Off to Rock Ferry on a sunny Saturday afternoon and I started in the Refreshment Rooms:
This one is mainly food oriented but I was welcomed as a drinker, and was soon enjoying a tasty Trappers Hat. I suppose I should have had the house ale - HMS Conway, brewed by Lees - to try it out.
I wondered if there was a drinkers' room but couldn't see one so I occupied a table for three in the main dining room.
About half the tables were occupied at two o'clock on a Saturday, I think everyone else was dining. I didn't see a menu so I can't comment on the prices.
I rather like this place, pleasant decor with quite a lot of bric-a-brac without getting cluttered. I was pleased to note that the model Liverpool tram was still on the high shelf.
The waiters and waitresses were mostly kept busy bringing out food, clearing away, and chatting to the regulars; although I did notice one very brief moment when they were all standing idle at the counter.
Next, the Derby Arms:
Now this is a true classic locals' boozer. Partly knocked through around the servery but retaining separate areas. I tucked myself in a corner under a telly to down my Carling.
The regulars (I bet they don't get many strangers in here) were watching the football and, mainly, abusing each other with cheerful banter. Quite a lot of swearwords!
I looked around: Plain, very clean and tidy, what more could one want.
I felt a little exposed, sitting beneath a TV, but no one took any notice of the old bloke writing on his tablet. Then, Aston Villa won and they mostly stopped looking at the telly.
On my way to the next target I noted the not previously recorded by me Star Hotel, long closed:
I carried on to the Lord Napier:
As I approached I was more than a little worried as the free standing building was covered in scaffolding. Once closer I was relieved to see the door was open, perhaps it's OK or is that just for the builders? I entered with some trepidation, opened the right hand door for the lounge, and was pleased to find a busy room full of cheerful people. The counter was surrounded, I shouted my order for a Carling and reached through the throng (slight exaggeration) to pay.
There was some kind of betting competition based on horse racing I think. A large whiteboard was covered in numbers, I couldn't work out what it all meant. The landlady sat down and filled in a column presumably after a race finished. The grid was about forty rows by twenty columns, good grief that's complicated! If I'm being honest I would have thought drunk competitors would be for ever complaining about arithmetic errors! I guess the people around here are more reasonable.
Another classic this one, perhaps more lively than the Derby? If my memory is to be trusted it was pretty empty when I was here five years ago. So, has it improved or was that midweek?
A regular moved away from the counter and I spotted a handpump. No clip, of course, I bet it hasn't served real ale for years.
I noted some rather good comic signs. Are you sweating whilst putting petrol in your car? Feeling sick when you pay for it? You've probably caught the 2026 strain of CarOwnerVirus.
There was some kind of problem with the jukebox, the landlady phoned up the support line and then turned it off and on again. This seemed to resolve the problem and we were treated to the excellent Papa Was A Rolling Stone as I departed.
Now, back to the station and the Bedford which is also signed as Luke's:
A much larger pub than the previous two, but also a friendly boozer with plenty of regulars, with the extra plus of being next to the station.
A dozen locals were mostly at the counter, the rest of the pleasant plain interior in two sides was mostly empty. Sky Sports News was just about audible to my right, with intermittent jukebox play at a reasonable volume.
Everton moved to 2-0 up and then back to 1-0. I think maybe a goal shouldn't be displayed until all the processes have been completed.
"Only" four ticks today but that's good enough. It is wonderful to see the "locals' boozer" doing so well, long may it continue. Let's go home. Will I get through the city before all the Everton fans come? I did, despite finding all the up escalators and the lift broken at Lime Street.
Beer of the day: Trappers Hat
Miles walked: 2.4
Merseyside pubs visited in the last five years: 1,022
Maybe coming soon: Undecided
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