Awards and citations:


1997: Le Prix du Champagne Lanson Noble Cuvée Award for investigations into Champagne for the Millennium investment scams

2001: Le Prix Champagne Lanson Ivory Award for investdrinks.org

2011: Vindic d'Or MMXI – 'Meilleur blog anti-1855'

2011: Robert M. Parker, Jnr: ‘This blogger...’:

2012: Born Digital Wine Awards: No Pay No Jay – best investigative wine story

2012: International Wine Challenge – Personality of the Year Award




Sunday 8 March 2015

Wye walk in Derbyshire?

Wye Valley, Derbyshire 

Yesterday was a beautiful early March day. Ideal for a walk along part of the Monsal Trail, which uses the old railway line that once ran from London St Pancas to Glasgow St Enoch Station. The Thames-Clyde Express used this route – the third and last to be constructed rail route from London to Scotland.  

One of the tunnels on the trail

Looking down on the River Wye near Cressbrook Mill

Two swans on the Wye expecting to be fed


The Wye Valley and Cressbrook Mill





Small sluice gate for regulating the 
amount of water going to the mill 

Around Cressbrook Mill

WC with a view


Three Stags Head, Wardlow, Derbyshire


After our walk we repaired to the Three Stags Head in Wardlow, Derbyshire where back in December 2011 we had our famous encounter with a white goshawk. Again we were in luck. It was almost as though the keeper of these birds of prey was awaiting our arrival as just as we parked across the road from the pub, he came out of the Three Stags Head and took out a red tailed hawk.

Keeper, pint, red tailed hawk and over-exposed image of 
Geoff Fuller, mine host, with his head permanently and properly 
buried in his copy of The Times

The hawk catching up on today's news




Unfortunately The Three Stags Inn is not doing food at the moment – on our last visit we enjoyed excellent partridge. Pat Fuller explained that they had been unable to get a proper chef and as she was now running the café across the road – making cakes etc. – she hasn't time to do the cooking for the pub. Hopefully they will find a new chef soon. We tried the Brimstone and Deception from the Abbeydale Brewery in Sheffield.  

Then on the barman's recommendation we moved onto the Packhorse Inn at Little Longstone, where the five of us shared a couple of excellent platters.   

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