Award Winning Pubs in St Helens

A few hours of a Saturday afternoon spent in the Merseyside town of St Helen's, where I had a plan to visit all the current beer guide entries - something which turned out to be less of a challenge than expected.

But let's start my report from St Helen's in...erm...the western suburbs of Wigan with a pint of Holts in a heritage pub.

The Springfield Hotel (47 Springfield Road, Wigan, WN6 7BB)
The pub was built in 1903 for local Oldfield Brewery.  A great example of a brewery showing-off at the turn of the century, it features etched windows, dado tiles and mahogany bar counter.
We headed through the main door into a wide lobby with bar counter on our right, lounge to the left.  The spacious bar occupies a central position from which the staff can serve you in the busier front room where the early Premier League kick-off was showing on TV, the lobby, or a rear corridor in front of an unfussy back room.

Holt's Bitter please.

Sanitiser top?

£8.85 for three pints - cripes, we'd paid almost that for one pint of Adnams in one of London's more expensive inns a few weeks prior to this.
That Adnam's 'Old Ale' was admittedly pretty good, but then so was the Holt's... 

 

The Springfield was every bit the community pub on our visit, with a succession of folks passing through with carrier bags, face-painting setting up in the lounge and a table of cakes appearing next to the games room.  All the activity and youngsters scuppered a wander with the camera, but I was content in our little space in the back, surrounded by pictures of Wigan in times gone-by.
We figured we'd upset an elderly lady by sitting at her usual table, but she must have forgiven us and got chatting as we stuck around and procured halves of the keg Holts 'Black' dark mild.

Having enjoyed a pleasant visit to this suburban Wigan gem, we walked back to the centre where there was time for another pint of Bass in the Swan & Railway prior to me diverting from the rest of the group.
Twenty-minutes on a Liverpool-bound train took me to St Helens.

The logical first point of call was directly opposite the Central Station, 2025 Good Beer Guide entry the Royal Alfred:  "A large traditional pub with a friendly welcome".

Or perhaps not...

Yep, the Royal Alfred has the red 'temporarily closed' strip on its Google listing.
Quite how temporary, I'm not sure. Looks like it closed in its current incarnation in 2024 before the Guide hit the shelves.

So instead, I skirted around the north of the town centre, pausing to admire the Queen Vic statue and snap a picture of the town hall.

I navigated a busy roundabout named The Landings, then walked up North Road past the spectacular Church of St Mary, veering into the side streets to reach what was now my first pub stop.
Any disappointment that the Royal Alfred was closed was reduced by the knowledge that I had a Regional Pub of the Year and a former National Pub of the Year to visit.
Starting with the current regional champ...

The Turks Head (49 Morley Street, St Helens, WA10 2DQ)
It looked the business from outside: hanging baskets, mock Tudor, Tetley lamps and its own little turret in the corner. The entrance is along the side presenting a choice of turning left or right, although it turns out you can circumnavigate once inside, so no real jeopardy.

There were a massive 14 hand pulls spread over two sections of the bar.
Too many?  I've known beer festivals to have less to pick from. 
I ordered the one closest to me - a 'Pacific Gem' single-hopped pale from Rochdale's Serious Brewing Company.  A dry, biscuity pale in good condition. 

I couldn't fault the enthusiasm the bar staff had for the ale.  A couple who proffered their liking for dark ales were encouraging to drink the Vanilla Stout faster in order for the fantastic North Riding 'Chocolate Fudge Cake', waiting in the cellar, to be put on faster. 

With no tables spare I ended up propped on a stool at the end of the bar, getting in the way of anyone trying to see the beer blackboard.

The Turks Head is the winner of the 2024 Merseyside and Cheshire Pub of the Year, making it one of the 17 that was in contention for National POTY.
It certainly had a cheerful crowd of beer drinkers in when I visited, settled within sight of the TV in the front bar or eating in the cosier back room from a proper pub grub menu.  You can also place an order for food to be brought across the road from the Cowley Grill, attached to the Cowley Vaults pub, which is where I was heading next...

