Liverpool 2019 - Sunday 13 January

Day 3 in Liverpool and a third (later) breakfast at the Lime Kiln with welcome free refills of coffee as provided by Wetherspoon pubs. Once again our CAMRA group took over the front area of the ground floor.

The distant building, in the photo above, is McCooley's, facing Concert Square.

The Ship & Mitre

After breakfast, a 15 minute walk led us to the Ship & Mitre in Dale Street, which opens at 10am on Sundays. The corner pub, opposite the Mersey Tunnel entrance, stands out with its art deco style and cream and blue colour scheme.

After posting a photo of the pub, once owned by Bent's Brewery, from my Twitter account some replies from beer writers followed (above) with an explanation that 'Bents' used to be part of the signage - between Ales and Stouts.

A group was leaving just as we arrived so we were able to secure the slightly raised area at the front corner of the Ship & Mitre. We liked the pub, service and beers so much that we would remain here for three hours!

As a change from my favoured pale ale style, a pint of Jar porter by Flagship Beer was an introduction to the Ship & Mitre's own beers which are cuckoo brewed on a 4 barrel kit. The 4.7% ABV Jar is brewed with spicy rye and roasted malts.

There was time for a chat with Tom Anderson on a subsequent visit to the bar and Tom posed with one of my last copies of West Berkshire CAMRA's Ullage magazine.

Tom mentioned that apart from his work at the pub he is also the brewer / owner of Tyton brewery based in Ainsdale, Southport. Tom knows Angus Morrison, now Head Brewer at Birkenhead's Glen Affric Brewery, from his brewing training. Tom is naming Tyton's beers after owls e.g. Tawny and Morepork.

My next beer was a half pint of Flagship Lupa, dry with citrus peel flavours, brewed with Syrian Wolf hops and costing £1.50.

It was also nice to meet Kurt Watson, the Ship & Mitre's manager. Kurt is originally from Basildon in Essex but liked Liverpool and its people so much while he was a student in the city that he stayed on.

Petra, on keg, from Flagship Beer was my third and favourite beer at the Ship & Mitre. The 4% ABV Citrus Hefe-Weiss cost £1.50 for 1/3 pint. The pub's beer menu lists 37 German bottled beers and other European keg and bottled beers are also available reflecting its claim to be the 'home of the largest drinks range in Liverpool'.

Home cooked food is available all day from the Galley including their famous Scouse.

Thanks must go to tankard for generously ordering a jug of Silhouett by Flagship Beer so that we could all taste it before moving on. Kurt delivered and poured the 4.5% ABV dry Irish stout for us. He was about to finish his shift at the pub and confided in us that his staff had been asking him if he was bipolar because he was being so nice to everyone! Evidence suggests that the Ship & Mitre's claim to be 'where you'll receive great service from friendly and knowledgeable staff' is fully borne out!

 Before leaving we explored other parts of the spacious pub and noted the blackboard with a diagram showing 'How is beer made?'.

The view from the other side of the partition wall with the blackboard reveals that the rear area is also raised and surrounded by brass rails.

The Excelsior

Leaving the pub at 2.45pm, it was less than a minute's walk west from the Ship & Mitre, past an office block, to the Excelsior also in Dale Street.

This was another deep and spacious pub but more plushly decorated with curtains and ornamental lamps. We found an area where we could sit together by the etched windows. The text on the wall is similar to the opening lines from Roger McGuinn's Liverpool Gals including

'And it's row, row

   bullies row

         Those Liverpool Judies

        have got us in tow'

My beer here was a favourite - Salopian Lemon Dream (£1.75 1/2 pint), a 4.5% ABV pale golden ale brewed using organic lemons. The Everton v Bournemouth football match was screened on a TV and the game would end with a 2-0 win for Everton, whose Goodison Road ground is 2 1/2 miles north.

Leaving the pub at 3.45pm we passed the impressive Liverpool City Council offices on our 3 minute walk further west down Dale Street to the Vernon Arms.

