The Last Plantagenet - Leicester

Visited 14th May 2011.
 
As we were meandering through the city centre we saw a group of guys setting up some instruments and decided to pause a while and listen. As it turned out we though they were pretty good violinists and we enjoyed their brief performance so much we bought one of their CDs. In case you're wondering they were called Stringfever. A bit more walking and we arrived at 'The Last Plantagenet, easily the most cramped pub of the day. Leicester Tigers fans were very much in evidence and Mrs S. really struggled to find us a table. I don't know how she does it but by the time I had finished paying for a Dissarono and Pepsi (£1.90) and a large glass of Pepsi (£1.85) for myself she had procured us somewhere to sit. I'm still wondering why the soft drink consumer is penalised so much. 

For us the pub of the day had been 'The Corn Exchange', so much so that if I had a top ten of my favourite Wetherspoon pubs it would almost certainly be in it!

We reluctantly wandered back to the car. We had both enjoyed our visit to Leicester and didn't really want to go home so soon. Our first Groupon adventure had been a resounding success.
 
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The Corn Exchange - Leicester

Visited 14th May 2011.
 
The Corn Exchange is not very far from 'The High Cross' but we had a bit of a problem finding it. Google was indicating it was between two roads but we could only spot a covered market. And then we walked into a large square, spotted even more market and while glancing over my shoulder a huge building with a strange footbridge out the front. The Corn Exchange was huge inside and very, very busy. The staff were obviously used to this as we were served very quickly and my large latte was probably one of the best coffees that I've had in a Wetherspoons. Mrs.S was still sticking with the Pepsi. Mrs S. has always had a penchant for large, hanging balls so we sat upstairs where she was able to get a good view of the unusual, and striking interior. The Corn Exchange received a big thumbs up from the both of us and it would have been very easy to sit relaxing for the rest of the day, well for me anyway, but there was a large market outside which Mrs S. had not yet had a chance to explore.
 
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The High Cross - Leicester

Visited 14th May 2011.
 
Sadly we only had one night booked in the hotel so today finds us making the trip home. Never mind, at least we have a perfect excuse to stop off in Leicester and take a look around, maybe even do a little shopping... We managed to stick the car in a multi-story in the city centre and set about testing Google maps walking route finder. After one or two slight hiccups (operator error) we eventually found ourselves at 'The High Cross'. Mrs S. was by now quite looking forwards to her latte, while I had a taste of 'Lady Godiva', which I didn't much like, so settled for a pint of Ruddles. A decent, 'woody' pub with more customers than you might expect at that time of the morning. Having rested up we set off in search for the next 'spoons on our list.

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The Moon & Bell - Loughborough

Visited 13th May 2011.
 
Just a few hundred yards away was our last watering hole of the day. The Moon & Bell was much busier and it took us a while to find somewhere to sit. When we finally did we had no table so sat clutching our drinks watching and waiting for a table to free up. We went from one extreme to another as suddenly a large table was made available when a group of about ten left. This pub had Buffalo, so I did too. Mrs S. once again opted for a Pepsi. This 'spoons had a very rural feel to it despite being located in the middle of town. We drank up and left, stopping briefly at a MaccyD (we felt just a little peckish). As we walked back to the car we passed 'The Amber Rooms' again which were by now a little busier.
All in all it had been a good day and we were now keen to get back to the hotel and get some rest, eager to see what tomorrow and Leicester would bring.
© John Sinner. None of the material contained in this post, or this blog as a whole, may be reproduced without the express and written permission of John Sinner. All rights reserved.

The Amber Rooms - Loughborough

Visited 13th May 2011.
 
Our hotel turned out to be very nice. We checked in, found our bottle of free wine, went for a swim and sauna, drank the coffee and ate the biscuits. Time to hit the streets again. We took a short drive into town and parked up in a Sainsbury's car park. Then, as it was just starting to rain, we popped into the handy store and bought an umbrella, which we then didn't use as it had stopped by the time we got out of the store.
A short walk later and we were at 'The Amber Rooms'. Mrs S. had entertained a small group of guys on route due to a minor wardrobe malfunction, they were treated to a long leg show as she removed her holdups, which weren't holding up at all! The Amber Rooms turned out to be an interesting pub but a lot quieter than we would have expected for a Friday night. Mrs S. had a Pepsi. I asked for a double Buffalo but was told that Wetherspoons no longer stocked it. "What, none of them", I asked. "None of them", I was told. I ended up having a double Maker's Mark and Pepsi. Whilst we normally like the more traditional style of pub there was something about this one that we really liked, it made a nice change from the usual 'spoons style.
 
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The Monkey Walk - Coalville

Visited 13th May 2011.
 
Mrs S. was starting to get a little jittery, we had, by now visited two pubs in two different towns and had not yet stopped to do any shopping. She felt it was time to remedy that. We stopped in Coalville and took in the sights... She did a little shopping and then as is her way, led me to the local 'spoons. It felt like we were entering an old bank and after reading some of the photos on the walls we realised we were in an old Lloyds bank building. Once again she managed to procure us seats on a sofa where we sat and rested our aching feet, we must have walked a good three quarters of a mile from the car park, around the shops and to the pub. Whilst discussing how unfit we were we sat and ate some pancakes with maple syrup and ice-cream (more syrup next time please). An interesting shape to the pub and friendly people. One chap at the bar even commented on how nice he thought my shirt was - I leave it to you to decide if he was correct. A couple of coffees later and we were walking back to the car, somehow we managed to find a short cut, which was just as well as it had now started to rain (the curse of the 'nice' summer shirt). Next stop, the hotel... What would we find?
 
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The Lord Keeper of the Great Seal - Oadby

Visited 13th May 2011.
 
We thought we had arrived at a seaside fish and chip shop. At least that was our first impression of 'The Lord Keeper of the Great Seal' and what a great name for a pub. It was quite busy but there were very few women enjoying the ambiance. Mrs S went for her new, favourite drink, a Disaronno and Pepsi with a Pepsi for me. Mrs S. also managed to find a nice comfy sofa for us to sit on, where we ended up spending far to long!.
 
 
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The William Wygston - Wigston

Visited 13th May 2011.
 
Somebody recently told me about a website called Groupon. After following the site for a few days a deal appeared promoting a hotel in Loughborough. I think it was within a couple of days of signing up for the deal that somebody else took delight in telling me that Groupon had just made an appearance on Watchdog. Hmm, what could go wrong?. As it turned out the hotel was unable to accommodate us on the first date we wanted but had no problem housing us for our second choice of date. Eventually the "big" day arrived and we set off hoping to arrive at our first stop of the day in time for breakfast. As it turned out we made it with a few minutes to spare and were soon seated and tucking into a traditional breakfast, toast and coffee. A "full English",always the best way to start the day. The pub was fairly dark inside and had the usual bookshelves near the entrance. It was also very busy. As a little bonus there is a parade of shops opposite and behind the shops a car park that gives you a few hours free. We finished "breakfast" and after a quick look around the town we were back on the road heading towards Oadby.
 
 
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