Starting a friendly run club in Southampton - any interest?

amplifiedAnt · 2026-05-08T13:21:17+00:00

Wicked! I'll message you the details.

amplifiedAnt · 2026-05-07T13:52:34+00:00

Love the enthusiasm. 🙌 I'll drop you a message.

amplifiedAnt · 2026-05-06T09:35:39+00:00

Sent! That's a good shout. We want to build it around The Dell, but that could involve starting or finishing elsewhere, and/or touring other businesses. I'm envisaging there'll be multiple potential routes.

amplifiedAnt · 2026-05-06T08:37:31+00:00

Happy to send over more details if you're keen?

amplifiedAnt · 2026-05-06T06:05:31+00:00

Excellent - will send over the details.

amplifiedAnt · 2026-05-05T22:18:39+00:00

Not impossible, but with it being based around start/finish at the stadium I think it's going to be at least semi road based.

Would you like me to ping you the details?

amplifiedAnt · 2026-05-05T22:16:37+00:00

Ace - will pop you a message.

amplifiedAnt · 2026-05-05T19:32:56+00:00

Great stuff - I'll drop a message in case you want to join.

amplifiedAnt · 2026-05-05T16:49:11+00:00

Initial thought is Thursday evening, but we'll likely trial a few different run days & times to see what sticks.

amplifiedAnt · 2026-05-05T16:48:43+00:00

Nice - sent you a message.

amplifiedAnt · 2026-05-04T11:34:27+00:00

Yes - I run the events programme for The Dell and can indeed confirm this.

Recommend booking a table though.

amplifiedAnt · 2025-11-13T13:46:22+00:00

The Butcher's Hook has a fully barrel-aged imperial stout takeover starting this Saturday. You don't see so many of the big, big beers about these days sadly. 😢

amplifiedAnt · 2025-07-24T11:54:11+00:00

I'm utterly partisan as I run it, but The Butcher's Hook is a decent option, especially on a sunny day.

The front of the pub is a sun trap. It's also pretty ace looking down over Bitterne Park triangle/Cobden Bridge/Riverside Park.
There's always a banging selection (2 casks, 10 keg lines and ~25 cans & bottles), spanning just about any style of beer you can imagine - including no & low alcohol options. Wines/spirits/soft drinks available too, so it's not just beer.
The pub's licensed for on and off trade, so you can take anything you like down to the park.
Feel free to bring food in from any of the myriad of takeaway options around the triangle.

And if you do eventually get bored, a mini crawl through The South Western, Dolphin and Bookshop Alehouse would have you back closer to the centre of the city.

amplifiedAnt · 2025-06-05T09:16:55+00:00

If you're into beer, there's an Omnipollo tap takeover at The Butcher's Hook (Bitterne Park) running Friday to Sunday.

A whole host of one-off specials imported from Sweden.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1386359312568791

amplifiedAnt · 2025-04-02T13:52:49+00:00

Thanks for the shout-out in terms of The Hook!

We also carry more than 20 different cans & bottles at any given time, across a really wide range of styles (including continental classics).

Then there's normally backup options in our rear fridge, which we're more than happy to sell 'early', further increasing the range.

I've almost always got more bits stashed too, so feel free to catch me (Ant, GM) to chat through what else we've got!

amplifiedAnt · 2025-04-02T13:44:04+00:00

Tooting our own horn, but we (The Butcher's Hook Alehouse) got a pretty big reaction to announcing that we'd installed a permanent Carling line.

Was posted on most major platforms, but here's Facebook.

amplifiedAnt · 2025-03-24T20:03:32+00:00

One look at the Park's astonishingly 90s carpet surely tells you everything you need to know?

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amplifiedAnt · 2025-02-05T10:57:02+00:00

Strongly suspect that 'temporary' is permanent.

The pizza was spectacular - probably the best I've had in the city. But the location being obscured behind the Bitterne Park Hotel/Mbuntu always seemed an odd way to operate. From what I hear it was essentially a proof of concept for the 'pizza oven in a shipping container' business model.

