Thatto Heath

A convenient coincidence meant I could do research for both my blogs (The other is Northwest Sparks News by the way.) at the same time, so I headed for some pubs in Thatto Heath, starting with a quick look at the Railway Hotel which has been closed for at least two years.  I had a drink in there in 1999 when it was a Greenalls pub.  In common with many of their outlets, it had a bowling green at the back.

Just a short walk round the corner to The Elephant, a rather imposing building containing a plain clean and tidy interior.  When I last visited, in 1999, this was a two bar pub but now it's been fully knocked through into one large L-shaped room, although one end still seems plainer than the other.  No real ale, so I had my usual pint of the black stuff.

Very close to the Elephant is the externally less impressive Vine Tavern.  Inside is a classic two-sided boozer with no access between the halves except via the gents.  The plain bar side had a cluster of cheerful regulars sitting at the bar whiling away a Friday afternoon.

The review from my previous visit grumbled that "The 'Cask Ales' sign would appear to be a lie".  I was surprised to discover the sign is still there and still wrong thirteen years later, so it was another pint of G.

Back to the station and, next door, the Springfield.  This impressive building contains a large two bar pub pleasantly decorated inside, with dark wood panelling on the bar front.  In the plain bar side a couple of regulars were playing pool, and there were one or two more customers in the lounge end I think.  The trophy cabinet was well filled.  Again, no decent ale so it was yet another Guinness.  (This picture was taken in 2010.)

All three pubs were ticking over on a sunny Friday afternoon, a little surprising considering they're located within 1/4 mile of each other.  They all had the "local pub for local people" feel, where everyone in the pub (except me) knew each other, but they seemed to have no objection to a stranger coming in and jotting in a notebook.  All three were last visited in 1999, so long overdue for an update!

Sunny Bromborough

A sunny Saturday, so time for a jaunt across the water, via the refurbished Central Station.  How many million pounds?  For a few white tiles and some white paint?  On the plus side I was very pleased to note that the toilets have been expanded and are still free, these are often useful on the homeward journey after a pub survey, and I object to paying 30p at Lime Street.

Anyway, on to Bromborough, round the corner and into the leafy suburbs, to the Dibbinsdale, a very pleasant looking pub/restaurant/hotel belonging to Thwaites Brewery.  The inside is good as well, with lots of wood panelling and leaded glass, some of which looks like it might be fairly new.  The place was deserted early on a Saturday afternoon, in fact by the time I was half way down my pint of Wainwright the other customers had all left.  Hopefully just a coincidence!

Next, back past the station to the Merebrook.  A nicely decorated pub in the "sizzling" chain, much busier than the Dibbinsdale - perhaps because the food is significantly cheaper.  Most of the other customers were families out for a meal.  I had a fine pint of Marston's EPA and watched the busy staff rushing about with plates of food.

My next destination was the Knockaloe.  The Hall was built in the 1850s and was donated to the council for the use of the community in the 1930s.  Later it was sold to Octel to be their staff sports and social club.  In 2006 it passed back to private hands and became a social club open to all.  As well as the popular bar there are function rooms, squash and tennis courts, football pitches, and so on.  I was a little concerned that the bar had been removed from the Good Beer Guide this year, but I needn't have worried, and I enjoyed a spot on pint of Tetley.  The other two real ales available were from the local Brimstage Brewery.

The final pub of the trip was something of a disappointment, and I seem to have arrived a few months too late for a drink in the Archers.

Never mind.  Three pubs never before visited taking the total to 1,140.  Time to head for home - Via the facilities at Central.

Toxteth Tour

On a sunny Thursday I took a trip to Toxteth to see how the pubs there have been getting on since my last visit, which was 2004 I think.

I began with a bus ride along Park Road, where I found the Royal Oak is now closed and tinned up, the Globe remains open, and then the Farmers, the Toxteth, the Royal George and the Queens Head are all closed, and in some cases gone without trace.   A little further along, the Pineapple is still open.  I've drunk in all these pubs at some time in the last fourteen years, it's a shame so many of them aren't there any more.

I headed down towards the river, passing the still open Anglesea, which is looking pretty tidy from the outside.

