Around St Helens

Avoiding the city centre on Grand National day I headed away, to St Helens for a long walk.  I marched eastwards in the blustery wind to a long standing target never visited before.  Would it be open this time?  The Church Inn:

Yes, it is.  Inside the old building I found a pleasant pub knocked through but retaining separation between the areas.  It was nicely decorated, and clean and tidy inside.

I noticed a number of signs in the windows and doors call this "The Tav".

Football and racing commentary mixed, and one or two of the handful of customers were watching the racing.  I sat on a comfy sofa to enjoy my Carling (In the correct Carling glass) trying to ignore the footie.

On the way back to St Helens I have to walk past the Queens Arms so it would be rude to skip it:

A proper two sided boozer this, very popular at two on a Saturday, I sat at the last free table in the bar side.

I couldn't see any Carling so I had Fosters, as it was poured I spotted the Carling tap which was right in front of me!

Now this is a true classic pub, the racing commentary completely drowned by animated chatter from the regulars.  A steady stream of bets went to the nearby bookies.  Aintree was on the telly, of course.

I've already walked three miles, how much more can I do in the strong winds and intermittent rain?  The required ticks are almost all miles away on the other side of the town...  What a wimp, let's go for it.

I headed across the town centre and westwards.  Not the prime target out this way but let's give that one time to open and call in first to Perry's Bar:

Previously ticked in 2018, this is a plain pleasant shop conversion filled with with a decent quantity of regulars.  Rugby on the telly here, this is a rugby town after all.

I particularly like the tiled floor in here, that's what I want for my kitchen, I think.

At the front of the room is a small stage so I imagine the atmosphere will be rather different later, much noisier and more lively with live music or karaoke perhaps.  A place that can be a quiet boozers location in the afternoon and a lively place later on is to be admired, I think.

An addition to my list of amusing signs, I rather like "Give your brain the night off!  Ice cold beer"

Next, a very desirable tick last visited in '04 when it was a large pub called the Orange House.  I'm struggling to remember exactly what that was like all those years ago.  Streetview tells me that a part of the imposing building is now Cinema Bar:

To be honest I've no idea how this relates to the large interior of the Orange House, but what I found today behind the small entrance was a well done bar, very impressively decorated.

One part of the room was reserved for a private party, and their buffet looked very good, but no problem for walk-ins to use the rest of the space.

I moved a little up market and had Erdinger here - It came in the proper glass of course.  No Carling on offer, the only "ordinary" beer I could see was Guinness.

Next, according to my database there is one new tick right in the middle of town, so, since it's on the way home let's have a go at Imperial Quarter.  I wasn't unduly surprised to find that it was shut, as it was last time I tried, clearly the Google opening hours are rubbish.  So, on towards the station but I must visit the refurbished Royal Alfred:

Only one handpump in the new place which I must say looks pretty much the same as it always did, although very well done out. Anyway, my pint of Landlord was spot on.

This one was packed; initially I had to stand at the end of the counter until a table nearby was vacated and I managed to grab it.  The whole pub was full of cheerful groups of drinkers, the majority of whom were ignoring the racing on the telly.  The menu on my table looked good, especially the all day breakfast.

The Grand National is over, I must say I was rather amused to note that the BBC web site says it is run at 16:00 GMT.  They need to learn about summer time.

A good day out, one brand new tick and one from 2004, and five in total, that'll do.

Pub of the day: Cinema Bar
Beer of the day: Landlord
Miles walked: 4.3
Maybe coming soon: Crank

Hoylake

I wasn't intending to do a survey this week but I was reading Retired Martin's excellent blog this morning and he had a link to the National Bass Directory web site which includes a list of pubs serving Bass.  I was startled to find there a pub in Hoylake which I'd never even heard of. Time for a trip to Wirral.

And so, in to Twelve Sixty:

This pleasant shop conversion is a very well done spacious bar.  Research on streetview reveals that this has been a number of different shops and before that was in my database as Tides, noted closed by 2017 and never visited.  I presume it is connected to the (also excellent) place with the same name in Liscard.

Six handpumps on the counter, no Bass on this occasion so I had something pale and good, Hen Harrier from Bowland.  It came in a Bass conic.

No one in except me and the barman, which is a shame at two on a sunny Thursday.  Just as I was finishing some more customers arrived.

