Haydock and Earlestown

Time for a long overdue visit to Haydock, starting with my first time at the Lymewood Farm:

A standard modern chain dining place, this, one very large room partly subdivided, and filled with the delicious odour of carvery.

I ignored the "Please wait here to be seated" sign and stood at the counter while the sole barmaid processed a complex food order.  The cakes in the chiller looked tempting, less so when I discovered the portions are kept in individual plastic tubs in a fridge behind the counter, for who knows how long.

Somewhat cautiously I ordered a pint of Greene King IPA from the one operational handpump, but I needn't have worried, it was good.

At half twelve on a Saturday there was a steady stream of dining customers coming in.  Having waited to be seated they were advised to sit anywhere!

I looked around at the other customers.  A couple nearby were at the bottom of their pints with no sign of food, so I'm not the only drinker in here, but pretty much everyone else I could see was eating.  £12.49 for fish and chips used to put a place in the higher price bracket but with the current inflation I'm not so sure.  Having checked further, that was fish, chips, scampi, peas and curry sauce, with standard fish chips and peas being a more reasonable £10.  Mmmm, now I feel hungry!

Next, a look at the Haydock Reading Room:

This is a members only club, and you need a conversation over the intercom to get through the door.  So, despite the local CAMRA's enthusiasm for the place I didn't go in.

That's it for Haydock, I'm afraid, so I took a long pleasant walk of a couple miles through Lyme And Wood Pits Country Park to Earlestown where I started in the Newmarket:

A classic two bar multi-roomed boozer this, with plenty of customers at two o'clock.  Plain but well done decor, clean and tidy.

The two handpumps on the counter didn't look like they'd been used for ages, so I cooled down after my long walk with my usual Canadian fizz.

Not much else to write about this place, it's just a plain ordinary pub doing a great job.  Little touches create a good impression:  Momentarily idle, the barmaid mopped the floor behind the counter.  She found a coin and popped it in the charity tin on the counter.

Multiple trays of food appeared in preparation for a function of some sort, with some discussion as to where they would be put.  Luckily they didn't choose my table, or I might have been tempted!

Moving on, a quick check of the Rams Head which I believe is closed:

And it is, which is a shame; there was some historic architecture inside.

Now, not visited since December 2019 is Wetherspoon's Nine Arches:

Here I enjoyed a great pint of Wily Fox's Karma Citra.

Doing very well, but by no means full, this excellent Spoon's in a former Methodist hall has always been rather attractive inside.

Quite a few customers were enjoying the intermittent sunshine in the yard, including a large hen party; if they were inside I imagine the noise would be deafening!  Oddly, part of the party were sitting away from the rest.  Already fighting, or just not enough seats in one place?  Everyone seemed cheerful so I suspected the latter.  Or maybe there were two hen parties - Further study of the tee-shirts and sashes worn revealed that this was the answer.

Both parties departed, leaving behind a lot of empty glasses and a solitary hen whose shirt said she was called Terence.

Finally, the Wellington:

On a previous visit here I felt it was a bit of a dump.  I now can't say if I was wrong then or it's been substantially improved since.  Anyway, what I found today is a plain but very pleasant two sided classic boozer.

I ordered a Carling in the bar side and then sneaked through to the lounge to enjoy it in comfort.

Soon, a pub crawl arrived, about twenty men and women mostly wearing brightly coloured "Hawaiian" shirts.  I failed to deduce what they were celebrating, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves in a well behaved way, and certainly kept the lone barmaid busy.

I checked my train home.  Not looking good, it seems to be stuck at the Airport.  But wait, it's on the move and "only" eighteen minutes late.  I'll keep an eye on progress while I enjoy my fizz.

The big group hid themselves in the other side so it remained fairly peaceful in my corner of the lounge.  (Apart from the irritating property programme on the telly just above my head.)

My train decided to skip a number of stations in Manchester, so it might be only ten late.  As long as it doesn't skip Earlestown!  As always happens, it lost more time.

Have I had too much to drink?  No, the floor really does have a slope to it in parts, possibly exaggerated by the "graph paper" pattern of the carpet.  I'll have to be careful when I head to the gents.

Nearly time to go, and then the bright shirts returned to the counter for another round, once again keeping the barmaid busy.

My train was twenty minutes late, but at least it came and took me home.

Pub of the day: Nine Arches

Beer of the day: Karma Citra

Miles walked: 3.4

Maybe coming soon: Wavertree