The Hotel End

Another dump to visit next season then… Nice fish and chips though.

What, Cleethorpes Town?

It’s been a few years since I last visited. (First time was very early 80’s when Chelsea played there) Found it all a bit Mansfield ish..

Don’t tell me I’m wrong and it’s beautiful.

I think you're right. I must admit I was hoping for Solihull.

At least there should be enough tickets available for Grimsby - I feared if Solihull was promoted we would have another ticket scramble on our hands aka Sutton.

Found a boozer in Cleethorpes once, little b&b affair, there was a sign in reception saying rooms from £10 per night, and the wallpaper was held up with drawing pins. Not keen on Lincs, but I did enjoy our trip to Boston a while back.

True. Plus it has the potential for a weekend away, with some of the surrounding area. We’ll get them on a night game now 😁

Immingham one way, and caravan parks to the other. Your standards are slipping..

Visit Cleethorpes fairly regularly as my brother in law moved there a couple of years ago. It’s not that bad really. Steels Corner House is a terrific fish and chip restaurant and the one on the pier is in a massive ballroom.

 If you go don’t order cod as that will mark you as an out of towner straight away. Haddock all the way.

 

Grimsby fans Chav central, I’ve been a few times, never again.

I was thinking slightly further afield than that. Within a 50 mile radius or so 😁

At the end of the day, its all about what you make of it. I remember a few years back going to Bradford for the weekend, our "tour guide" had a large pikey caravan in her parents garden. Four of us rolled up, and had a great time taking in the local pubs, rock club, a belting curry, and lots of funny stuff to smoke, (provided by the curry house)  :o
I would have to say though, that caravan did smell a bit strong in the morning  ;D

Love Grimsby. Once had a lass under Cleethorpes pier.

Classy!!

Although Grimsby tends to live up to its name, would rather them than another Tin Pot Team with Its Tin Pot Ground.

Stop in Mablethorpe. Quite nice seaside town that’s not far and is less chav than SkegVegas.

Cheers mate.

I shall suggest it to my director of travel… 😀

That sounds very much like the Leaking Boot - quite the s***tiest hotel I have ever stayed in - well actually I didn’t - I arrived late, paid about £20 cash to a shady looking guy on reception but took one look at the room and left without asking for my money back to find a decent B&B near the sea front.

 ;D ;D ;D

I did that once in Rochdale. As do most

It was. I didnt stay there, just looking for somewhere to get a beer, nearish to the ground.

I was looking forward to a new ground (Solihull)....alas!!

Interesting to see they were only getting 2000 at their home games at the end of the season, and only took around 5500 to London today.

Their ground holds just over 5200 but is capable of offering 1000 to away teams such is the layout of the stadium. A bit better than the likes of Sutton, Harrogate and Barrow.

I wonder if Grimsby, Mansfield, Port Vale, Rochdale, etc etc fans,with an imminent visit to Northampton coming up, think,
Oh excellent, we've got Northampton coming up, what a delightful, friendly, cultural, gastronomical treat we've got in store.
Have you been to the town centre lately?

A few years back I did a trek up Snowdon with some mates and the guy that arranged it booked us into a YMCA hostel afterwards. I was less than keen on the idea but was reassured they had private dormitories and he'd booked one just for us.
After we'd got back down and arrived at the hostel they had no idea about any private dormitories and we ended up in some godawful bunk room with a bunch of randoms that I hated at first sight. As we walked to the pub later me and one other guy (who was similarly appalled at the accommodation) were hanging back from the group and bemoaning our lot when we noticed a B&B with a vacancy sign, so with a nudge and a wink and not a word to anyone else we dodged in there and nabbed ourselves the last two rooms. It was a bit of a dump with a communal bathroom but it was like the Ritz compared to the other hell hole!!!

The other lot weren't impressed when we caught up with them at the pub and told them what we'd done but we were vindicated as later that night they were kept awake until all hours by the antics of the bellends they had to share the room with.  ;D

A bunch of randoms - does our Derek have friends in the Snowdon area?  ;)

I also said they were a load of bellends so, well, oh, OK, I take your point. ;)

Any comparison with anywhere up north is pointless. Stop it at once.

