Hanley Pub Explorations

There will be Bass.

Time to head up to Hanley after a lunchtime spent down the hill in Stoke.
Retracing my steps to the railway station, I wandered past Staffordshire University, through Hanley Park, then across some hefty roads with long-winded traffic lights to Hanley. 

I'll start with a picture of the Steel Man statue on Broad Street...

And some great street art...

Before making my way to the first pub, just on the periphery of Hanley centre...

The Woodman (3 Goodson Street, Hanley, ST1 2AT)

A quick online search led me to stories that this has changed its name in the short time since my visit and become the 'Irish Woodman'.  Not the first time in its history that it has taken on an Irish identity, having been a Scruffy Murphy's at the end of the nineties. 

Since then it spent ten years closed before reopening in 2018 as part of the local Caldmore Taverns group.

Externally, it's an impressive three-storey building with a grand entrance and lovely plaster-work wood cutter picture under the gable.
In through the front door...

Don't smoke Player's cigarettes, kids

And it's a bit of gem Inside.  The pub is L-shaped, with the bar to the left-hand side, yellow stained walls and ceiling, polished wooden floor, and nice cushioned bench seating around the sides of the room.
There is a cosy room to the side of the bar, whilst to the back a couple of steps lead to further seating areas on the way to the WC's.
Speaking of which, you'll find a few pieces to add to the 'Mild Smut in the Gents' series there...

Mild smut in the gents #47 in an ongoing series

A hefty run of hand pumps served up a choice of seven real ales, dominated by Facers brewery from the Welsh town of Flint.  Bass was amongst these, but I decided not to do a full-sweep of Hanley drinking the same beer.

The friendly chap behind the bar had scooped up a pint glass as soon as I walked through the door and the pressure was on to make my pick.  As he was standing with one hand on the pump serving Facers 'Over the Bar', that's what I went for.  
"Brewed for the rugby", he told me.  Bah!

Mid-afternoon, mid-week, the clientele consisted mainly of solo blokes, half of them riveted by the tiling on a DIY show on the TV.

The snug at the Woodman
How many people have tried  to sneak out with one of those Guinness cushions under their coat?

There was an odd mix of music, veering from the emerald isle (The Chieftan's 'Marie's Wedding') to the Queen of Soul, then the Goo Goo Dolls. I left during Altan's 'Month of January', which was a million miles from the upbeat pop I'd encounter later, and which was in danger of inducing an afternoon nap.

Not far to go to reach a cracking pub on one of the main shopping streets...

 The Unicorn Inn (40 Piccadilly, Hanley, ST1 1EG)
This is a superb place, making an appearance on the Heritage Pub list.  Consisting of one single room and a one-table alcove snug at the back, this was refurbished in the mid-sixties and has remained little-changed since.
There are Mock Tudor beams on a ceiling which also features a variety of hanging brass kettles.  Old pictures of the town adorn the walls, comfy red-upholstered fixed seating around the sides and classic pub stools make up the seating.

Available ales were Bass, more rugby-themed beer - this time Castle Rock's  'Crafty Flanker',  Ossett 'White Rat', and a Tim Taylor 'Landlord'.  I did go for the Bass here, which was superbly drinkable and in good condition.

I grabbed the last small table, the pub busy with a good crowd of locals, whilst a classic soundtrack gave us Tom Petty, Springsteen, and Billy Joel's 'Uptown Girl', which I don't think I've heard for ages.

The Unicorn is a lovely pub that I could quite happily had made myself comfortable in for the whole afternoon, if only I hadn't developed this weird obsession about being on the move and 'ticking' pubs.

The next tick was something completely different.
All of 10-seconds across Piccadilly from the Unicorn was craft bar Bottlecraft.
Where did that rain come from?

Bottlecraft (33 Piccadilly, Hanley, ST1 1EN)

The origins of this bar started in another nearby street in 2015 before they relocated to "trendy" (according to the Stoke Sentinel) Picadilly.
Right next door to the Regent Theatre, this used be Gemini Menswear prior to installing the craft ale lines and fridges.

There actually weren't many of the 12 taps in action when I visited and no cask, which would have the potential to upset one or two visitors drawn here by its place in the Good Beer Guide.
Three of those options were a Flensburger Pilsner, Hogan's cider, or Schöfferhofer Radler.

But that still left Neon Raptor, Buxton, Yonder and Utopian concoctions to pick from.  And my Yonder 'Dark Choc Ginger Biscuit' was - according to my Untappd check-in - "Pretty bloomin' marvelous'.

Next up, I had a bit of a trek in the rain. It was a half-mile to get to Golden Cup, situated to the north east of the centre amongst terraced streets and some factories that have seen better days.

On arrival, it looks well worth a wet half-mile walk...

The Golden Cup (Old Town Road, Hanley, ST1 2JS)

This has been restored by a chap named Steven Buckley whose grandparents ran the pub from 1952 to 1991.  He owns a popular nightclub in Hanley which has given him the means to resurrect this pub when it looked lost forever.

The lights are bright, but this does give a chance to admire just what a good job they've done of returning this place to former glories.

With limited opening hours, the Golden Cup is only open Thursday to Sunday.  Visiting on a Thursday afternoon, I beat most of the custom for the week...just one couple arriving at the same time and choosing to sit well away from me (and who could blame 'em).
A very quiet visit, but superb for the photo opportunities...

Even the toilets are immaculate...

But what about the beer?
Not quite 'Bass Only' as the frontage suggests, there is also Titanic 'Plum Porter' on offer.  But this was somewhere that I wanted the red triangle stuff and where it was on astonishingly good form...probably the best I had on this Staffs trip.

I left the Golden Cup a happy man.
Wandering back through the damp, dark streets, the shopping area had quietened down for  the day.  Time to take a quick snap of the statue of Hanley-born Stanley Matthews, out of easy reach earlier in the day behind some happy, singing church folk.

I called into the Victoria Lounge Bar for a half from Derbyshire brewery Dancing Duck.  Then into the fabulous Coachmakers Arms by the bus station for a final pint of Bass.

And then somehow, I managed to shop in the giant Tesco, find the train station, and make my way back to Stafford.
But after a long day out in the Stoke and Hanley, I'm not quite sure how.