The Ship Inn at Lathom

Today I stopped by the Ship Inn or Blood Tub at Lathom. The pub has been refurbed since my last visit and has had some good reviews of late.
We came here because the Windmill was too busy and had no tables free. But I think fate did us a favour. The Ship was also busy but it's a bigger pub and we found a table. There were six ales on, I had a pint of Tribute, the others were Black Sheep, Nutty Slack, Pendle Witch, a Thwaites and a Ship one whose name escapes me right now.
We were hungry so we got menus and and chose a cheddar baguette and a fish finger barm. We sat next to the real fire which is always nice.
The food came, they brought a very nice looking steak baguette that was supposed to be a cheese one. It looked much nicer than the fish finger one I had to settle for. Soon the right food arrived. The chips were huge and I was forced to leave a few although it broke my heart to see good food go to waste.
Sat in the room by the bar it was a little noisy especially with a baby that seemed to be possessed by the Devil.
Overall it was very nice. There were few negatives, the empty glasses and crisp packets that were on our table when we arrived stayed with us for the meal and the mix up with the order can happen anywhere.
Definitely worth another visit, the real fire make drinking real ale in winter a very pleasant experience.

Our Day Out to Chester

Working in a university library is hardly stressful but it is always nice to have a day off work and go somewhere different. I feel nothing but contempt for most of my colleagues but there are some who I will willingly spend time with outside of work. So last week, my Louise-Brooks-bobbed colleague Clare and I went for a day trip to Chester.

The original plan was to do a 6 miles walk in West Lancashire calling in at a few pubs. On reflection however I recalled that a couple of the pubs are closed which could leave us with a fair distance to walk without beer or the sort of facilities one needs after beer. In a flash of brilliance I decided to go to Chester, just 40 minutes away on the train and with some of my favourite canal in England.

So on a Wednesday, one that the Met Office said would be the only cloudy day of the week, we arrived in Chester. It's a short walk from Chester station down City Road to the canal. On the bridge I pointed out a few of the local points of interest to my companion: the lead shot tower, the water tower, the canal itself and the mills and warehouses. And of course the first pub: Old Harkers Arms. I have been here once before with towpathtreks' Irish pub reviewer, on race day as I recall and the place was packed with be-suited Scousers getting ready for a day of drinking and obnoxiousness. On this latest occasion though we almost had the place to ourselves. It was half twelve and I wasnt sure what I fancied to drink. We were going to have food so we thought it best to have a bottle of dry white wine, South African I think it was. I am the sort of person who judges wine on its alcohol content and price. Preferably the former is high and the later is low. But the Old Hawkers Arms is a nice place for nice people so I had to act civilized. We were drawn to the end of the pub with the bookshelves. Surprisingly enough although I work in a library I dont see that much of the bookshelves, but we felt at home here. The Hawkers Arms really is nice. Its a big room without feeling like a barn. Its nice and light, you can see boats going past on the canal. There is plenty of decoration but nothing too distracting. And the staff were very nice too. We had lunch, fish finger sandwich and prawn sandwiches, with chips. All very nice. Even the toilets are nice. I could have stayed there drinking all day but I would have probably let myself and my colleague down and done or said something that would preclude me coming back, and I would like to go back.

Outside the weather was improving. The white cloud had patches of blue and it was warm. We walked towards the city centre along the towpath. I past by the Canalside Bar which last time I had walked straight out of. Maybe next time. We past the Frog and Nightingale too. I dont think I will go back there again. Not unless I want to get shitfaced on Fosters with like-minded people.

Under the city walls, in the deep rock cutting, below the Northgate and Bridge of Sighs is a very good place to be. It has the history, the canal, that feeling of peace and seclusion you get on canals even when they are a stones throw from busy roads and towns. We wandered along looking at the sandstone and the ducklings. The ducks were swimming against the current, there were boats locking down the Northgate staircase. Past the locks we walked around the basin stopping to look at the big iron hook for horse drawn boats and the graving lock and dry dock. There are some gorgeous new flats being built. You can tell they are gorgeous because of the big signs saying so on the side.

We arrived at our destination, Telford's Warehouse. This, as the name suggests, is a former warehouse which was built by Thomas Telford in the 1790s. For whatever reason I have never been inside this pub. I know it as a music venue and assumed that during the day it would be empty or shut. But there were people sat outside on the picnic tables and the sun was shining brightly on them. Inside the decor was not what I had imagined, although I dont know what I had imagined it would be like. I liked it, it is sort of modern trendy old fashioned. There is a pretty impressive range of beers on tap, but as it was so sunny I went for a nice cold lager. Ice Cold in Alex. It almost seemed a shame to leave the nice pub but we went and sat outside and enjoyed the sun. A couple of boats went past and some locals were fishing and enjoying some Stella. Much better than being in work.