The Cowley Vaults (50 Cooper Street, St Helens, WA10 2BH)
Just one door away from the Turks Head, the Cowley Vaults is a completely different looking pub owned by the same folks.  I admired the basic tiled frontage, then stepped through the door into a much more rough 'n' ready basic open plan boozer.  Pool table to the right with one fella playing himself; TV to the left showing the rugby.
 
Ah, it's St Helens on the telly, which explains the lack of a free table in the previous pub.
Rugby watch🏉: 30 minutes in and St Helens were leading Wakefield Trinity 6-12.

There was a much less daunting pick of five cask ales here: two Timothy Taylor and three local brews.
One swift half of Wily Fox 'Blonde Vixen' later, I found a route through streets lesser-trodden by St Helens tourists and rocked up outside the good lookin' Cricketers Arms.
2017 CAMRA National Pub of the Year.

Cricketers Arms (64 Peter Street, St Helens, WA10 2EB)
And stepped through the door into a hot and heaving wickedly busy pub.  Hmm... I was beginning to see the folly of visiting the town pubs on a day when the St Helens away fixture was on TV.

The Cricketers was matching the Turks with another whopping 14 cask ales, plus pizza from a hut in the garden, cheese truckles and a brewery in the back yard (Howzat).

The beers were from the likes of Timothy Taylor, Thornbridge, 4Ts, Osset, Abbeydale and so on.  Not that I saw the list until later, picking a 'Black Moss Stout' from West Yorkshire brewery Riverhead as it was right in front of me at the spot that I managed to squeeze in the bar.

I just visited at the wrong time, propping up an unused bit of the counter and still managing to get in the way there.  This is somewhere I'd love to return to when it's a little quieter and I have the chance to sample the pizza and the home brew.  Next time.

Rugby watch🏉: Wakefield 6 St Helens 20

Moving on, I made my way to Duke Street where the News Room was the next Beer Guide entry to tick off.
Except it wasn't.
This small bar appears to have changed its identity since the Merseyside CAMRA folks made their fateful beer guide selections for the town.  The name was still the same but there was zero cask ale or anything of interest to drink.  Just one table with cocktails in front of them in at the time that stood wondering if I had the right place, a staff member lurking in the back who didn't spot me, enabling a quick exit.

That left me with one more beer guide tick...The Lamb Inn which I'd passed earlier, so at least knew was open.

The Lamb Inn (113 Corperation Street, St Helens, WA10 1SX)
Built 1864, this sits on a street corner at the end of a two-storey terrace. It consists of two rooms within, either side of a central bar, everything tastefully renovated in 2022.  According to the local paper it was feared lost forever prior to that renovation, having sat closed for some time with 'for sale' signs attached to the wall.

You can peruse the cask ale picks before going in, which was handy as the bar turned out to be another busy one with no change to study pump clips.

A Titanic 'Little Lamb' for me, a 3.8% light pale ale - although looking back at the choices now, I'm surprised I didn't pick the North Riding or Beartown.

🏉 Rugby update: all done & dusted - Wakefield 6 St Helens 26
Which meant things quietened down a little, giving me a table to myself as punters moved on, or relocated away from the screens to the garden.

With two less Beer Guide pubs than I had expected to visit I was feeling a little deflated.
Nothing like Wetherspoon's for a pick-me-up.

Glass House (Market Street, St Helens, WA10 1NE)
Converted from an indoor market and opened in 2000, this central St Helen's Spoons is named in connection with the town's links to the glass industry
There are two Wetherspoon Glass Houses in the UK, the other being in Norwich - don't send your app order to the Fens
The Wolf Brewery 'Granny Wouldn't Like It' had come all the way from Norfolk too, with other guest options from the more local Birkenhead Peerless Brewery.

I haven't captured it in a picture, but it was chaos in the Glass House.  Too busy at the bar to get easily served when I arrived, so I grabbed a seat in the side room and ordered a Peerless 'Little Eye' and Veg Pizza with extra chilis by app.  My pizza arrived before my beer.  Then two beers instead of one, which would be a great bonus on occasion, but I really didn't need two this afternoon.
Then a drama unfolded outside the big windows as someone tried to evade capture by security guards and later the police, keystone cops antics getting the Spoons crowd cheering and popping outside for timely vape breaks and a closer look.