Now I'm here, a few places not visited since 2021, starting with Black Toad:

This place always seems a bit ramshackle and chaotic inside to me, but no less pleasant or comfortable for that.

My Higsons Oatmeal Stout was superb, it has a hint of coffee in the taste I think.  I had some Honey Porter from Conway - oops, that should be Conwy - yesterday in the Huyton Wetherspoon, also very good but more honey flavour would have improved it.

Ticking over gently, most of the other customers were regulars who spent more time chatting with the barman than drinking.  That's not a criticism, it is a sign of a great pub.  Strangers also came in for a drink.

Where next?  How about the wonderful Plasterers Arms?  Hang on though, what's this?  Right next to the Wetherspoon which I was intending to visit later on, I see Bank Cafe and Bar:

Bonus!!  Another new one for me, definitely more of a cafe type of place, but offering a number of keg brews.  I had Bank Lager which was rather good. And only £2.95.

Presumably a former bank, it has a rather good interior with wood panelling.  If it was a bank it was a very small branch!

Quite a few customers in here, all except me were on coffee I think. The staff (two of them) were poised for a booking at three, a big table had a 60 balloon flying above it.

Now what?  There are three ticks from 2021 around here, but I won't do them all today, so maybe I should save the Plasterers for a future jolly boys outing and just finish with the Ship?  Or the spoons?

But wait!  There used to be a Belgian bar here.  I ticked it in 2021 and I had promised myself a whole day visit trying various Belgian brews but I never got around to it before the place closed.  But now it's called Mr Smith's Parlour:

The physical layout looks the same as I remember from the Trappist House, but the decor is different, and very well done.  There is a limit to what you can do with a shop unit but this one is really attractive.

Four keg taps on the counter, all offering Titanic brews.  I tried the Mr Smith's Pilsner which was very good.

Sadly, I was the only customer at half three, I hope they get more later.  There seemed to be at least three staff, I don't think my pint would cover their wages .

There is a rule that you should always leave them wanting more, so you can come back.  So I think I'll head home now and leave a few ticks for next time.  On the other hand, the local trains seem to be disrupted so perhaps another pint is called for.  Let's visit the 'spoons:

Nothing new for me to record in here, of course.  They had a number of Peerless brews on tap including Ten Gallon Hat which I'd never seen before - It was gorgeous, pale and fruity.  If I had to say something negative about Peerless it would be that they keep coming up with new beers which are all pale and fruity.  And wonderful, so not really a criticism!  Of course, they also produce the fantastic Oatmeal Stout, so it's not like all their beers are the same.

A conversation in a pub yesterday touched on breweries where I always assume I'll like the beer, such as Peerless, and breweries where I assume I won't.  Warrington's Coach House is an example of the latter, I'm probably being unfair but, offered two ales I will always choose the one that isn't theirs.

So, time for a train home, the disruption is over and all is normal on the ride back to Liverpool.  More new (to me) ones today, I keep finding them!

Pub of the day: Twelve Sixty
Beer of the day: Higson's Oatmeal Stout
Miles walked: 1
Maybe coming soon: No idea.

New In Town

I was watching the Great British Pub Crawl on YouTube yesterday and he was visiting Liverpool.  It was somewhat galling to see him do three or four pubs I've never been in.  So, despite my medical difficulties (Have I mentioned my dodgy back?) I headed into town to correct the omissions.  I started at the Queens Arms:

This one only opened eight days ago so I can be excused for not having ticked it yet, especially as I was in Scotland for five of those days.  And, wow, they've done it again!  Another wonderful job by 1936 Pubco.  The main double height room is beautifully done in standard 1936 style, although they seem to have spared the sledgehammer here.  I don't know how much is original but it looks great.  There is a wood panelled side area plus a couple of small rooms off, and then more seating on the balcony.

I look forward to seeing what they do to Molly Malones, as far as I know it isn't open yet, but then I didn't know this one was until I saw it on YouTube.

Favourite White Rat (With CAMRA discount) was a little hazy but tasted fine, and it came in a White Rat conic.  We never get the official glass in the Big House!  As I drank it someone else ordered one and it ran out, so I think mine was the last pint out of the barrel.  A few minutes later the clip was turned forward again as a new cask was fired up.

At one on a Saturday the place was doing a good trade but there was plenty of seating available.

