Two for the price of one - almost

Quite a good day today. The air conditioning got fixed at work, and I got praise from fairly big boss and from big boss :)

Yesterday I said I'd spend this evening at either the Goose and Cuckoo or The Newbridge. Well, I went to the Goose and Cuckoo and it was shut, so I'm now at The Newbridge!

The Goose and Cuckoo sounded attractive because it gets a good write-up on the CAMRA web site, and its own web site lists awards, and its in the countryside so ideal for a summer's evening. All of those things are doubtless true, but it's also true to tell that it doesn't open until 7pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I got there at 6:15pm. 45 minutes was too long to wait. There was no mobile phone reception, so couldn't even make productive use of waiting.

I'll revisit on another day though. It looks nice and it's got gorgeous views. I've included two photos: the front - with closed sign on the gate - and the back - with views to distant hills. Click to enlarge. The phone's camera takes decent pictures, I think.

So I drove south west towards Chris Evans' Welsh investment in the village of Tredunnock on the river Usk.

But before I got there I saw the sweetest little ponies and foal in a field along the roadside. I had to stop and take some piccies for the horse-lover in the family - plus for my own benefit too.

The foal was laying down and completely motionless. I'll confess that it did cross my mind that it might be dead. However, to my relief, it briefly flicked a leg, lifted its neck and had a look around, and then flopped its head back down again and went back to sleep. Must be a tough life it's living! The mother stood over it in a motherly fashion throughout.

I presume they're Shetlands. They're the right height, but less plump than I associate with Shetlands.

Anyway, there was a white one on its own and it quietly wandered over to see what I was doing. It was surprisingly timid, so it didn't get close enough for me to touch.

I was parked in a dodgy place on a main road so I decided to move on and finish my journey.

The Newbridge Inn is in a beautiful location. On a bend on the river Usk with a beautiful old stone bridge and with views over surrounding countryside and hills. The location alone must be worth hundreds of thousands!

And Chris (I assume that we'd be on first name terms if I ever met him) must have spent several more hundreds of thousands on doing-up the place and building a separate block for accommodation. It's a very impressive place upon arrival.

But, and you knew I was leading to a but, I wasn't 100% convinced of the quality of the cooking and the value on my previous visit. Today's visit has confirmed that it's over-priced for the quality of cooking that it offers - despite the location and view.

I had pilchards wrapped in parma ham, followed by welsh lamb with gnocci, then cheese board. It's not very often that I describe a restaurant is poor value, but £9.50 for a cheeseboard with three measly bits of cheese on it is too much, even though it also had millions of crackers plus celery, chutney and grapes. The choice of cheeses was more than 50% French; my lamb was not pink; and the wi-fi is too weak and I have resorted to using my mobile phone for an internet connection (good signal sat by the window).

Alright, I'll stop grumbling, but I don't see me re-visiting. Sadly, not recommended. C'mon Chris, you can do better.

Good luck in the Chinbrook tomorrow J. I hope Mum's pasta stuff-up does the trick ;