The Vernon Arms

On the corner with Vernon Street, the Vernon Arms only has a narrow frontage on Dale Street.

Our group occupied the round tables in main central area inside, opposite the long bar. The football match was also being screened here. Unusually there is a sloping floor.

A range of seven cask ales at the bar of the free house included Windmill Brewery Taonga, an 'Ultra Pale Ale'.

There is a framed plan of Liverpool and Birkenhead docks on an end wall, under a clock. Framed Édouard Manet prints on other walls include Olympia, Luncheon on the Grass and Un Bar aux Folies Bergère (with its bottles of Bass identified by the red triangle trademark).

Leaving the pub at 4.45pm, we passed the Royal Insurance Building, now the Aloft hotel. The illuminated frieze, designed by C. J. Allen, depicts themes relating to insurance.

We also passed Thomas Rigby's on Dale Street before turning north into Hackins Hey and passing the Lady of Mann just before entering Ye Hole In Ye Wall.

Ye Hole In Ye Wall

Proceeding to the bar of Ye Hole In Ye Wall, known as Liverpool's oldest pub, there is evidence of stained and leaded glass panels.

With a choice of six cask ales, I opted for Red Star Brewery Formby IPA. 

The 4% ABV session IPA with a hint of elderflower is hopped with Cascade and New Zealand hops. 

Once again, our group was able to find a convenient place to sit together in an area with upholstered seats and wood panelling above. 

As GBG pub bloggers like Martin Taylor and Simon Everitt sometimes include photos of unusual signs for toilet facilities, I couldn't resist taking a photo of the elegant sign used for the Gents at Ye Hole In Ye Wall. At 5.45pm there was a consensus that we should find somewhere for a meal. We were turned away at the first place we tried 'not enough room' and I joined a splinter group that would head for Peter Kavanagh's while most would continue the search for a restaurant in the Moorfields area.

With Liverpudlian Tony in my small group, we headed via pedestrian Mathew Street in the Cavern Quarter to the Elliot Street bus stop, opposite the The Richard John Blackler (Wetherspoon). 

Peter Kavanagh's

An 86 bus took us uphill to Catharine Street for £2.30 and then it was only three minutes walk to Peter Kavanagh's on a corner of Egerton Street. The bar is festooned with unusual objects and there are hand pumps for three cask ales - Black Sheep Resolution,  The Mobberley Brewhouse Boom Juice and Hook Norton Cold Turkey on our visit. Payment is by cash only.

We took our drinks into one of the bar areas near where a variety of radios were suspended from the ceiling. Another splinter group, that included Rachel, was already here so we joined them until they departed. A ukulele group was playing and one of the songs performed was Homeward Bound. Tony mentioned that Paul Simon wrote this song while waiting for a train back to London station at Widnes station after a performance in Liverpool. 

Decor in another area of the pub includes a bicycle and a poster for the Liverpool Overhead Railway.
My plan was to call in at the Grapes where jazz music is played on a Sunday night but Tony's route did not allow for this so we arrived instead at the Head of Steam in Hanover Street at 8.45pm.

The Head of Steam

My first beer at the Head of Steam was Fab Four a 4.4% ABV 'Liverpool IPA' brewed by Rock the Boat Brewery. The four 'sensational UK hops' used are Admiral, Flyer, Cascade and Target.

More from our group joined us later bringing our numbers up from three to ten.

My last cask beer of the day was Sanctuary by Camerons Brewery of Hartlepool. (Camerons owns the 15 strong Head of Steam chain of pubs).

Sanctuary is a permanent ale from Cameron's Anchor brand and is a 3.8% ABV pale ale dry hopped with Citra hops. After four days of exploring the pubs of the Liverpool area it was finally time to say goodbye to my CAMRA friends and head back to the nearby hotel. Cheers!