Now a stroll to the other side of the city centre, to McNasty's:

This new pub has been open for a month or more but it is very hard to go in with the wonderful St Peters Tavern over the road.  I resisted the temptation this time and found a very well done Irish bar with lots of dark wood panelling.  Do I detect the influence of 1936 again?  A stag's head and a boar's head are displayed on the bar back.  1936 or not, it's a great space.

No cask ale, I had Guinness of course.

Only four other customers when I came in, the place was pretty empty.  A few more arrived as I drank.

I keep seeing Liverpool fans, but they're not playing today, what's that about?

Nearby is the Boston Pool Loft.  Does it count as a bar, I wonder?  Let's see:

A rather fine enormous upstairs area of an old warehouse, bare brick walls very well done out with umpteen neon signs and the like.  Full, of course, of pool tables but there's a significant drinkers area by the counter, with tables and seats, so definitely in the guide.  Having said that, everyone else was here to play, I was the only one who remained in the bar area to sink my Carling.  The leather sofa looked tempting but with my back (Have I told you about ...) I wasn't sure I could get up from it!

There were plenty of people in here, although not every pool table was occupied, so plenty of room for more.  I don't know how playing works, presumably you have to pay to play? Ah, yes, I saw some people come in and go to a counter at the end of the bar to pay for their games.

As I looked around I realised some were playing table tennis.

On the big telly Everton lost the (woman's) derby 2-3.

Where next?  Black Cat's city centre outlet has never been ticked, so how about that one:

Four handpumps and one of them offers Bass.  I may have mentioned before the unwritten rule of pub researching:  If they've got Bass you have to choose it.  So I did.

A contemporary bar on two floors, this, fairly empty at three I'm afraid, hopefully it does well later.  My Bass was spot on but I was almost sorry not to try the Thornbridge brew they had on as well.

Visiting here, and the YouTube video, reminded me I haven't done the Black Cat on Rose Lane since they took over the former Pi/Haul.  In my database it is not yet due for a visit because I don't consider name nor ownership changes.

Four pints, four new pubs, time for home even though it's only three o'clock.  I'm playing trains next Saturday so maybe no survey.

Pub of the day: Queens Arms
Beer of the day: Bass
Miles walked: 2.0
Maybe coming soon: Undecided

New Ones In The Sunshine

On another beautifully sunny, if somewhat chilly, day I headed out to Ainsdale where there are some cafe/bar type places I need to visit.  I started with two almost next door to each other, first the Tipsy Toucan:

A small shop conversion, pleasant inside but perhaps a little too green.  I'm not sure how much of that was for the upcoming St Patrick's Day.

Unfortunately the cooler was broken, so no draft beer at the moment.  On the spur of the moment I had a bottle of Desperado, I'd forgotten how sweet and tasty this beer is.  I first met it in Arizona back in 2001.  Does it still have Tequila in it?

Not much custom at one on a Saturday afternoon, I hope they do better later.  No draft Guinness is not good for this week, although they said it was fixed and was cooling down so should be OK later.

More customers came in and were advised of the lack of draft by the cheerful bar staff.  All seemed happy with bottles instead.

Next door is the Harbour Bar:

Another very nicely done shop conversion, this one has been here since at least 2016.  No problem with the chiller so I had a pint of Theakston Pale, which I must say was a lot less flavoursome than my Desperado.  It came in a Theakston branded goblet.

This place felt slightly busier than next door, and quite a few people were sitting outside.  I'm not that keen on drinking al fresco in general, but in ten degrees I can't understand the attraction, even with the sunshine.  Of course, some of them were smokers. I stayed in the warm in a very comfortable armchair.

On my way from the station I had spotted another possible target not previously recorded in my database, so let's try Dukes:

Well, this is something of a contrast to the previous two.  Also a shop conversion, I assume, but this one has been a bar longer than Streetview goes back.  It is larger, more aimed at food, and remarkably busy.  Nonetheless they were happy to serve me a pint of Brooklyn Stonewall, and immediate payment also ticks a "does it count as a bar" box.

The waitresses/barmaids were kept extremely busy, and I was only about a quarter down my pint when the last free table was occupied.  Not sure what their secret is but this place is doing really well.

Most of the outside sitters were just drinking, perhaps I was supposed to go out in the cold as well?

