So, the question is "What idiot goes on a long bus ride across the grid-locked Wirral on a Friday afternoon in mid December?" And of course the answer is your intrepid reporter.
After an appallingly slow bus trip I eventually reached Heswall where I was hoping for some brand new ticks, starting with the Harry Beswick, a new pub opened last month by Hyde's:
Aiming at the pub food market this was naturally very busy on a pre-Christmas Friday but luckily I managed to grab a recently vacated table to enjoy a fine pint of Hopster.
Pleasant rather bland chain pub decor in here with no Christmas decorations apart from a very nice tree.
I noticed there was no music that I could hear, just a lot of cheerful chatter. Looking round I couldn't actually see as much food as I expected, I suppose at half two I've missed the lunchtime rush.
Next, a walk down a very steep hill to Lower Heswall and the primary target of today's excursion. I've descended this hill at least twice before and found the Black Horse to be shut. Last year's failure was entirely my own fault, I got here at two despite the notes in my bag saying that it didn't open until three. Would I be luckier today? I arrived at 14:59 to see the front door being opened. A quick picture and I was in.
One customer had managed to get in ahead of me while I was taking the picture but needless to say the large comfortable multi-room pub was otherwise deserted.
I worried about it being the first out of the pump but my Wainwright was spot on.
The other customer downed his pint (cider I think) quickly and by quarter past I was alone apart from the barman who was busy sorting nuts and bottles behind the counter, and slicing lemons.
I'm not surprised they don't open earlier, no more customers appeared until half three when two turned up, and then another. I must say this is a rather pleasant boozer and I hope it does well at busier times; it deserves to.
Out here in the back of beyond there's no signal, so I couldn't check my sneaky plan of catching a bus back to Heswall to save walking up that hill. Do I drag my pint out - The buses are only once an hour - or get the exercise?
I decided to be lazy and take the bus up the hill. Big mistake, it didn't turn up. A local advised me that sometimes it doesn't bother. After standing for fifteen minutes I gave up and climbed the mountain anyway. To be honest, it wasn't nearly as hard as I remembered, and soon I was in my next target, the Beer Lab:
Way too dark for a picture by now, that one is from five years ago.
This pleasant plain micro was full of happy regulars, I managed to perch at the corner of a table and enjoy a great pint of Peerless Triple Blond.
People arrived and people left, all the arrivals being greeted by their friends. No one took any notice of the blogger writing his notes.
The blackboard of bottles and cans looks quite impressive here, they've got favourite Rochfort 10 for a start, also Kwak (Have they got the stupid glass?)
I pondered the torture of the bus ride home. Might it be worth dawdling over my remaining drinks in the hopes that the traffic will have eased? When will that be, midnight??
Next, how about another brand new one? The fourth member of the Bow-Legged Beagle chain opened here earlier this year, my only worry being that it might be too full at five o'clock.
(I took the picture earlier in the day.)
Inevitably it was busy and I had to stand at the bar to enjoy a gorgeous coffee stout from Vocation. Merseypub's Second Law (If you are going to put an unusual flavour in a beer, it should slap the drinker in the face; a "hint" is no good at all.) has been followed with this ale, it has a wonderful coffee flavour.
Coincidentally, I finished a crawl in Manchester on Wednesday in the Britons Protection with the very same beer, I think. You don't get a blog entry for that trip because the details are all lost in an alcoholic haze, I know we started with Jaipur (6%) and Wobbly Bob (6%) and then four more pints mostly 5% or above. I'm surprised I managed to get the right train to take me home. Thanks for a great afternoon out, Mike.
Anyway, back to the Beagle: People came and left but I wasn't on the ball enough to bag a table so I just had to stand at the end of the counter. A Christmas party of women came in, a bottle of white wine kept them happy. Maybe I should have worn my t-shirt again today? It feels a bit fraudulent in pubs that I've never visited before.
Pleased to see they've got real Budweiser on draft, although I really hate the branded bucket they seem to serve it in here.
Time to head for home after a very successful day with three new ticks taking my total to 1,461, and I was especially pleased to finally get in to the Black Horse. As I had hoped, the traffic had eased by now and the bus back to Liverpool had no problems and made it in record time. I couldn't say the same for the trains home from Lime Street, mine was eighteen minutes late.
Beer of the day: Vocation's Coffee Stout
Miles walked: 1.7
Maybe coming soon: West Derby, Kirkdale
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