Even Harrogate?

I wonder if fans of Gillingham, Swindon, Stevenage, Crawley, etc etc, with an imminent visit to Northampton coming up, think,
Oh excellent, we've got Northampton coming up, what a delightful, friendly, cultural, gastronomical treat we've got in store.
Have you been to the town centre lately?

Interesting history on the Leaking Boot online - liked that the landlord in the 70’s was fed up of the pub being trashed by visiting supporters so he made the premises entry and exit by only one door which was manned by a pair of Doberman Pinchers. Seems the pub/hotel was eventually burnt to the ground and based on my visit seems a distinct possibility it was an insurance job.

Had a few beers in the Smugglers in Cleethorpes. A bit like being in The Bear although no one tried to sell me meat or razor blades.

 Must admit I quite like seedy s***ty pubs. More interesting and have characters than pretentious over priced places.

 House prices up there. Cheeeaapp

My local co-op has security tags on mince meat now.
And nobody goes in the Bear, unless theyre on the way to the Roadmender.
And I would have a few contributions, towards the thread "worst pubs you have been in"  ;D ;D
 

Brings back memories of The Swinging Sporran! I used to go there for a post work drink when I worked in the centre. You never went in there without some plain clothed coppers coming in and having a quick look around for some faces. On one memorable occasion I came across a guy on his hands and knees in the gents having a conversation with a urinal. It appeared to be answering him back...

Lovely sausage and chips in the Sporran, Tartan carpet the full works.

Upstairs or downstairs?

 I don’t mind it in there on occasion. Wouldn’t make a habit out of it but £3.50 a pint of Stella and I’ll probably bump into my Uncle JB as well. Local leg end.

Sorry to disappoint...that wasn't tartan, that was just the years of vomit stains.......

The only time I went in there, was in the back of an old mini van, from booth lane college. The landlord was a bit frisky.
The driver of said van, had a mop of curly hair, and a dribble of saliva running down his chin. He maintained that he would be a millionaire soon.
Well, the last I heard, he had sold his empire for over 100 million.
Anybody involved in the motor trade, may have heard of Robert Wilkinson.

Upstairs. I never ventured downstairs.

Does he want to buy the Cobblers?

Dunno. I havent seen him in 40 years. But I doubt it.

The Sporan only holds one memory for me. Not a good one. RIP LV.

But I have to say. I have poor form when it comes to pubs.

Firefly
Morris man
Duke of York
The Welcome
Golden Horse
Tanners
The Castle

To name few of my regulars over the years. Then I become the classic working class traitor 😂😂😂

Tempted to venture north purely for the fish!
Also one of my fondest memories was 2006 when they were ready to storm the pitch being promoted only for us to equalise in the last minute at the same time the other game score changed so they had to go into the playoffs.
If it wasn't so funny I would have felt sorry for them. Maybe how Bristol fans think about us  ;D

I will take your list, and trump you with the delightful Prince of Wales, Kingsthorpe.

Where you there? It was a proper tear up outside afterwards.

…and a double trump to you sir with the King David

My formative drinking years were generally spent in the Broadmead.
Watneys Special, Starlight or a brown and bitter. Not much choice in those days.

A mate of mine arranged to meet some others in there when we were students. He got there first, walked up to the bar and ordered a pint.

The barman eyed him up and down and said "Do you know anyone who drinks in here?"

When my mate said no he was told "You'd better f*** off then, hadn't you? "

Classy place.

Pretty much all these apart from The Bear and Golden Horse have closed now.
Complete aside to the thread I know but at least it’s civilised chat which is nice.
. If you’ve not seen it you should buy Dave Knibbs excellent book Last Orders which is all about Northampton pubs past and present  and their often colourful history. He’s on Facebook for orders etc.

Mick Bevington perchance?

