Croxteth

The direct bus doesn't seem to exist any more, so it was a train into town and the a bus out again that took me to Gillmoss where I started in the modern Marston's construction that is the Vikings Landing.  I had a moment of concern on checking Google maps to see where the bus stop was as I approached and finding the pub marked as "temporarily closed".  It wasn't.

In this standard modern chain dining place the young lady at the "Please wait to be seated" sign captured me before I could sneak past, but once I explained I only wanted a drink she suggested I order at the bar and then sit in the drinkers' area.

Five handpumps but only one beer is sometimes a bad sign but my Wainwright was spot on.  It came in a short fat colourfully decorated Wainwright glass.

A steady flow of customers came in to dine, no one joined me in the drinkers' corner.  I was going to write drinkers' ghetto there but that would be completely unfair as it was comfortable, warm and well appointed, and in no way was I treated like a second class citizen.  I don't know why the word popped into my mind.

I observed operations:  Tables were carefully allocated by the computer and the lady at the door, probably a good idea as it looks like the pub will soon be full.  If you want a meal here on a Saturday afternoon I'd recommend booking.  Having said that, the tables in "my" corner are available as overflow.

By doing their job carefully and efficiently the friendly staff here seem to have created a good successful operation, and they deserve praise.  I contributed, perhaps, by submitting corrections to Google.

On into Croxteth now, and the Lobster.  My internet researches had found multiple reports of a fire last September so I was expecting to photograph a blackened ruin but I was wrong:

Inside I found a pleasant two bar plain boozer, full of locals of all ages, some watching Everton being beaten in the early kickoff, others playing darts, and many just enjoying a drink and a chat in their beautiful local.

The decor in here is the now popular shades of grey, very well done and excellently maintained.

Carling for me, various lagers and Guinness were being sold at a steady rate.

Next, the Abbey Road Wine Bar:

This well done shop conversion hasn't changed much since I was here five years ago, but it's not as busy as it was then.  Nonetheless, seven or eight cheerful regulars were keeping the noise level up, drowning out the football commentary.

Everton lost and the main TV was immediately switched to a music channel - No interest in the post-match punditry.

What a great locals' boozer.

Next I headed for the long closed Sefton Arms:

Oddly, despite having been closed as a pub for many years it has been maintained and cared for and is well fenced off from the street, so someone is looking after it and using it for some purpose, sadly not its original function.  Mind you, I seem to recall it was a bit of a dump when I had a drink here in 1998.

Next, the Western Approaches:

Last time I was here there was a baby celebration of some sort and coincidentally today part of one side was reserved for a function with chair covers, table cloths and balloons.  The entrance into that side was locked and I had to go in the other way.

No staff were visible so I nipped through the corridor to the function half where there were more customers but still no staff.  After a short pause the barmaid appeared and soon served me another Carling, she had been in the cellar changing a keg, I think.

As I always seem to say now, this is a clean tidy well maintained plain boozer.  Perhaps a little plainer than the Lobster, but no less tidy.

A member of staff was inflating bronze coloured balloons, presumably for the upcoming function.  I wonder if the regulars (and I, if I'm still here) will be chivied into the other room when the time comes.

There's just one more open pub near here so it would be daft not to finish in the Lingmell Inn:

The interior of this one is knocked through into one very pleasant room.  It feels perhaps a little up market compared with the previous three ticks but I'm not sure I can actually justify that suggestion.

Decorations were being put up for Mother's Day which, in the UK, is tomorrow.  (I learned to my intense irritation many years ago that in America where I was living, Mother's Day is on a different date.)

Another comfortable pub doing fairly well on a Saturday afternoon.  I couldn't see many eating, but the menu looks good and good value.

A bloke joined his friends at a table with a bag of food from the local chippy which I thought was a bit cheeky in a dining pub.  Ah - wait, they're staff or friends thereof, so perhaps OK.  One of the group collected food from the kitchen.

The decoration team got closer to where I was sitting but erected their ladder without needing me to move.

Time to head for home, I think.  Five pubs all doing a good trade is great to see in 2024.

Pub of the day: Lobster, I had feared finding a burnt out wreck.
Beer of the day: Wainwright
Miles walked: 3.3
Maybe coming soon: Bebington