I called it a day on pub explorations in St Helens at this point - I'll await the 2026 Beer Guide and find out where I could have gone to make up for those two closed/revamped '25 entries.

But at that moment I had a return train trip to Wigan, a visit to the Brewhouse before its early closing time, craft in Wigan Central and a little more singing along to rock classics in the John Bull Chophouse to end the evening.
A great few days in the north-west.
Big thanks and a pint of beer next time I see him to Oxford CAMRA chairman John for coming up with the idea of visiting Wigan beer fest and driving us up the motorway to cause havoc in Greater Manchester. 🍺🏆

Four Pubs on the Wirral

In which we explore a bit of the Wirral peninsula, marvel at the New Brighton street art, enjoy a couple of classic pubs, and the rare treat of a pint of John Smiths Smooth & fine tiling in the heritage boozer.

We caught the train under the Mersey to the end of the line at New Brighton, the seaside resort at the tip of the peninsula which is home to around 15,000 people.

The grey day is instantly brightened up by the colourful mermaid just across the road from the station.

There's a fair number of mermaid statues dotted around - Mrs PropUptheBar has the whole collection, being as she takes pictures of interesting stuff and looks on patiently whilst I prance around photographing pubs. 

New Brighton has the longest promenade in the UK according to Wikipedia, although it says 'citation needed', so may not be quite right.
We followed this inland, with sandy beaches to our left and great views across the river to Liverpool.  Around 15-minutes later we reached out first pub of the day - one that I was really looking forward to...

Magazine Hotel (7 Magazine Row, New Brighton, CH45 1HP - web)
It looks absolutely glorious from the outside, with angular frontage and plentitude of Bass signage.
Sadly no Bass within, but there was a Doom Bar with a homemade pump clip.
And a good choice of local beers for anyone not wholly convinced by the countries favourite beer.  I went for the sensible strength pale ale, 'Padi' from the local Big Bog Brewery.
The building has been here for a good 250+ years, fortunately surviving a fire in 2010.
From the central bar there were three rooms branching off, all looking equally comfortable with proper pub carpets and proper pub furniture.

Tucked down a narrow section of the bar by the window, we were thoroughly comfortable in the Magazine.  The staff were friendly and welcoming, the beer great, and our plate of food for lunch good value and filling.  Bit of a winner!

Leaving the pub, we strolled along Magazine Brow, past the Pilot Boat which also looked pretty good (next time!) and into Vale Park.
There were strange things afoot in the park...

New Brighton's main streets are exuberantly colourful and impressive.  There's some fine murals and bright painting on the brickwork above the shops.

You also get the James Atherton pub, which caught a bit of national attention in October 2020 when it rebranded overnight with the new name 'The Three Bellends' in response to the Boris & co's Tier 3 pub regulations.  It's signage above the door currently features Johnson and Hancock in hard hats - 'The Two Helmets'.

And a bit more political street art - you'd almost think that the whole country isn't 100% behind our illustrious leaders, wouldn't you?

On the main colourful thoroughfare of New Brighton was our next destination, the Bow Legged Beagle micro pub...

Bow Legged Beagle (88 Victoria Road, New Brighton, CH45 2JF)
Beers on the bar came from Lancaster Brewery, Salopian, Coach House and Liverpool Brewing Company, whose 'Liverpool Stout' was my pick of the bunch.

The beer choice and quality were great. 
And I fully approve of the walls plastered with pump clips.
Quirky signage for the loos, with the ladies being marked with a martini glass and the gents a beer bottle.  The gents just get a urinal (reminding me of the loo in a repurposed cupboard in the Euston Tap) prompting someone to write "help I need a poo" on the wall behind it.

I just felt that the downside, on this occasion, was that the clientele were a handful of locals sat at the bar.  It sort of felt as though we'd intruded on their private session.

We jumped back aboard the Merseyrail train and traveled a few stops to Conway Park, from where it was just a few minutes on foot to a pub from the Heritage guide.

And doesn't it look absolutely fantastic? (I've cut out the A-boards and posters in windows advertising karaoke, cocktails and special offers on Bud Light).

