Tranmere

The Mersey Railway carried me under the river to Green Lane station.  Nearby stands the never before visited Old House At Home:

Outside, the "Lease This Pub" sign was a little worrying, but it was open, and inside I found a classic local pub, with three regulars watching Bargain Hunt on the TV.

It has been knocked through into one room but still retains a plain end and a posh end.  The decor is plain with just the right amount of pictures, mirrors etc.

There seems to a cluster of never-visited pubs at this end of Tranmere, one or two of which seem open on Streetview so as I was drinking my beer I was hoping for some more brand new ticks.

Time for a game of find-the-gents, none of the regulars moved while I was there, so no clues!  Eventually I asked at the bar and was directed to the appropriate unmarked door.

Next, I headed for Revolver which I understand is a weekend evenings only place, so I was not expecting it to be open and I wasn't disappointed.  Just to confuse the pub researcher, the outside signage has two other names as well, the original Royal Castle and also Mr Davidson's Bar:

On to the Lord Raglan, apparently open on Streetview and never before visited, but sadly I was months or even years too late.  Having said that, I suppose it's possible that all the refurbishment work on the building is leading to re-opening as a pub, but I doubt it:

Just up the road, the Mason's Arms has been closed since 2002:

I walked on, and at last I reached an open pub, the Lord Napier:

Here, I found another pleasant comfortable street corner boozer.  In the lounge side three regulars chatted with the barmaid while I enjoyed my Guinness.

I noted two handpumps on the bar, but both had blank clips.

Back in 2003 I used the bar side and described it as well cared for, this time I was in the lounge which is equally well looked after.

Where next?  I was faced with a difficult decision, do I go to pubs I've visited "recently" or do I take a long walk to one I've never been in, that might be closed?  The decision was nearly made for me as it had started to rain when I reached the Cock and Donkey, (Still open unlike the Seaforth one.) but by the time I'd taken a photo and crossed the road the rain had stopped, so as I'd ticked it in 2015 I walked on:

The Sportsmans Arms was last visited in 2012 so I skipped that one as well:

I marched on towards the Imperial:

Result!!  Never before visited, and it's open!

Inside I found a two sided pub knocked through around a three-sided counter.

The handpumps were purely decorative, I think, and Guinness was from a can, so I ordered a lager for a change, and sat in the very nice lounge area.  The decor includes a rather fine fireplace, and some good fairly modern leaded glass above the counter.

Quite a few regulars, including a couple of children (School holidays this week.) created a gentle hubbub of chatter and laughter.  Once again there was some kind of antiques program on the telly, but no-one was watching that fella with the leather face.

When it was time to go I studied my map.  A number of pubs I believed to be closed, a cluster of four ticked in 2012, and a single one not visited since 1998.  So of course it was that for which I aimed.  En route I passed the Alexandra, the Victoria and the Carlton, all closed as expected:

  Finally, I reached the Birch Tree:

Back in 1998, when it was called The Mersey Clipper, I described it as a large split-level barn.  Twenty years later not much has changed although it's obviously been redecorated and cared for.  It's now a member of Greene King's "Flaming Grill" chain.

A number of customers were spread thinly in the large room, families with children as well as drinkers.

I decided not to risk the cask ale, the only one on was a Greene King seasonal.

It's a nice feature to have a cluster of pictures of regulars (I presume) and staff on the wall, it makes it feel more friendly than many of these chain pubs.  The barmaid chatting with the regulars at the bar added to that feeling.  It was a bit of a shock when it occurred to me that she might not have been born last time I was in here!