Well, I think three brand new ticks has exhausted the opportunities available to me in Ainsdale, so it's time to move on to Southport.  Very close to the station is the brand new (opened ten days ago) Bugle Tap.

Annoyingly, I forgot to take a picture.  Sorry.

Gosh!  A small shop conversion, every table occupied but I need the tick so let's go in.  Oh yes, four handpumps and the coffee vanilla stout I had was wonderful. I forget which brewery, the pump clip design was of a compact cassette.  I'll try and look it up when I get home...  Whitworth Valley Brewing, from Rochdale.

After a few minutes standing at a table (Actually a barrel) one with seats became available so I moved.  Still a barrel but at least I had a stool to take my (not inconsiderable) weight.

A really popular bar, this, I wonder what they do that makes them so much better than all the others.   Or perhaps the nearby cask places (e.g. Tap and Bottles) are also packed?  I hope so.

This really seems to be a successful operation, filled with cheerful drinkers, a proper 2020s boozer.  Pub of the day, I think.

Time to go home?  Or maybe the Baron's Bar in the Scarisbrick Hotel is overdue a visit - If it has bothered to open?  And the answer is no.

So I had a quick wander past there to check out the other places nearby.  Bar 13 shut, Chop House shut, but I can hear some noise.  Some noise?  A lot of noise!  Jungle:

Jungle is lively, I would almost say frantic.  Not my sort of place really, but one has to admire a busy place full of happy inebriated people having fun at four on a Saturday afternoon in March.  Everyone in here is young enough to be my children or grand children, or so I thought initially until I spotted some people of my own age.  The DJ/MC was doing an excellent job keeping everyone active and entertained, with dancing competitions and the like.

A well decorated space on split levels, with a generous provision of ivy and the like giving it a very pleasant green ambience.

I'm too old for this!  I have to admit I'm at a loss to categorise this place, I don't think I've ever met one quite like it.  It feels like a night club but it is only four o'clock.  My honest reaction is that it's brilliant, why wait until eleven for this sort of atmosphere?!

What a tremendous result for a survey, five brand new ticks taking my total to 1,606.

Pub of the day: Bugle Tap
Beer of the day: Coffee Vanilla Stout
Miles walked: 1.3
Maybe coming soon: Undecided. 

2026 Book

 The Merseyside Pub Guide 2026 is now on sale.

The sixteenth edition of my book lists 2,104 pubs of which I have visited 1,601, and it is updated to 9th March.

You can order a copy direct from the printers by clicking here, or it should soon be available from Amazon and other popular distributors.

Stadia And A Milestone

Not a proper research trip today, in fact I wasn't planning on going out at all.  But, checking my stats yesterday I noticed I've done 1,599 Merseyside pubs in total.  As the new edition of the book will be ready soon I decided I needed at least one more tick before I publish.

So, on a warm sunny Thursday afternoon I headed to Bramley Moore Dock for a visit to Everton's new stadium.

I had to have my bag searched to get in the building (I think this is the only pub where that has happened.) and then it was up an escalator and I was in the Trinity Place Bar, tick number 1,600.

What a massive space, almost totally deserted at one o'clock.  Once the tour group had departed there were only about ten customers in this enormous space.

I ordered a pint of Camden Pale which cost £6.95.

I assume this place will be buzzing on a match day, but now it's rather soul-less.  There aren't even any external windows, I had rather hoped for a view of the pitch.  As I left I found there were a few doorways into the stand through which I could see the pitch.  Thinking about it, the big windows overlooking the pitch that I had imagined would of course be impossible because there are seats in the way.

Goodness knows how many staff it takes to run this operation.  There seemed to be a number of security people roaming around, plus a barmaid and presumably someone in the kitchen in case a pizza is ordered.  On the other hand, when the tour finishes there will probably be forty customers drinking and eating.

Now what?  Well, there is another never visited bar not that far away, although the two and a half mile walk did feel a bit gruelling.  (I spent part of this morning climbing up and down a ladder - My satellite telly is fixed but it can't be good for my ankles!)

Eventually I reached the other football ground where I quickly headed for the Kop Bar:

Just like the Trinity Place, this is the one bar open in the stadium on non match days, but unlike at Everton there was no security palaver.

Much smaller than the Everton one and with lots more people in, but not so full that I couldn't find a table.  I noticed, and ignored, the sign saying tables are for dining guests only - It wasn't so busy that diners would have to stand.