Stork Hotel (41-43 Price Street, Birkenhead, CH41 6JN)
Built in 1840, this was a Threlfalls pub, later to be part of the Whitbread estate.  Inside it has the same bar design as the Lion Hotel in central Liverpool.  The front bar has a regular counter, whilst the ornate bar back curves around a lobby area with its impressive mosaic floor.  Those sitting in the adjoining news room would have once been served at their tables by the press of a bell.

I did find a "Good Beer Guide, we're in it" sticker on a pane of glass on the way to the loo, but this was from 2002, so we were a little late for a GBG tick.  The handpumps at the end of the bar were redundant as I suspected they may be when I saw the 'Booze Deals' advertised outside.
So it was a John Smiths Smooth, at an agreeable price of £2.80.

Just a handful of regulars in at the time of our visit, the local postman propping up the bar.  With your karaoke and 5 bottles of Becks for £11, I imagine there's quite an interesting evening clientele and less opportunity to arse around taking pictures of heritage pub features.

We walked a short way across Hamilton Square Gardens and onto the main road, making our way to Birkenhead's current Good Beer Guide entry...

Gallaghers (20 Chester Street, Birkenhead, CH41 5DQ)
I was instantly impressed by this pub, even if I was 6-or-so years late for the barbers shop.  Never mind, I've got quite a well-controlled and presentable head of hair at the moment.

The building dates back to the 1820's and has traded under a number of names including the Chester Arms and Dispensary.  It closed in 2010 and was rescued and refurbished by a former Irish guardsman as a pub/barbers shop combo.  Since 2016 it's just a pub, but it's a good'un.

Snooker on the TV.
Bar staff cheerfully singing along to the Jam, the Specials and the Stranglers - the best soundtrack of the day.
And a decent choice of beers, from which I picked the local Brimstage 'Trapper's Hat' golden ale.
The walls were covered in framed pictures, with a display of model aircraft, marching band drums, flags and military uniforms...

I'll finish with the picture of Gallaghers from outside, the Birkenhead Drill mural on it's wall and the Liverpool skyline on the horizon...

As the sun set we headed back to t'other side of the river and a few more of the pubs on the fearsomely long list of Liverpool recommendations.

I'd only previously made it to the Wirral once in the past - a couple of pints in 'Spoons and a trek to Tranmere Rovers - but left vowing that I'd be back another time to explore a little further afield.
Cheers! 🍺

Southport and Waterloo

We caught the Merseyrail train from Liverpool to Southport to see the sea, take in the museum, and visit a micro pub, before tackling a trio of Beer Guide entries at Waterloo.
All with glorious blue sky and winter sunshine, which makes a change!

On arrival we walked past the quiet amusement arcades and onto the pier, which turns out to be quite long.  1,108m in fact - stretching across the Marine Lake, past the promenade and closed Marston's pub, and out over the sands.

Back into the town and sheltered from the chilly winds, we marveled at the picturesque Lord Street.  Then called in to the Atkinson Museum and Art Gallery where I was keen to see the 'I Grew Up 80's' exhibition.  For indeed I did!

This only occupied a couple of rooms, but I was in happy nostalgic mode.  Atari consoles, Sony Walkmen, issues of Smash Hits, Donkey Kong, BMX and Betamax.  All bringing back memories and plenty of exclamations of "I had one of them!".

The music of the '80's hasn't really disappeared into obscurity has it?

Napalm Death's 'From Enslavement to Obliteration' is missing

Just around the corner from the museum is the covered Cambridge Walks shopping arcade, which handily has a micropub midway along it.

Tap and Bottles (19A Cambridge Walk, Southport, PR8 1EN)
We were first in at noon, joined a short while later by several more folk.
The L-shaped bar was straight inside the door, with additional seating in the adjoining room.  All quite pleasingly ramshackle, with beer labels stuck to the wall and crafty cans hanging from the ceiling.
I picked a very nice North Brewery 'Shadow Play' stout on cask (other cask options being a mild from Black Edge and two beers from Vocation).

I'd love to report on the great music that was played whilst we were there, but our soundtrack was the Cambridge Arcade fire alarm.  The chap at the bar was very apologetic, as he became increasingly irritated, updating us that no-one responsible in the arcade had the key to turn it off. 
"It'll stop soon", he assured us.  It didn't.