I paid a visit to the amazing Florence Institute, which was open as part of the Heritage Open Days scheme.  This stunning building, constructed in 1889 as Britain's first purpose-built boys’ youth club, was derelict last time I visited the area, in 2004, when I recall it had trees sprouting from the gutters.  It has been wonderfully restored and is once again in use as a community resource.

 Just across the road from the "Florrie" is a very tatty looking building, housing the Wellington Vaults, which rather to my surprise was open.  I joined two locals in the small front bar and enjoyed a pint of Guinness.  The inside was a lot tidier than the rather tatty exterior might suggest.
The Derby Arms and the Great Eastern were both near here, but are no longer extant.  Again, I've drunk in both in the past.

 Just a short walk riverwards took me to the wonderful Herculaneum Bridge, also known as Pegleg's.  Outside, a coat of white paint has replaced the somewhat garish blue and red colour scheme of my previous visit.  The interior, although a little chaotic during decorating work, is very impressive, with lots of ceramics on the walls and a fine wood and leaded glass bar back.  It retains the historic layout of rooms off a corridor served from a hatch at the back of the bar.  The large back room also has a tiny bar counter in the corner.

I was the only customer on a Thursday afternoon, sharing the bar with two friendly staff and a decorator.  They also do accommodation here, apparently it's very popular with visiting football fans.

I wandered on past the closed Mosely Arms, Clancy's which has completely disappeared, and Dick Jennings where the planned conversion to housing hasn't progressed.

My next destination was the Brewery Tap, nestled in the corner of the Cains' Brewery, where I enjoyed a fine pint of Cains' FA.  I noticed they limit their real ale offerings to their own brews now, I'm sure they used to have guest beers as well.  Sales were pretty slow, initially I was the only customer but a few others arrived to sit outside in the bright sunshine.

Finally, I strolled past the long closed Angel (pictured) and on to the Coburg.  Reports had reached me that this place now did real ale, and I was pleased to find Fuller's London Pride on sale in a comfortable, friendly pub.

Good Beer Guide 2013

The 40th edition of the real ale drinker's bible landed with a thud on my doormat this morning, hot off the presses.  In Merseyside twenty pubs have been dropped since last year, and twenty-two added.

The Roscoe Head is one of only seven pubs to have been listed in all forty editions, and I was particularly pleased to see a personal favourite of mine, The Crown on Lime Street, has been restored to the guide.

To find out the rest of the list, you'll have to buy a copy from CAMRA.

Maghull

There's a new Wetherspoon's in Maghull, which must be a good excuse for a visit to this suburban town to the north of Liverpool, so I started in the Red House, which doesn't look very red I have to say!  Here I found a rather fine two room 1950s style Walker's House almost completely unchanged since my previous visit in 2004.  It still retains some original leaded glass above the counter.

There were no other customers in the place as the barmaid poured me a pint of Cask Tetley, which has always been one of my favourite beers.  I can't remember where this comes from since the closure of the Tetley brewery in Leeds, but I am pleased to report that it still tastes pretty much the same.

Apparently the pub is between managers at the moment, and the barmaid's boss is looking after it temporarily.  She complained that there was nothing to do except read a magazine and watch the Olympics on the telly, with no customers at all.  Last Saturday no-one came in until three, she said, so at least I improved matters today!

Next, a short stroll in simultaneous light rain and sunshine to what is probably the reason the Red House is so empty.  Wetherspoon's Frank Hornby opened earlier this year in what was previously the Everest.  The 'spoons redecoration is in modern style, with a Meccano theme with "industrial" lampshades held together with large nuts and bolts.  The chromed steel gantries above the bar are fun but I'll be wanting compensation if I accidentally head butt a suspended wineglass while getting served.  As usual in a Wetherspoon's, it was busy with lots of locals enjoying the cheap food and drink.

I must tell a little story about the Everest.  Way back in the early days of the pub guide, I was collecting lists of pubs from friends before going to visit them, and Ernie, who lived in Maghull, named a number of the pubs in the area for me.  I wonder why it's called the Everest, I asked, and he replied that Sir Edmund Hillary had lived in Maghull and this had been his local, so I included this piece of information in the guide.  Ten years later it finally occurred to me that I might have been misled, so I typed Edmund Hillary Maghull into Google and was somewhat annoyed to find the only information linking the two was the entry in my pub guide.  Hmph!