After our drinks we walked up to the city walls and around to the River Dee. On the way we were engulfed in a tour group from Italy or Germany or some such continental place. Chester is very popular with tourists. Interestingly my colleague was more excited by an old 1980s TSB logo than the mock Tudor or Roman remains. There are also some hideous concrete buildings from the 1970s in Chester. The council must have been desperate for any investment then to allow them to built that stuff.

At the river we got ice creams and went on a boat trip up the Dee. Sadly we were on the Mark Twain not the Lady Diana but it was very nice and I got to see bits of Chester I hadn't seen before. The taped commentary was good, and the boat houses by the river are very swanky.

After the boat ride we went for food and drink (O'Kells) in the Bear and Billet, a favourite of mine. It seems to be popular with the tourists too, some Japanese or Chinese tourists were stood across the road taking photos of the pub. After eating we had one last drink (Spitting Feathers) in the Brewery Tap. The pub is in an old hall parts of which date back to the early 1500s. The main room has some impressive features as did the rather nice barmaid. If you like your real ale and appreciate an old building then this is the place for you.

We walked back to the canal, passing the Frog and Nightingale which was now very loud and busy outside. Soon we were back in Liverpool tired from the fresh air and sunshine. And the booze.

It was a really nice day, the weather was unexpectedly lovely and my colleague was the perfect person to skive off work with in Chester.

Canal Pub Reviews: Lancashire

As part of towpathtreks on going mission to visit the pubs of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal  we headed off to Lancashire. The first pub was Crooke Hall Inn in Standish Lower Ground near Wigan. We parked in the large car park behind the pub. On the canal there were a couple of boats on the move. The canal was frozen and the ducks were walking along on the ice. 

The Crooke Hall Inn has its back to the canal. In the car park which lies between the pub and the canal is an evil fibre glass tree for the children to play on and to inspire nightmares later. 

Unfortunately the pub was having a much needed refurb when we got there so we couldn't comment too much on the decor. The Cooke Hall Inn is an Allgate pub, a local Wigan brewers. It also had Phoenix Hop Sack. The lady at the bar was certainly friendly but the pub hadn't warmed up yet in temperature or atmosphere. I think we will have to go back when it has been done up and maybe on a Thursday evening when they have live folk music. 

Next on the list was Waters Edge at Appley Bridge. This is a modern pub with a large carpark. Its on the bankside of the canal with excellent views across the canal and the River Douglas valley.  Sadly I think the view is the best thing about the pub. The outside patio area is very nice, and if I had to come back it would be to sit outside in the sunshine. The inside looks like it hasn't been done up for a decade or two. They are obviously proud of their word processor and laminator; there are signs and notices all over the place. The menu is an impressive A3. The highlight of the visit was seeing Carl Baker on the TV playing for Coventry. We left as a horde of children ran to sit at the table next to us. The beer is nothing to write home about. Greene King.  

On to the next pub. The Ring O'Bells was shut and for sale so we headed straight off to the Slipway in Burscough. On the way through Burscough the Waterfront looked closed. Also the old canal depot buildings have gone and been replaced with a new development. Hard to judge it by just driving by though. 

The Slipway is a one room pub with Thwaites Wainwright on draught amongst others. The match on TV was drawing to a close, so I checked the Southport result and found to my delight we were beating York 4-0. 

We ate here, a steak for about a tenner and gammon for about seven quid. The food was good, nothing special. Nice and hot though. 

Maybe the best thing about the pub is the PacMan game by the door. Old Skool fun. 

Out of today's pubs I think Crooke Hall Inn is the one I would return to.

Pub Reviews: Salterforth to Snaygill

Time to add some new pubs to Towpath Treks Canal Pub Guide. You would think that going to a pub, taking a photo of it and having a pint would be top of my list of things to do but it seems to have taken years to get some new pubs on the guide. Too much time spent in other pubs probably. Anyway if we were going to do it we may as well head off to the wrong side of the border and look at the pubs on the Yorkshire side of the Leeds & Liverpool canal. 

The plan was to drive up to the Anchor Inn, Salterforth (not sure if this is in Yorkshire but its close), the Cross Keys at East Marton, the Anchor Inn at Gargrave, the Bay Horse at Snaygill, the Copper Dragon Brewery, and then to Skipton and the Royal Shepherd and Narrow Boat. 

After a look round the Astrid Kirchherr exhibition at the Victoria Museum and Gallery in Liverpool we headed off up the motorways, following the canal to Salterforth. After some minor disagreements with the SatNav we arrived. Kate the towpathtreks.co.uk official (and still undefeated) beer and pub reviewer was on board and it was time to get to work. 

The Anchor Inn was the only pub on the days list that I have been in before. It is most famous for its cellar of stalactites and stalagmites. Maybe we were a bit early, it was only just gone 12noon, but the pub was anything but busy. The pub has some black and white photos of the canal on the walls. We had planned to ask to have a look in the cellar but this being the first pub and therefore the first pint, we were feeling a bit shy so after our drinks we crept out and back to the car. 

