Check your change!

Budding numismatics (that's coin collectors to you and me) take note- last week I came across 2013 coins in circulation in Hereford. During a night out sampling the joys of beer gardens along Commercial Road I came across a 2013 10p piece in my change- this was the first 2013 coin that I have come across in general circulation.
My interest in such things was ignited during the 2012 London Olympics when 29 different 50p were introduced, which I am pleased to say I have the complete collection.

If you want to find out more then I suggest that you check out the Royal Mint website, below are a few links:

• Royal Mint home page
• Royal Mint- coin designs and specifications
• Royal Mint- London 2012 coins

...and if you come across any unusual/rare coins in your change then let us know

The Random Lager Price Survey of Hereford 2013

Llandudno revews coming soon

I have just come back from a lovely holiday in my favorite seaside resort in Wales- Llandudno.

I will post another blog post soon to let you know when the all-new reviews are uploaded to the HMPG.
This will include a lot more info on the area, website links and some more nice photos of the area.



There will also be some more Hereford pub re-reviews and hopefully some reviews from the Exmoor area coming soon. So our continuing mission to review pubs around the country, whilst focusing on our home town of Hereford, is proceeding nicely.



If you are on your travels this summer then why not review some pubs and send your findings in to us- where we will publish them for the world to see.

Massive Hereford Update

We have just added 12 more HMPG Hereford pub re-reviews. It would take forever to describe them all here so to read the all-new reviews just click on the pub names below:

• The Three Counties-  51%
• The Vaga Tavern- 53%
• The Broadleys- 64%
• The Black Lion (pictured top right)- 58%
• The Brewers Arms- 55%
• The Horse and Groom- 47%
• The Moorfields- 47%
• Addisons (pictured top left)- 64%
• The Golden Lion- 48%
• The Saracen's Head- 44%
• The Booth Hall- 61%
• The Grapes- 61%

We have also had 3 reviews sent in by our readers, just click on the names to see what they think!

• The Spread Eagle by Me
• The Golden Lion by Mick
• Yates by David R

The website is now up-to-date but we have more updates in the pipeline, so check back soon; and why not send in your own reviews- it's easy to do with our on-line form, just click here.

Great Malvern Pubs added

The HMPG is continuing to expand, we now have a presence in Great Malvern, Worcestershire. We recently reviewed 3 pubs there, and to be fair they all scored pretty well; just click on the pub names below to read the review:
 The Unicorn: A nice, traditional pub at the top of the high street.

 

The Foley Arms:


Your typical Wetherspoons, so you know what to expect; but this one has great views from the beer garden (see photo below left).












The Red Lion: Situated just round the corner from The Unicorn, this has been recently decorated and has a large beer garden, but unfortunately no nice views. Service was good though and there's some nice pictures of the Malvern Hills inside.

Croeso i Llangollen

 A few months ago, as you can see from these lovely photos, we climbed Snowdon.

On the way home we stopped off in Llangollen for a well deserved meal and a pint. We visited The Bridge End Hotel and I had what must be described as the nicest madras ever. The pub itself was pretty nice to, there is a fairly large, bright bar (with separate dining area) with nice views over the River Dee. The pub scored an impressive 61% and to read our full review click here.

 Check back soon to see see 16 more Hereford reviews, and don't forget to send your own reviews.

Dorset Pub Reviews

Cove House Inn, Chiswell, Portland

The Swan, Weymouth

 

The Ship Inn, Swanage

The Fox Inn, Corfe Castle

The Smugglers Inn, Osmington Mills

Seeing as the Olympics have started, we thought we'd be topical and add some reviews of pubs in and around Weymouth & Portland, Dorset (this is where the 2012 sailing regatta/races are held).
We have visited 5 very diverse pubs (just click on the pub names to read the full review):
-Cove House Inn, Portland: an excellent pub situated on Chesil Beach. Worth going just for the views, but the pub doesn't disappoint either. For more information check out their website.
-The Swan, Weymouth: your usual Wetherspoons, so you know what to expect; for the price you can't go wrong. Here's their website link.
-The Ship Inn Swanage: another nice, welcoming pub. Situated near the pier in Swanage, serves good quality food as you can see from their website tag-line.
- The Smugglers Inn, Osmington Mills, near Weymouth: this is an excellent pub just east of Weymouth. It has a large beer garden which leads down to the beach.
- The Fox Inn, Corfe Castle: this really is a strange pub, the beer garden is excellent but inside it's a cluttered mess.

As you can see below 3 of these pubs are mentioned in the Rough Guide to Dorset, so they must be pretty exceptional!