We escaped to the relative peace and quiet outside the arcade, then made the short stroll to our next pub...

The Guest House (16 Union Street, Southport, PR9 0QE - web)
What a lovely place.
Three comfortable rooms with fixed bench seating round the sides, old bell pushes in the wood panel behind them, and some fine stained glass above the bar counter. 

There was a wide choice of beers, so naturally I got it wrong, picking the local Southport 'Dark Night' mild which seemed to be just past its best.  Should've had the 'Pendle Witches Brew' which the locals were raving about and predicting how quickly the barrel was going to polished off.

We took advantage of a good value menu of proper pub grub at the Guest House.
Always trust a pub where they bring you place mats to the table when you order food.
And always trust a pub where one of the customers has brought a dog in a pushchair.
I was thoroughly comfortable in the Guest House and would head back here without hesitation when next in Southport.

We timed our departure for the next train back towards Liverpool, hopping off this 20 minutes later to visit Waterloo.

Our first pub here, with user-friendly opening hours, was the Waterpudlian along the main street.

Waterpudlian (99 South Road, Waterloo, L22 0LR - fb)
This was a pretty basic rectangular room, a little battered around the edges, with a raised stage area and some decent background music.
The run of framed awards from when this used to be called Stamps Too (Stamps One being nearby in Crosby) suggest that they know a thing or two about their beers.  These were advertised on a blackboard and included a couple from Salopian, a Marble 'Bitter' and another chance for me to try the Southport Brewery, this time with an enjoyable 'Old Shrimper' stout.

We sat on a table directly in front of the stage, which would be a great vantage point if only they'd book bands to play on mid-week afternoons.

Leaving the Waterpudlian, it was just a few minutes up the road to another micro, the Trap & Hatch, which my research said would be open at 3pm.  Except it wasn't.  Something had delayed them - as happens in micropub land - and they wouldn't be opening until later.

Which led to...
Mrs PropUptheBar's Craft Diversion

This was a coffee/craft beer joint called Timberwolf Grind & Tap which we'd passed a little earlier on South Road.  It was a bustling hive of activity.  Folks sipping martini's whilst making phone calls, people chatting over cappuccino's, dogs staring longingly at the dog biscuit jar, and too many staff getting in one another's way.
We were the only savages on the craft beer mid-afternoon, choosing some pale murk from a selection including Love Lane, Glen Affric and Vocation.  

But the music that I suffered all because the Trap & Hatch wasn't open at 3pm!
Coldplay made way for Alanis Morisette, followed by Jamiroqui.  Then Toploader...Arggggh!

By the time we were leaving at 4pm the nearby Heritage pub was open.

Volunteer Canteen (45 East Street, Waterloo, L22 8QR )
Down a nice peaceful side street, this building started life as an 1820's house prior to being converted to a pub, originally called the Canteen Vaults, in 1871.
We headed into the public bar, where we could peruse the pump clips and pick a fine bitter from the local Rock the Boat Brewery.
Drinks were taken around into the lovely lounge, with a warming fire, fixed seating around the walls and proper pub stools.  From here you're looking at the decorative back of the bar...

Heritage slightly spoilt by hand sanitiser station

The Heritage Pub description makes a big deal of table service still being offered in the lounge, but the novelty of this has worn off somewhat in the past couple of years.
I really liked the Volunteer Canteen - comfortable, great beer, full of character, with a nice number of other customers chatting over a pint.

Very responsible social distancing being practised there

Finally, we headed back to the previously closed micropub, now with shutters opened, lights on and customers sitting at the bar.

Trap & Hatch (135 South Road, Waterloo, L22 0LT - web)

"No intrusive TV's or music" it says on WhatPub who obviously didn't survey this place at the same time as us, when it had a full-on metalcore soundtrack playing.

I settled down with a very good Chapter 'Pemberley Stout', whilst Mrs PropUptheBar ended up with an accidental pint of mulled cider when someone distracted the chap behind the bar midway through serving and he forgot he should have been pouring a half.

Finally, you can't come round this way without wandering onto Crosby Beach and marveling at the Gormley statues.  So I'll leave you with the pick of my photographs...