The plan was to eat in the next pub which was luckily only a 10 minute drive away. The Cross Keys is near enough to the Double Arch Bridge to count as a canal pub in my book and besides it gets good reviews and we were hungry. I think we timed our arrival just right. Not long after we had sat down the place was full. This was our first pub selling Copper Dragon, the Skipton brew. 

There was an impressive menu, Kate had a psychic knack for picking the items off the chalk board that were sold out but eventually she went for the Keys Burger and we could all move on with our lives. The burgers when they arrived were excellent and more than either of us could finish. This pub is one of the best for food on the canal. It is well worth the short walk up a busy road from bridge #161, but you may end up waddling back full of food. And so waddle on we did. 

There isnt much to say about the Anchor Inn at Gargrave. Its a Brewers Fayre pub with a Premier Inn on the side. If you want a cheap hotel room in Gargrave this could be the place for you. If you are looking for a pub with interesting beer or character then this is probably not the pub to head for. 

On the way to the next pub I stopped at Higherland lock to see how the water level was. The levels are down a foot or so but not as bad as they have been. 

the canal at Gargrave

From Gargrave we drove to the Bay Horse in Lower Snaygill. This is a chain pub but nicer than the Brewers Fayre. Its the sort of pub that you would go to for a meal rather than a drink. Kate had a Timothy Taylor while I had yet another J20. A purple one this time. We read the Towpath Talk and sat back while through the window the hire boats headed back to Skipton. 

Before we headed into Skipton we stopped off at the Copper Dragon Brewery, a building as far removed from the Cains brewery in Liverpool as is possible. Unfortunately the shop was shut and the bistro just too strange for me to drink in.  I dont know why anyone would go to a side door of a shed on an industrial estate for a meal. 

In Skipton we walked up the Springs Branch, beneath the castle walls. The Kennet is moored in Skipton at the moment. Run by the Leeds & Liverpool it is a floating promotion for the canal and a reminder of what a real boat looks like.  It started to rain so we headed to the penultimate pub. 

The Royal Shepherd is a traditional pub. I guess that is short hand for saying it hasn't been done up for 20 years. Like all pubs it does food and the chips looked good but you can imagine a microwave and a sandwich toaster out the back. Worn seats and dodgy carpet is not retro chic. Still the pub was full of drinkers so they must be doing something right. The beer was good, I managed a pint of Copper Dragon Scotts 1816 which was nice, Kate had the Best Bitter. 

With time ticking on we wondered about missing out the last pub but to have done that we would have missed out on the best pub of the day. 

The Narrow Boat is just round the corner from the Royal Shepherd but is a million miles away in terms of style and décor. Its a spacious clean pub with roses and castles decoration alongside beer advertising on the wall. The range of beers is something like The Fly in the Loaf or Ship and Mitre in Liverpool, and for those who dont know, thats very good. If I was trying to create a pub that was aimed directly at me, this would be it. Its just a shame it was over 100 mile round trip for a pint. As it was the last pub before driving home I was back on the coke while Kate had a Midnight Bell, from the Leeds brewers. Looking through the drinks menu I noticed an alcohol free beer, perfect for the driver. Sadly it smelt so bad I couldnt finish it. With no booze in the bottle it wasnt worth holding my nose and pouring it down my neck. Still, not the pubs fault. 

We finished our drinks and went for chips by the canal. It rained all the way back to Liverpool. 

The Windmill Hotel Parbold

Today we went to the Windmill Hotel in Parbold for lunch. Sadly I was without the official beer taster so no beer reviews today. But I can say that the food was very good and reasonably priced too. My gammon was lovely, but the burgers looked pretty good too. Its just a shame we had to eat it in the back yard (our fault for bringing a spaniel with us). From what I saw of the inside it is lovely and I hope to go back soon and try some of the beers they had on tap. 

Review the Windmill yourself at www.towpathtreks.co.uk 

Canal Pub: Scarisbrick Arms Re-Opens

I was very pleased to see the Scarisbrick Arms has re-opened. For over two years now it has been closed and looking very sorry for itself. Now it is open again and had a refurbishment. The bar and restaurant are now open. Work on the garden by the canal will be done in time for the summer season. It will eventually provide bed and breakfast.

I haven't had chance to go and see how the refurb has gone, if you do visit make sure you review the pub on towpathtreks Leeds & Liverpool Canal pub guide: http://www.towpathtreks.co.uk/LLC/canal_pub_guide.html

Cains in Trouble

Liverpool brewers Cains are in financial trouble, there last figures showed a loss of £4.6m and they are waiting to hear from their bank. With their future in doubt it is a concern for the pubs they recently took onboard. The Ship or Blood Tub at Burscough is a Cains pub I believe.
Added to the Cains problems is the news that the Running Horses has recently shut and is up for sale.
The rise in petrol prices and the governments continued attacks on public houses must make life hard for landlords, especially those at canal pubs that are more remote from the usual town pub.
The number of pubs on my pub guide could be dropping again...

http://www.towpathtreks.co.uk/LLC/canal_pub_guide.html