Liverpool / Crosby 2019 - Saturday 12 January

A dull and windy day on Saturday 12 January again started with breakfast at the Lime Kiln with a group of CAMRA friends drawn mainly from Surrey and Sussex.

Breakfast at the Lime Kiln (Wetherspoon)

We took over the same front area of the ground floor as on Friday. Most of the group would follow Jon Gadd's plan to travel by train to Southport and work back towards Liverpool in stages visiting mainly micropubs.

However, my day would only need a one area Saveaway day ticket (£4) loaded on my Walrus card as Blundellsands & Crosby would be the furthest north for my travels on the railway line to Southport.

Liverpool Mountain (Ugo Rondinone) sculpture outside Tate Liverpool

Before heading to Crosby a return to the Pier Head area was involved for a visit to Tate Liverpool between the river Mersey and the Albert Dock.

Supermarket trolley outside Peter Kavanagh's - featured in 'Anomaly Strolls'

A highlight of this visit was a bizarre video by South Korean artists Moon Kyungwon and Jeon Joonho - 'Anomaly Strolls' - that features a supermarket wire trolley propelling itself along the pavements of Liverpool and includes exterior and interior film of Peter Kavanagh's pub in Egerton Street.

My next destination, Crosby beach, can be reached by Merseyrail train from Liverpool to Waterloo. However, to see a bit more of dockside Liverpool first, I caught a 500 bus south, past the Baltic Fleet pub and Brunswick dock, to Brunswick station in Toxteth before catching a northbound Southport train via Liverpool Central and Bootle to Waterloo.

The walking route along South Road to Crosby beach from Waterloo station passes The Queen's Picture House, a Wetherspoon pub in a former cinema.

A footpath leads to the beach past a marine lake and through sand dunes.

A strong wind was blowing grains of sand from the beach towards me and few people braved these conditions unless they had a dog to walk or an interest in seeing Anthony Gormley's Another Place installation of multiple identical cast-iron life size naked figures spaced out across the beach and into the approaching sea.

Back in the shelter of local streets, my route heading north towards Blundellsands & Crosby station passed the Corner Post Micro Pub, 25 Bridge Road, which was shuttered and closed at 1pm.

Stamps bar

To save time I caught a bus inland to Great Crosby to find Stamps bar / brewpub.

My first half pint of the day was Stamps Brewery Flying Cloud, economically priced at £1.50.

As it was busy downstairs I carried my beer upstairs to the spacious and light room with a variety of mirrors on one wall. The montage of musicians faces next to the window reflects the regular live music events held at Stamps bar.

Liverpool Pigeon

A five minute walk south on Liverpool Road leads to the Liverpool Pigeon micro pub at 14 Endbutt Lane. Blackboards in the window give details of beers available and forthcoming. Another blackboard includes the text of Proverbs 31.7 'Let him drink and forget his poverty and remember his misery no more'. A green band across the windows shows that German and Belgian beers are available here as well as real ale and cider.

A Double Diamond 'works wonders' tray, in the left of the front window, is one of a larger collection of tin trays displayed on a wall inside.

At the rear bar a blackboard gives full details of the available cask ales with the ABV clearly displayed. My first half pint was 4% ABV Mallinsons Rakau Nelson which was pale and dry.
Before leaving I enjoyed my second half pint, also £1.60, even more. The hoppy Blackjack Beers Pale Ale from Manchester's Green Quarter was again 4% ABV.

With a knowledgeable landlord, a well chosen beer range plenty of seating and no music system, Merseyside's first micro pub would turn out to be my favourite on the day.
A one mile bus ride further south down Liverpool Road took me back to South Road for Waterloo station.

Trap & Hatch

The Trap & Hatch at 130 South Road opened in October 2016.

The pub dog greeted me on arrival and appeared to have a favoured resting place in between greeting new arrivals!

I enjoyed a half pint of Cross Bay Brewing Co Sunset Blonde (4.2% ABV £1.70).