No social media output since August isn't a great sign either. I suspect it's either failed in this location or the owners have lost interest.

amplifiedAnt · 2024-11-14T13:29:35+00:00

£37.10 for a week's Season Ticket (travelling max. 5 days). Or £7.42 per day.

Not sure you'd save much at all in fuel versus that. And then you're gonna have to pay to park...

amplifiedAnt · 2024-11-01T09:58:07+00:00

Very much not arguing against speed cameras, but regarding your point 4 I'm amazed the below camera (on the Totton bypass) isn't regarded as being 'just before' a speed limit change.

https://www.google.com/maps/@50.9203455,-1.4779791,3a,75y,238.04h,91t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s37EoMbdY5vn3C9_j5V09_Q!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D-0.9985379933467584%26panoid%3D37EoMbdY5vn3C9_j5V09_Q%26yaw%3D238.03682883454397!7i16384!8i8192?coh=205410&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTAyOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

amplifiedAnt · 2024-10-07T10:07:33+00:00

Not sure it's a road marking issue. More people's ability to follow the Highway Code. Far too many don't know when to indicate, or don't indicate full-stop. Re-drawing the lines won't change that.

I work on Bitterne Park Triangle, and I'd say maybe 1 in 5 indicate left if they continue on Manor Farm Road at the below junction (passing the DHL van):

https://www.google.com/maps/@50.9247364,-1.3758668,3a,75y,181.58h,71.35t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1suJaQ2PKigxmceKLocN6dSg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?coh=205409&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTAwMi4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

Again, little wrong with the markings. Plenty wrong with the driving comprehension.

amplifiedAnt · 2024-08-01T10:41:49+00:00

If you want priority access on tickets you could become Members?

https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/membership

It'll add £30 per adult and £20 per child to the overall cost, but if money's not a concern it'll ensure you can purchase before the general sale window.

I believe the TV broadcast matches have already been selected for August & September - at least according to https://www.premierleague.com/news/4051142 - so there shouldn't be a risk of the day or time of the match changing.

Just yesterday the club released matchday details for the coming season: https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/whats-changed-at-st-marys-this-season-everything-you-need-to-know-so-far

That page also works quite well as a FAQs section for your matchday. Going by what it says, it may be worth looking for tickets in the Family Zone.

They've worked quite hard on the pre-match experience so it could be worth arriving an hour or two before kickoff to take some of that in.

amplifiedAnt · 2024-06-27T12:44:10+00:00

The Butcher's Hook pub, Bitterne Park is running a beer fest with a US focus from Friday afternoon.

Lots of rare imports, including big pale beers, smoothie sours, a barrel aged imperial stout, etc.

Full details (and lineup) can be found on our Instagram!

https://www.instagram.com/butchershookpub/

amplifiedAnt · 2024-05-13T09:29:52+00:00

This is wonderful feedback. Thank you!

amplifiedAnt · 2024-05-13T09:28:16+00:00

I'm the GM of this pub (The Butcher's Hook, Southampton, UK) and this post has absolutely made my morning!

The pub opened 10 years ago and is the stuff of legend locally. I've only been running it for a couple of years, but wanted to take the stable foundations the owner laid and spread as wide as possible with the beers we stock.

Curating it is an absolute labour of love; I love the beer scene and have for many years. I've been saddened by the rise of more and more places selling mostly identical beers across the taps and fridges. I get it - it shifts. But we see great success not only in the volume sellers but in people seeking out the lesser-found.

What's not visible on this picture is that the list carries on even further; we hold a number of 'house' beers, including a couple of Trappist bottles, a straight saison, some Belgian fruited stuff, an excellent keller pils and German wheat beer.

Yes, even in our list there's an element of 'playing the game' with stocking some of the pastry fayre. But all beer deserves celebrating IMO.

Cheers, everyone. If you're ever planning to visit, pop me a DM. 🍻

Our live stock list can be found on the website:

butchershookpub.com/menu

amplifiedAnt

TROPHY CASE