We had a slightly slower morning today, making the most of beds that weren't floating on water. The Black Lion Hotel in Manchester had lovely comfy rooms which were very quiet, despite being situated above the pub. After filling up on another full breakfast, we headed out to beg Hyacinth's forgiveness for abandoning her in a random gravel car lot for the night.
With Hyacinth mollified, we set off for a trek south towards the Midlands. Given the history of the area, we stopped in at Middleport Pottery, home of Burleigh patterned ceramics. We had been hoping to find a new bread bin in their factory shop, but left empty handed (though there was much deliberation over whether it would be right to serve oat milk out of a cow shaped milk jug). Sadly, the search for the elusive ceramic, perfectly sized bread bin continues on.
Our first stop of the day was Drop City Books in Hanley, where Alicia reminisced about her childhood in Stoke-on-Trent and Fraser discovered that there's really no stopping Stokies once they start chatting. Fraser took a chance on a mystery book, and afterwards Alicia conducted a walking tour of Hanley (main points included the now-empty units where she spend many a Saturday in spud-u-like and Happy Hippy Shakes).
Bookseller Song Pick - Château Lobby #4 - Father John Misty
Our next destination was the city of Birmingham, where we had been planning to drop into Voce books, however they were closed for a holiday. This was unexpectedly helpful, as the M6 caused many woes and we arrived at our next stop of the Heath Bookshop with not too much time to spare before closing. The Heath was a cosy space with a lovely selection of books and an impressive Kate Bush themed coffee table (that definitely inspired their Playlist choice). They also had some very lovely etched timber bookmarks on offer, which we were immediately sold on.
Bookseller Song Pick - Wuthering Heights - Kate Bush
The owner of the Heath Bookshop also offered us an extra stop, in the form of the nearby Children's bookshop of How Brave is the Wren? As we were one bookshop short of the day, it felt right to pay a visit, and we were not disappointed. A lovely bright space with colourful wall art and a fantastic selection of books for all ages, including many LGBT+ titles. When we asked for a playlist recommendation, the bookseller asked if her daughter could also add one, and of course we happily expanded our song selection.
Bookseller Song Pick - I See A Darkness - Will Oldham
Bonus Bookseller's Daughter Song Pick - Espresso - Sabrina Carpenter
The day was rounded off with a trip to Hereford, where we checked into a country house B&B and Fraser got mistaken for Mark ‘The Beast' Labbett off the Chase whilst visiting the carvery at Bunch of Carrots. We had been eyeing up their impressive dessert menu, but were defeated by the combination of their Hereford Hop Cheese Souffle and well stacked plates of meat and veg. Other highlights from dinner included Alicia befriending the lady on the neighbouring table, who would lean over for a chat whenever her husband left the table, and overhearing a man loudly describe a mix grill he had once had, that seemed quite improbable as it had more meat in it than a Dwayne Johnson cheat day spread.
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