This Could Really Be The Last Time

Everton were at home so I headed once again in that direction as there are still a few desirable ticks in the area.  This time I turned away from the ground on to Stanley Road, to begin with a look at the Pitch Pine:

This still looks like it could be an operational pub, but actually I don't think it's been open for many years.  Nearby, the William Shakespeare is certainly long closed:

On to a pub which I marked as closed back in 2010 when I found it boarded up, but recently I learned it has been saved, so in to Swift's:

My first time in here since '03!  A rather fine pub with two sides, one counter.  The decoration of wood planks and mustard coloured plaster is really well done, and they've kept (or replaced) an ancient fireplace.

Ticking over well at two o' clock, although this is probably too far away to have much of a match day crowd. 

Whoever 'saved' this pub has done a fantastic job, a very pleasant interior without spending millions. 

I checked my notes from 2003, they just say "plain clean and tidy", it was probably one of many pubs round here that I did in one crawl, including the Pitch Pine.  On getting home I decided to examine my records:  It was, in fact, a record breaking Thursday evening survey with friends, when I had a half (probably) in no less than ten pubs:  Banjo, Bedford, Cabin, Coopers, Knowsley, Melrose Abbey, Pitch Pine, Swifts, Victoria, and William Shakespeare.  Coopers?  Ah, yes, I must have stopped off at the one on Lime Street Station on the way home.

Back towards the ground now, along with everyone else, and on to County Road.  My database says that there's just one pub on this thoroughfare that is overdue for a visit, and I think it might be under threat once Everton go.  So, in to the Clock:

At five and twenty to three the pre-match crowd was thinning out and the staff were busy clearing the tables stacked with glasses and preparing for the five o'clock rush.

The pleasant interior has two rooms with the servery between them, and there's also a serving hatch on the corridor between the front and back rooms, whence I obtained my second Carling of the day.

Soon, the hubub of conversation faded out as everyone headed for the ground. 

Aside:  A friend of mine who used to be a season ticket holder until he moved two hundred miles away, had always visited a few times a year to see his beloved team play.  He wanted to do so today but couldn't get a ticket; I guess every match will be a sell-out from now on as people say goodbye to the old ground.  On the plus side, he's got a ticket for the new stadium next weekend, so I'll still get to see him for a few beers. 

By five to three we were down to about a dozen customers or fewer, and the main sound was the clink of glasses being collected. 

Next, the miniature gem that is the Abbey, last visited seven years ago:

What is it about this place that makes it so attractive?  I don't know.  The ceramics outside and the traditional interior combine to make it very good. 

Oddly, the barmaid asked me if I was staying in with my Carling.  As if I would want to freeze outside with a plastic glass! 

The interior was presumably little rooms originally, but it's now knocked through into one pleasant space. 

Everyone else seemed to be related, and most of them had Chinese takeaways to eat.  I suddenly felt very hungry!

Now, I'm faced with something of a dilemma:  I can walk on to one or two required ticks, if they're open, in the Anfield direction or I can take probably my last opportunity to say goodbye to the Spellow and the Winslow, with their pre and post match memories from thirty years ago.

The temptation of a brand new tick won, and I headed to Taggy's:

Will an LFC themed bar be open when they're not playing?  Things didn't look good as I approached but the (red, of course) front door was ajar and I entered to find a handful of customers in a very pleasant comfortable bar, the first time today I've taken my coat off. 

No Carling so I had Carlsberg instead, and sat in comfort with Sky Sports News telling me Everton were still 0-0 at half time.  I had heard a loud roar as I walked up, but clearly it wasn't a goal. 

A number of people arrived to check in to accommodation, which is clearly an important part of the business here. 

I would be interested to see what this place is like on a home match day, presumably it'll be packed, it's rather clever of the management to handle different days successfully.  There is also a large beer garden at the back which can absorb a match day crowd.  Once the residents were checked in it was just me in the lounge.

Too far to go back to Goodison now so onwards, perhaps there's one Anfield boozer overdue for a tick, Dodd's Bar, but I'm not sure it exists any more, having been merged into the Sandon complex, which is all shut today.  So I walked on towards West Derby Road and the lovely Belmont:

Not a required tick as I was last here in 2021, but a convenient toilet break located on a bus route home and also a rather excellent traditional boozer always worth a visit. 

Only about half a dozen customers in at five on a Saturday, which is not very good.  

I noticed they've got that mysterious "Caines Lager" on tap, nothing to do with Cain's I suspect. 

