Amazingly, this was the first opportunity for us to have a Scottie Tour this season. It had been sorely missed and we were looking forward to the trip. The train journey itself was a straight forward trip from Luton, into London and back out again to Taplow. The Burnham station and the Taplow station were equidistant from the ground, so we decided to go to Taplow as the first pub recommended by the Good Beer Guide was the Olive Tree was nearer to the station. A met at the Scandinavian Cafe in High Town for breakfast was arranged and the train to London St Pancras was boarded at Luton Railway Station. Waving goodbye to Luton is always a pleasurable experience, but it is often soured in the knowledge that all too soon we shall return. Once in London a brief journey on the underground to Paddington were we boarded the First Great Western service to Reading, bound for Taplow.
The Olive Tree was formerly the Maypole and was refurbished in 2013. On arrival the landlord was preoccupied by the Manchester United match on the TV and really was not on the ball. Whilst we bored him with the usual George Best played for Dunstable routine, he clearly was not concentrating as he gave Kevin change from a £35 pound note. Kev kept quiet and suggested moving on a bit sharpish. As the only real ale they had on was the local Rebellion out of a plastic box, we agreed and made our way towards the ground in Burnham and stumbled across the Brickmakers Arms.
The Brickmakers is approximately 200 years old and has changed many times in its appearance over those years and had recently reopened back in March. Things clearly were not well here. We were the only people around and the landlady spent almost the entire time on the phone. After a couple of pints of London Pride, she apologised and informed us that her daughter was ill in hospital. We have since heard that the Brickmakers has closed.
On entry to the ground it did not start well. NO STUDENT DISCOUNT. Unbelievable. To rub salt in the wound Kev bowled in on a senior citizen rate. He thinks this is a good thing, but being mistaken for 60+ cannot be a good look. Forwards to the match. Pretty non-descript, to say the least. Our away form has been amazing so far this season, so to lose to a team who are struggling at the foot of the table 2-0, was embarrassing. On the up side, the Burnham programme had a voucher for a discount at a fish and chip shop, so we planned our walk back to Burnham station to incorporate a visit.
First stop was The Bee on Dropmore Points, I mean, Road. The Bee is a quiet comfortable corner pub with very friendly staff and a nice selection of ale, with Brakspear’s Bitter and the excellent Oxford Gold on tap. A couple of pints in here with Kevin’s ill-gotten gains, before we moved onto the Red Lion on the high street and a quick Charlie Well’s Bombardier.
The discounted fish and chips were collected on the way to the station and the train journey back to Paddington was eased with the dissection of our performance against Burnham. It was not pretty.
Back in London, and a well-deserved pit stop at the excellent Euston Tap. Occupying the stunning Grade II listed West Lodge in Euston Square, this craft beer house is brought to London by the same team running the well regarded Sheffield Tap. It features 8 changing cask beers, as indicated on a large chalk board, served through unique beer taps on the bar back wall. In addition and above the cask taps are the keg beer taps bringing exotic and unusual brews from around the world.
As you enter the small main room the tiled bar is straight in front of you, with a fine mirror on the back and the whole room has been decorated using a nice line in green tiles and is normally, standing room only. A spiral staircase leads up to another room with seating and the world’s smallest toilet. Directly opposite is its sister lodge, The Cider Tap offering up to 5 traditional ciders served by hand pump or gravity, as well as an impressive array of bottled ciders and some lethal calvados. We find it hard to leave here sober, but we do try hard!
The waltz back to St Pancras, past the impressive hotel is always a pleasant walk and you see all of London life in that few hundred yards, before the bustle of finding a seat for the return leg to Luton and staying awake, so we do not end up in Bedford. The final leg is the scramble for the last bus back to Dunstable, if we have timed it correctly. Another great day out, somewhat spoilt by the football, but this is becoming a worrying trend for a Scottie Tour.
