Brighton Breezy

Tuesday's planned research outing was postponed due to incessant rain, so it was not until Thursday that I took a train under the river to a windy New Brighton, where there are a couple of pubs I've never visited, and quite a few overdue for a revisit.  Little did I know...

My first target, the never visited Corner was closed with the windows boarded up, not a good start:

I headed on.  The Railway has closed:

Next, the Stag appeared operational but wasn't open:

My other never visited objective, the Bow-Legged Beagle, had the shutters down.  Four failures, we're building to a disaster now, am I condemned to die of thirst?

At last, an open pub:

Inside the Perch Rock the small front room was quite full of customers, but there was still space for me to have a table to sit at.

I relaxed and cheered up with an excellent pint of Landlord and I penned the above tale of woe.  The background music was at just the right level, and was occasionally drowned out by the chatter of the regulars.  The decor is pleasant in here, and well looked after.  Not for the first time, I forgot to have a look at the back rooms which I haven't examined since 1999.

I strolled down to photograph the former Redcaps which has been closed for some years:

... and then doubled back to the Ship Hotel which I was relieved to see was open:

I entered a pleasant enough plain front bar with one or two customers, the rest of the place was empty.  The barman poured me a Guinness while on the phone organising a repair to one of the fonts.

I settled down to enjoy my drink, and observed the place was basically dead at half past two on a Thursday.  No wonder all those other ones weren't open!  There were more TV channels on display than there were customers to watch them!

They've got those retro light bulbs hanging from the ceiling, I'm not sure why but I always think they look daft, with their spiral or zig-zag filaments.  Goodness knows how much it costs if a bulb blows - Mind you, they are very under-run here so should have a long life.  (Actually, a quick Google showed they're not as expensive as I imagined.)

By the time I had finished my pint I was the only customer, so I left the friendly barman on his own.

What to do next, I wondered?  The Harbour is open, the Clarence isn't even supposed to open until 4pm so goodness knows if I'll get in there.  Other than those, it's a choice between a long walk or pubs I ticked last year.

I headed towards the Harbour but wait!  Something's changed.  The shutters are up on the Bow-legged Beagle and - Yes!! - It's open:

I entered to find a tiny room, very nicely decorated with lots of rough timber.  From the four handpumps I selected an Elderflower Wheat from local brewery Brimstage.  Only one other customer was in when I arrived.

I soon got talking to the barman/owner, clearly a real ale fan who takes his products seriously.  (And it shows, my ale was gorgeous.)  He gave me some info about other pubs in the area and elsewhere and we chatted about breweries and beers until a couple of friendly regulars came in.

As it was now after four I moved on to the Clarence, not visited since 2006:

It was open but deserted, and after a couple of pulls into the bucket I got a spot on pint of something pale.  The pleasant decor, fake beams and all, is basically unchanged since I was last here - Although obviously well maintained.

Judging by the signage the Sunday roasts I noted back in '06 are still an important part of the operation.  I checked out the menu and I must say it looks good value with lots of mains for £8.

So, after a flaky start I ended the day with a score of one excellent new pub and three pints of quality real ale, not bad at all.

I'll be back before long, to do the cluster of pubs just outside New Brighton: The Magazine, the Pilot Boat, the Sandridge and the Telegraph.  If any of them are open.