St Helens

A hot and sunny Thursday and I'm off to St Helens.  I started with a long stroll up to the Turks Head:

Beautiful inside and out as always, and they have got twelve cask ales on.  I tried Rat Brewery's Mutant Rat which sounded interesting - I was drinking their wonderful White Rat in the Big House yesterday - but it wasn't as exciting as I'd hoped, if anything a less hoppy version, albeit stronger at 5%.  Still very tasty so a great start to the day's survey.  As usual I forgot to claim my CAMRA discount, but even without that it was under four quid.

The lounge side was full of groups dining, the bar side less busy.  A steady stream of drinkers and diners was keeping the lone barmaid very busy, with a queue building up at the counter in the lounge side at times.

I was somewhat surprised to see they don't take cash here, a restriction usually reserved for poncy craft bars.  Is this the future?  I guess so.

I noticed behind the counter a lot of the spirits have beer pump clips on the bottles.  Quite a clever idea to utilise the spare space between the label and the optic, instead of sticking them on the ceiling like many real ale pubs do.

Next door is the Cowley Vaults, another provider of quality cask but it isn't open at this time in the afternoon.

Drat!  I'll have to walk all the way up here again next time I'm in St Helens.  Do I recall that the same people run both pubs?

Down to the pub crawl worthy Duke Street, where most of the bars don't open until later but I'm aiming for the Duke:

I entered to an argument between the only two customers and the barmaid, one customer told her the other one was barred, and she then wouldn't serve him until she had checked by phoning her boss.  I was pleased to see the debate remained polite throughout, despite delays in making contact, and one very thirsty customer.  Eventually he was sent away!

Periods of closure (and/or bad planning on my part) mean I haven't been in here since 2004, when it was a standard traditionally decorated two sided boozer called the Duke Of Cambridge.  Here it is:

The Duke has been knocked through and has rather well done modern lively decor, lots of bright colours and arty designs.  Nothing like a proper pub but I have to say it is pleasant and cheerful.

I luxuriated in the comfort of an air conditioned interior, it was nicely cool in here while the Turk's Head had been too hot.  My Carling came with a buy four get one free card, which is branded Mollies, another bar further down the road which I had noted as being closed and for sale.  I suspect I won't be getting a free pint any time soon, not at my current rate of one visit every five years.

Next, a quick look down Westfield Street at the Wheatsheaf which I haven't ticked since 1999.  What are the chances of it being open?

Is that an open door I spy?  Yes, but it's only for the builders to get in.  So I'm hoping the place has a future as a pub and I can drink in there again some time soon.

On to the Nelson, last visited five years and two weeks ago:

This one is doing a roaring trade, with many drinkers and diners filling the place inside and in the beer yard behind.  A steady flow of meals came out while I enjoyed a decent pint of Wainwright.

I checked out the menu, it looks good value with fish, chips and peas under a tenner.  They were certainly selling a lot at three on a Thursday afternoon which I wouldn't have thought of as a peak food time of day.

The decor in most of the room is standard identikit pub, but they do have some historic wood and glasswork partitions in some places.

Once again air conditioning made it comfortably cool inside, does global warming mean this is going to be an important attribute of pubs in the future.  It's certainly very welcome today.

Now back towards the station, and a call in at the Swan:

Something of a classic, this one.  Partly knocked through but retaining separate areas, the rooms oddly shaped to fit with the surrounding roads.  Plus a popular beer yard.

Not packed, but doing a good trade at four on a Thursday with the barmaid kept busy serving umpteen Carlings, and other beers.

I stayed inside with my fizz, the room was filled with cheerful chatter and gentle background music.

The advantage of finishing in a pub near the station is that I can choose my departure time to match the train home.  Do I swig quickly or delay another half an hour?

What actually happened was that I reached the platform to find the previous train was still there due to a signalling problem, but the jobsworth guard wouldn't let me on so I stood with a number of other frustrated passengers and watched the train stand still for five minutes or more before it headed off without me.  People wonder why the railway is losing customers - This is it.
The train I was aiming for, now late because of the previous train, turned up to take me home.

Pub of the day: Turks Head

Beer of the day: Mutant Rat

Miles walked: 2

Maybe coming soon: Picton