Christmas Retreats - Pubs with Fires

Diary Entry #1 - December 2013

Currently on Christmas present delivery operations. Winding around the A-roads of Britain in 'Genevieve'. I need a break. Having a long one in The White Lion pub, Barthomley, Cheshire (above). Dating from 1614, this welcoming pub is in a hidden-away and timeless English setting, overlooked by the elevated 15th century St. Bertoline's church — scene of a massacre in the English civil war.

The pub has roaring fires and an excellent selection of beers, including Christmas ales, making it a perfect Christmas retreat.

Diary Entry #2 - December 2013

I finally moved on from The White Lion. It was a struggle, yet, I soon find solace in another Christmas retreat — the Hare & Hounds, Bath (below), high up in Lansdown, overlooking the city and surrounding countryside.

The pub also provides the requisite roaring log fires and good beer. There's an extensive food menu too, which includes breakfast. The cooked breakfast has the really excellent Stornaway black pudding. Any self-respecting 'full English' must have black pudding.

This Christmas business is easy.

Resolution for 2014: must make my diary entries more interesting.

Merry Christmas and cheers, Tweedy.

P.S. See the coat on the chair in the final photo below? More on that in the new year. Becoming a bit of a hit in this weather, let me tell you.