The upmarket micropub with craft beers and two cask ales has a flat screen showing a video loop of a blazing fire. Tables are made from chunky planks of wood and timber planks also features in the bar front. Music on the sound system included Jimmy Cliff's The Harder They Come and the Doobie Brothers Long Train Runnin'. The Trap & Hatch is big enough to host live music on Saturdays.

Stamps too / The Waterpudlian

Stamps too in Waterloo is a sister pub to Stamps in Crosby. (In February 2019 the name was changed to The Waterpudlian). It is situated almost opposite Waterloo railway station at 99 South Road. A blackboard outside lists live music acts for Thursday - Sunday nights.

The free table I found inside, near the window, had a view of the low stage.

My half pint here was Liverpool Pale Ale from Liverpool Organic Brewery. A customer at the bar was listening to a football commentary which was audible to all nearby. Pop music was also playing on the sound system. Mark Geeson texted me from the Grasshoppper micropub in Stockport to say that the barman there had recommended a visit to the Volunteer Canteen near Waterloo and Crosby beach.

The Volunteer Canteen

This meant that my third and final pub stop in Waterloo was the Volunteer Canteen. It was in a residential area, half a mile away at 41 East Street, three streets inland from the coast. The light was fading as 5pm approached.

The Volunteer Canteen is a multi room community pub with plenty of interesting features inside. From the central bar with stained glass panels, I ordered Rock the Boat Brewery Dazzle, brewed in a 16th century wheelwright's workshop in Little Crosby village.

There is no fruit machine, pool table or juke box. Dogs are welcome at the pub and there were several in the dimly lit main room where I found a free table. Horse brasses adorn the top level of the dark wooden panelling. Table service was available in this bar.

A blue plaque records that the Volunteer Canteen is included on CAMRA's National Inventory of historic pub interiors. There are plenty of posters and old pictures, including some of the Liverpool Overhead Railway, in the rooms and passageways of the traditional pub.
Mark texted me again to say his group was on the way to the Volunteer Canteen so I replied that I would rendezvous with them briefly at Waterloo station on my way back to Liverpool. There would just be time for me to greet them before boarding the 17.40 train towards Liverpool and Hunts Cross.

The Welkin, Cavern Quarter, Liverpool

Jeff Evans had recommended a visit to the White Star pub in Liverpool's Cavern Quarter. After walking there from Moorfields station via Stanley Street I would delay my visit until after coffee at the Welkin, the nearby two storey, glass-fronted Wetherspoon pub.

The White Star

Brass plaques on the exterior of the White Star mention that the pub is twinned with bars in Norway (Skien and Grimstad).

Inside, I ordered a pint of Bass from the island bar, a choice that GBG pub blogger Martin Taylor would surely approve of! Unfortunately it was served in a John Smith's glass and was relatively costly (£3.80).

The White Star was busy but there was a table free in the back room and more tables became free later when the above photo was taken.

This room is famed for its 'Beatles seats' marked with individual brass plaques and with framed Beatles memorabilia above. The story is that this is where the Beatles would meet their first manager Allan Williams 'The man who gave the Beatles away' to receive their payments for playing at the nearby Cavern Club.

There are many interesting items relating to the White Star Line on display in the pub.
While I had been 'nursing' my pint of Bass waiting for Mark and others to join me, a text informed me that the group had split with some going from Moorfields station to the Ship and Mitre and others to the Lion Tavern. Mark and Trevor eventually arrived at the White Star at 8.45pm.

The Head of Steam

After a walk of a third of a mile we ended the evening at Liverpool's Head of Steam, Hanover Street, conveniently close to our hotel.

The beer I enjoyed here was Jester from Neptune Brewery of Maghull, Merseyside, with its distinctive trident logo. Neptune Brewery beers are unfined and brewed for cask, keg and 440ml cans.

The Head of Steam is spacious inside and some internal walls are decorated with industrial scenes to make the space appear even larger. We would return to the Head of Steam the next evening.