Onwards through the subway under the main road that divides Maghull in half, to the Hare & Hounds.  This large pub/restaurant is now a member of the Ember Inns chain, and is decorated in their standard contemporary style.  There were five real ales on tap and I had a good pint of Yorkshire Gold from the Leeds Brewery (Who, post Tetley, can claim to be the largest brewery in Leeds.)

Finally, I turned homewards, towards the station and into the Great Mogul next door.  They had Cask Tetley on, so I enjoyed another spot on pint in this nicely decorated pub where the majority of the customers seemed to be dining.

New Brighton

I chose a rather grey muggy day yesterday to head under the Mersey to the sea-side at New Brighton.  I was surprised to find the waterfront has been substantially redeveloped, with new restaurants, a supermarket and a casino, but I ignored all these attractions and headed first to the Queens Royal Hotel.  The outside was off-puttingly covered in scaffolding, but the hotel bar merits a Good Beer Guide entry and so obviously needed visiting.  I found a very comfortable nicely decorated bar with four hand pumps and I enjoyed an excellent pint of Hawkshead Windermere Pale.  The menu looked good, but I resisted.

I continued my stroll round the sea front and then turned towards the town centre, passing Redcaps, now closed, before calling in to the Ship Hotel.  Definitely the down-market end of spectrum, a little scruffy inside but still clean and tidy.  They'd run out of Guinness (except in cans) so I had a lager for a change, and sat on a comfortable sofa watching a steady trickle of regulars coming in and out.  This is undoubtedly a local pub for local people, everyone who came in knew everyone else and the two bar staff.

Next, on to the Commercial, but it isn't called the Commercial any more, it's now the Harbour.  Nothing much else seems to have changed, there's a small bar side with a couple of bits of peeling paintwork giving it a slightly tatty feel, and in great contrast a well appointed and well cared for lounge side.  This used to belong to Cains Brewery but was sold off in one of their financial crises.  The four hand pumps were only offering one real ale and I had a spot on pint of Black Sheep.  Apparently the best route from the bar to the gents is via the street!

Just across the road from the Harbour is the imposing building that houses the Perch Rock.  I remember when I last visited, in 1999, being served a pint of pure vinegar which purported to be John Smith's cask ale.  This time I had Otter Bitter and it was excellent.  The pub has a rather odd layout with a very narrow front bar across the front of the building.  My 1999 visit recorded two lounge rooms behind with no bar counter but I have to admit I didn't go and check these this time.  Instead I sat in "Bob's Corner" at the end of the bar, luckily Bob wasn't in.  Once again, a local's pub, everyone in the busy bar knew everyone else.  (Cheat - This picture was taken on a previous trip some years ago!)

Surprises In Town

A workmate was looking at my pub guide and asked what I thought of the Cavern Pub, and I had to admit I'd never been in.  So after visiting the blood donor centre today I headed down to Mathew Street to check the place out.

And I found a rather good cellar bar with walls covered  in music memorabilia, with, much to my surprise, two hand pumps on the bar.  Not the sort of place I would expect to find decent beer, but I enjoyed a spot on pint of Black Sheep.  The barmaid had apparently never used a hand pump before, and she had to get instruction from her colleague.  There's a stage for live music, but no-one was performing on a Thursday afternoon.

Just a little way along Mathew Street and I was in for another surprise - A brand new pub called Glass Onion, where the board outside advertised bitter, lager, Guinness and mild all at £1.50 a pint!  Inside it is a plain corridor bar and as you can imagine at these prices, the customers are a little on the down-market side.  There weren't actually any fights while I was there, but there were a couple of vociferous arguments!  I sat unobtrusively in the corner, getting a little worried when the seven foot tall (OK, a slight exaggeration.) bloke who the barmaid had just annoyed by refusing to serve him sat down next to me.  He soon left to try another pub.

It must be a good few years since Guinness was available at this price.  Can they really be making a profit?

I was trying to remember what was here before, and a quick Google seems to show that it was formerly part of Hardy's, which now has a shorter frontage, I think.