I was a brown and bitter man and always wondered why one could drink so much and not get pissed - later years I discovered the ABV of Watney’s special was about 3.4 and Manns brown about 2.2 giving you a heady cocktail of less than 3%

Seemed alright to me. An old mate used it as his local. Mind you, he was a six feet four ex para.
Further afield, I remember stopping off in West Brom on the way to Walsall, and the pub had meccano bolted around the toilet taps to stop anyone from purloining them. Springbok outside QPR anybody? They didnt even bother wiping the blood off of the tiles. Or anywhere on the Old Kent Road.The list is endless.

Wetherspoons on Blackpool seafront takes some beating, there was so much sand, old newspapers and broken glass on the floor it was more like a landfill site, and don’t get me started on the clientele.

Of which, you were one.......

See also the Blackpool Yate's...

Or if you want really interesting clientele try the Saracens Head in the east end of Glasgow…..not somewhere I would dream of going.

i went in there a few years ago with amate of mine who was known in there. On the walk across Bradlaugh Fields to it i was doing a bit of faux moaning about how i was going to get kneecapped in there, being told "nah it's alright in there now"
Got in and tried to order a drink only to be told by the barmaid "hold on 10 minutes, I'm just splitting a fight up in the toilets"  :-\ Alright night after that.

Some years ago I was in Corby and ended up in the Corinthian Pub, nearest I have ever been in a hell hole. Fortunately, was with a then girl friend and some of the locals took a fancy to her. Any way I got out in one piece as a Salvation Army Woman came in with a tin and I contributed quite handsomely, for me that is. Pretty sure the Corinthian closed down in 2012.  The other Pub I was glad to get out of was the Pub opposite Aldershot FC on a snowy night with steps designed to ensure you fell down them. Strangely it was full of Cobblers Supporters who looked a menacing lot! I know we won with the great Clarke Carlisle scored the winner - 1-2 to us! Cant remember the Pub name  perhaps the 'George'. Somebody on here will know it!

The one with the dodgy step on a slope, was The George. The closest pub to the ground was The Crimea. Strange place Aldershot, lots of bored looking ex gurkhas hanging around outside the bookies, and the local chavs singing "youll never make the station.."

Not dumps but why were so many pubs closed last night - the trumpet, bold dragoon and elephant to name 3?

There was a gypsy funeral in town.

That will explain the St Trinians type reaction then 😀😀

Crikey Evers the first half of that post was like a Barbara Cartland novel. Our hero saved fair maiden from a band of ruffians whilst simultaneously doing good work for charity. They don’t make gentlemen like they used to.

If you mean the one directly opposite the main entrance at Aldershot, then the Crimea.
The one half way up the hill, near the away turnstiles, that night only had Coach of normal Cobblers fans...Geary et-al, a nothing pub. So nothing, I can't remember the name!  ;)

Worst hell/s***e hole pubs for me personally, New Inn, Dewsbury Road Leeds and Nelson (now closed down) in Cowley, Oxford.

A mate of mine used to own the Crimea, his two Dobermans were no match for the baseball bats from a local 'organisation' that came to 'visit' him one night.  He moved out very soon afterwards...once he had been released from hospital.  :-X

That's the spirit!  ;D

He'd refused to pay the additional 'protection insurance' that was in place when he bought the property.

https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/people/police-warn-of-traffic-disruption-through-northampton-town-centre-as-large-funeral-cortege-heads-from-weston-favell-to-towcester-road-3724187

Told you there was a curse.

Pompey away in the cup a few years back, Sheringham was playing for them, we were in a right dump down the road. Nice choice of Fosters or Smiths. The old bill were keeping a close eye on us, drinking "Skippy P1ss" out of a plastic glass. Inside the ground just after kick off the OB came rushing in looking around for anyone who had been in the pub. Spotted me, dragged me out behind the stand took me towards the gate and frisked me. They couldnt find anything, made me take one step outside of the gate, and let me back in again. Then searched other people. When asked what the fooks going, the stewards replied that six pool balls were missing from the pub!  Own up, who was it?  ;D