful pub for lunch.

As the map above shows, we started in the centre of Warwick, traversed the Warwick Race Course (more on that later), and continued along the Grand Union Canal for about an hour, had lunch and returned.

Along the way we enjoyed the much hotter weather in the south of England and noted both there and back, a variety of locks known as the “Stairway to Heaven“, that has 21 Locks (!!) in total.

At the end of the outward journey, was the Hatton Arms pub, which resembled more of a hotel complex, rather than a “pub” – though it was still amiable as I sat outside drinking a lovely pint of real ale, with Thai fish cakes and mash – lovely!

Coming back was slightly quickly, as I was going downhill and the return was done via the town centre of Warwick.

More from Warwick and the surroundings later.

Who’s up for a food Festival? Review of Ludlow’s –

It was only a few months ago when I was in Ludlow for a short stay. Very impressed with the “living museum” type of feel, the food, drink, architecture and the Shropshire Hills, so why not try it another time?

I did and was impressed yet again at their Ludlow Food Festival, and with it came beautiful weather as well (Ed; Of course, it’s way south of Glasgow!).

The “buyings” can be sorted into the two types of my faves; alcohol and non-alcohol!

The one thing that fascinated me, were the many alcohol stands on display, mainly aimed at Gin, but also spirits such as Whiskey; English Whiskey! I tried two of the whiskeys, a young one less than 3 years of age, and a casked one – the difference was immeasurable! The latter was like nectar, and I subsequently received a hand written email to contact the distillery, as only 400 bottles are produced each year.

I bought a bottle of the whiskey later at the Ludlow Farm shop just outside of town. The subsequent taste was similar to fire water though I think over ice or mixed it would do just fine; though to be fair it is technically not a whiskey (and it does say that), as it has not been aged for 3 years in a barrel.

The other purchase, was a variety of ales from the local Ludlow Brewery Co. (where we also had a tour – more on that later), with the “Red Dawn”, I believe a ruby ale, being a personal favourite.