Certainly lots more people than at Everton, and many of my fellow customers seemed to be foreign tourists.  I suppose that's down to the difference between the clubs' fanbases.

What should I do now?  My dodgy ankle (Have I told you about my dodgy ankle?) was feeling a bit painful, so maybe it's time for an Uber.  Otherwise it's a mile to the bus home.  The weather has changed to very grey overcast, if it starts to rain that'll make my decision for me!  In fact I caught a bus immediately outside the stadium, so Uber lost out this time.

No survey on Saturday as I will be at the Wigan Beer Festival.  And tomorrow I'm visiting Manchester which will hopefully involve a mini pub crawl.  No wonder I'm below my ticking target!

Pub of the day: Kop Bar
Beer of the day: Shipyard
Miles walked: 2.8
Maybe coming soon: Undecided

Bright New Brighton

I left home in drizzle but by the time my second train emerged from the tunnel in Birkenhead I was startled to see bright sunshine and blue sky.

I began a survey of New Brighton in the Seahorse:

This Hungry Horse place was very busy at one o'clock, in fact the guardian of the entrance was dubious about letting me in, but there was one free table in the bar area so she relented.  The two barmaids were busy with complex orders but eventually I was able to purchase a Carling.  Luckily that last table remained free.

I seem to recall mediocre real ale in here many years ago, today there were no clips on the two handpumps.

I wonder what the service is like on busy days like today.  I could see lots of people but not many of them had any food yet.  One large group had mostly empty beer glasses on their table, so I guess they've been waiting at least one pint.  (The pint is a very inexact measure of time, could be five minutes or an hour!)

My pre-flight this morning turned up trumps:  I've been in Fort Perch Rock a couple of times over the years, but now it has got a cafe/bar I didn't know about, called Mess:

Wow, what a fine interior occupying part of the fort, with arched ceilings.  Slightly odd but very attractive decor.

On a sunny Saturday the place was doing well, the three, or was it four, staff were busy serving drinks and food to a steady stream of customers.  Some of whom chose to sit outside.

The draft beers were, unusually, two Titanic brews, so for probably the first time in my life I had a pint of keg Plum Porter.  Not a patch on the cask version - I enjoyed one in the Vines on Wednesday - but still very good.  The other tap offered "Two:20 Lager", never heard of that one.

Where next?  My pre-flight checks clearly weren't as good as I thought because as I headed along the main street under the continuing glorious weather, I found one I've never heard of, Riptide:

In this rather plain shop conversion there were no customers at all.  I chose a pint of the house lager which was quite tasty - for a heavily chilled lager.  It came in an Aspall's Cider goblet!

I don't know how much they pay for live Sky footie, but they aren't getting their money's worth with no one here at two o'clock to watch Leicester v Norwich.  Maybe more will come in if they have the Liverpool match later?

Mind you, they aren't wasting any money on heating, it's freezing in here.  The barmaid said it had been too warm earlier so she had left the door open.  Once she closed it the temperature quickly rose to more comfortable levels, so I have to withdraw my grumble.

The decor seems to be music oriented, I think they have bands on in the back room or upstairs which I haven't seen yet (I mean the rooms, not the band.)

The next target has let me down on a number of occasions over the years, not being open when I expected (Or sometimes just wanted) it to be.  So I haven't been in since 2012.  Google says it will be OK today, so let's try the Harbour:

Ah, at last!  It's open.  Initially I got an inkling of a run down place - The fruit machine in the corner is out of order according to a rough paper sign stuck on it - But once I actually looked around it is beautifully decorated, everything is spotless, clean and tidy, and the armchair in the corner is extremely comfortable.  So a rather fine little gem of a boozer.  With a small clique of regulars chatting to the staff and each other.

I ended up in conversation with an equally inebriated regular who professed an interest in my guide, but I bet he doesn't buy one!  Anyway, we wittered on about goodness knows what, until it was time for me to go.

Where next?  There is one more required tick in the New Brighton area but the Pilot Boat is nearly a mile's walk away.  To be honest, I'm tempted to take my four required ticks, two of which were first time visits, and go home.  Even though it's only a little after three o'clock!  ...And that's what I did.

Pub of the day: Mess (OK It's not really a pub, but I like it.)
Beer of the day: Keg Plum Porter!
Miles walked: 1.5
Maybe coming soon: Undecided.