A steady stream of customers wandered in and out, they all seemed to know each other which must be the definition of a good local. 

So, four required ticks, one of them brand new, is that enough?  I think so! 

Pub of the day: Clock
Beer of the day: Carling
Miles walked: 3.6
Maybe coming soon: Upton, Litherland

Ainsdale and Birkdale

On a warm and sunny Thursday you find me on a very long bus ride to Woodvale.  During the seventy minute trip (!) I was able to observe umpteen pubs; I noted surprisingly few changes; one closure and more interestingly, one I have recorded as closed but the doors were open - Swifts in Kirkdale.  Eventually the bus passed Woodvale airport (Despite flying from Speke many times I never landed here, although it was always my emergency fallback if I couldn't get back in to Liverpool.) and I got off and took a short walk for a long overdue visit to the Sparrowhawk:

I must say I feel a little underdressed in my t-shirt although nowadays everyone dresses down to some extent, even in a dining pub as posh a this one. 

In the beautiful multi-roomed interior every square inch of wall is covered in miscellaneous pictures, perhaps to excess?

I took my pint of Sparrowhawk Pale, brewed by Facer's in Y Fflint, and found a table without place settings in the end of the room allocated to drinkers.  I noticed they also had Facer's Plum Porter, I should have tried that to see if it was as wonderful as Titanic's original.  The Pale was very good, anyway.

At two thirty the lunch time rush was over, the customers were mostly finishing their meals or just coming in for an afternoon drink. 

A stroll of a mile and a half brought me to a new one, In Den Engel:

Here I found a pleasant plain shop conversion with one wall occupied by a fantastic range of bottles of (mostly) Belgian beers.  On the counter were keg taps, again mostly Belgian, and also three handpumps, so I'm afraid I wasted my chance to have all time favourite Rochefort 10 (I see they've also got a Rochefort Triple, I've never heard of that one.) and had a gorgeous pint of Titanic Plum Porter. 

A group of four departed shortly after my arrival, leaving just three customers at ten to four.  Then the other two departed.  The landlady appeared, wiping tables and asking if I minded the open door.  I was still quite warm after my walk so I didn't. 

I had chosen a seat facing the wall of bottles and I have to confess to being tempted to just stay here and have some favourites or some new ones.  Especially as it is another mile and a half to the next target.  If this bar was walking distance from my home I would ask them for a stock list and then tick them off, two or three a day, until I'd tried them all!  That might mean the end of the Merseyside Pub Guide!

What about this weather!  Having switched this morning from winter coat to summer jacket for the first time in 2025, I then undertook a mile and a half of walking with the jacket over my arm, and I was still quite warm when I reached the next target, the Pines:

This pleasant shop conversion has just two handpumps, but that's more than enough and my pint of Vocation's Chop and Change was a very tasty hoppy pale one.

The place was pretty busy at five with umpteen regulars who all know each other chatting amongst themselves and to the barman who was kept busy with lots of orders. I bagged a small table, and there were one or two other free tables but lots of the blokes were standing and plenty were sitting outside as well.

Not everyone was on the beer, I saw bottles of wine and what looked like some kind of gin and tonic being consumed as well.  Customers, male and female, ranged from older than me down to only just legal drinkers.  So this is a great bar for all the locals and it's deservedly doing well.

My original plan for today was to start here and finish at the Sparrowhawk, until I realised this bar and the one round the corner don't open until four, so I reversed the route.  So, round the corner to the Grasshopper:

I entered to find a tiny shop conversion with at least six handpumps, I've always been a fan of Derby's Shiny Brewery so I selected their Disco Balls, a tasty pale one. 

No chance of a seat in this busy room but wait, there's a door through to the other half where there were plenty of free spaces.  Some blokes were enjoying playing darts, with definitely more fun than skill involved.  That's the way to do it! 

As I enjoyed my ale I got chatting to the darts players, they were celebrating a birthday and it was great to have some conversation covering pub guides, how to run a bar, darts skills and multiple other topics.

All too soon it was time to head for a train towards home, so I departed.  Happy birthday John.

What did I say about the weather?  It was raining as I walked to Hillside station.  Four excellent cask ales, one new tick, that's a good result for a Thursday.

Pub of the day: They were all great, I think perhaps In Den Engel just because it's new.
Beer of the day: Titanic Plum Porter 
Miles walked: 3.4
Maybe coming soon: Litherland, Upton