We headed back up Steep Hill, and you get a good idea of just how steep with this photo. The house is called Norman House and was built between 1170 and 1180!!
This is called the Bishop's Entrance to the Cathedral. As it was closest to the Bishop's Palace just down the hill it was where he saved his legs from traipsing round to the front. How fantastic is that archway.
Down in the ecclesiastical ground was this house that looked to have Arts and Craft design above the ground floor. It looks great too.
It was really windy at the top of the hill and many of the stall holders were having trouble holding on to their awnings and stock too. There were a lot of folk in 40's costume and I liked this copper with the gas mask below the painted club sign.
Through the course of the weekend we made two visits to this pub, The Cardinal's Hat. The cellars of this building have been dated to the 1300's and Roman 'bits' have been found too. There has been a pub here since 15th/16th Century. It was named the Cardinal's Hat after Cardinal Wolsey, Bishop of Lincoln in 1514. It has been a fishmongers and a grocers, but this building, Georgian built about 1750's, as a pub has been called the Swan and Falcon, then the Coventry Arms at the start of the 19th Century. The Grade II listed building was restored in 1952 and became the HQ of the regional St. John's Ambulance until 2013 when it was converted back to a pub with the original name of the Cardinal's Hat.
I Had a pint from the Leatherbritches Brewery that was started in Fenny Bentley in 1993. In 2011 they moved close to Ashby de las Zouch when they moved in with Tap House brewery that had started in 2010. The two beer catalogues were continued until 2015 they were re-branded to all Leather Britches. Apparently the name comes from the beer testers of old who had to judge the level of alcohol in a beer for tax purposes. It is aid this was done by sitting in a puddle of it and seeing how sticky it was when they got up. Leather was the only material that would stand the task so they became a bad of office. Scoundrel, 4.1% is a port, or more like to me a mild. It was a smooth dark beer with a thing head and a touch of chocolate from the chocolate malt and roasted barley. Not too bad but a little bland for me.
I tried a pint from Ossett Brewery that was started in the said town in 1998 behind the Brewer's Pride pub. They own a few iconic pubs in the north, and over the years have also brought into the stable a few other small breweries that still brew their own recipes. In 2004 they had a massive extension built on or very near the same site and now are brewing 200 barrels a week. Last year they opened a brew pub in Saltaire, where there were no pubs for long years.
I tried one of their core beers, Yorkshire Brunette, 3.7%. It is a session bitter that has bags of taste with Mandarina, Bavaria and Celeia hops. It has a lovely bitter colour with a good head and plenty of taste in a low alcohol beer. One that you could definitely drink in a session.
Wilde Child was started about 2017 after a home brewer had decided it is what he wanted to do. He started in his garage and when folk said that his brews were equal and better to a lot tasted in pubs he made a plan and went out to get experience. He set up in Armley, Leeds, very close to the Leeds and Liverpool canal, and forming a triangle of breweries with Kirkstall, and Anthropology.
I'm not sure if it was the lateness of the hour and the amount that had passed my lips previously but I fancied a change, and so went for the Opaque Reality from them. It was a heavy 5.9% and as the name reveals, it was also a cloudy milkshake IPA. The Citra and Galaxy hops certainly give it the fruitiness, but this is further enhanced with real fruit been added to the brew afterwards. To give it a bit of 'mouth' lactose is also added and this gives it the milkshake quality. It was fruity and 'different' and I would certainly try more of their beers. It was no something I would drink regularly, but as with this case, well worth trying out as experiments have to be made to move ahead. Give it a go.
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