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Hello everyone and welcome to the 68th edition of Ale and Hearty. I am Pam your editor (that’s me on the left just in case you wondered what I look like) and I am looking forward to receiving articles and photographs from you for future editions.

By the time you read this we should be well into organising the 16th Sandgrounder Beer Festival. Brilliant can’t wait.

There seems to be more and more micro breweries and micro pubs opening up in the area which is great for Southport’s real ale scene. Martin Hillier whose original idea of a micro pub has been awarded CAMRA’s Campaigner of the year. His idea has seen more than 80 micropubs open around the country. Our first and original one was The Inn Beer Shop on Lord Street.

Did you know that 15th June is Beer Day Britain I certainly didn’t and yes I know we have missed it, but Jeff sent me a letter telling me about it. I’ll put it in my diary for next year.

In this Ale and Hearty you can guess where the Sleeper is sleeping, there is a Scottish Pub Crawl, an article on York and another item Thwaites.

Finally can I thank Metro Bar, Guest House, Cheshire Lines and The Cricketers for allowing us to hold our Branch meetings there, also The Inn Beer Shop and Freshfield for allowing us to hold our Beer festival meeetings there.

Cheers

Pam

As I write this I am at the Freshfield’s seventh Beer Festival trying to enjoy a quiet pint but I am afraid the editor opposite me is bullying me into writing my Chairman’s Bit article as I am a bit late so here goes.

Welcome to this our late summer/autumn edition of Ale and Hearty. With so far poor weather, there is still a chance of an Indian summer to look forward to and definitely to the 16th Sandgrounder Beer Festival held again at St John Ambulance Hall on Wright St, adjacent to the side entrance to Southport Train Station. We will have 50 real ales, ciders, perries and fruit wines on for you to try. This year there will be more chairs available at each session so people can come and sit down and hopefully stay a bit longer. So I hope to see you all there on 15th-17th October.

Doug Macadam

Message from the Editor

Chairmans Bit

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is the CAMRA Southport & West Lancs Branch’s magazine, published three times a year and distributed free to pubs, clubs, beer festivals, tourist offices and other outlets in Southport, Formby, West Lancashire and beyond. We produce 4,500 copies, and each one is read by several people. Ale & Hearty is funded entirely by our advertisers, whom we gratefully thank.

CONTACTSEditorPam Kelly 07515 824539 E-mail: pamkelly49@o2.co.uk

Finance Doug Macadam 07714 265096 E-mail: macadamdoug@gmail.com

Branch ContactIan Garner 07766 687743 E-mail: RD.MerseyCheshireNWales@camra.org.uk

Items for inclusion to Editor, please email: pamkelly49@o2.co.uk. Cut off for editorials for the next Ale and Hearty is 31st October 2015

Name and contact details required: anonymous correspondence will not be considered, although your name can be left out of the magazine with the editor’s agreement.

BRANCH WEBSITE AND FACEBOOKFor more local news about CAMRA, pubs, beer and breweries go to: www.southportcamra.org.uk. You can also follow ‘Southport and West Lancs Camra’ on Facebook. ‘Like’ us for updates.

USEFUL CONTACTS• CAMRA HQ 230 Hatfield Road, St Albans, AL1 4LW. 01727 867201. Website: www.camra.org.uk

• SEFTON TRADING STANDARDS Sefton MBC (Environmental Protection Department), 1st Floor, Magdalen House, Stanley Precinct, Trinity Road, Bootle. L20 3QZ. Email: consumer.advice@sefton.gov.uk (0151) 934 2089 Fax: (0151) 934 2106

• SEFTON LICENSING AUTHORITY Sefton MBC, The Licensing Authority, Magdalen House, 30 Trinity Road, Bootle, L20 3NJ. 0151 934 4015 Fax: 0151 934 4276

• LANCASHIRE TRADING STANDARDS Trading Standards Service, County Hall, Fishergate Hill, Preston, PR1 8XB. 01772 533569 (General Enquiries). E-mail: tsgeneralmail@lancashire.gov.uk

• WEST LANCASHIRE LICENSING SERVICE West Lancs Borough Council - Licensing Service, Robert Hodge Centre, Stanley Way, Skelmersdale, WN8 8EE. Email: licensing.enquiries@westlancs.gov.uk 01695 577177 Fax: 01695 585126

The opinions expressed in Ale & Hearty are not necessarily those of the Editor, the CAMRA Southport & West Lancs Branch or CAMRA Ltd.

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Shortly after our Branch Annual General Meeting in February some of us were in Formby, and visited the Railway Hotel, which is very smart and busy and had a good range of beers to please. I tried Liverpool Organic 24 Carat, a nice light ale – I could have also sampled their others from Wychwood (Hobgoblin), Sharps (Doom Bar), Black Sheep (Best Bitter), Fullers (London Pride) or Brakspear (Bitter). Weston’s Old Rosie Cider was also on offer. This is a good pub with easy access by rail (Formby station next door). Discounts on beer were being offered to CAMRA Members on certain evenings.

We were in Formby again shortly after to the Freshfield, a short walk from the station. Always a good selection here, and we were present to make an

award for this pub as our Branch Pub of the Year for the third year running. I sampled Wolf Sirius Dog Star and Marble Lagonda IPA, from the range of 11 others I could have tried the usual Greene King selection, plus Peerless Pale or Crystal Maze, York Ghost, Oakham Inferno, Liverpool Organic Cascade or Kitty Wilkinson, Fuggle Bunny Oh Crumbs!, Norton Priory Ale and Thornbridge Wild Swan. Ciders were Thistly Cross and Weston Old Rosie. Good food also available here, and always well worth a visit.

In March our Branch Meeting was at the Arion in Ainsdale on the 49 bus route, a recently improved local’s pub and I tried Robinsons Dizzy Blonde and Sharp’s Doom Bar. Pedigree also on tap. A keen licensee here who supports local events.

A fortnight later I was in the Sir Henry Segrave, one of our Wetherspoon Southport pubs. Always difficult to make my mind up here from a regular selection of 11 beers and a cider. I went for Salopian Indigenous and Wharfe Bank Othelia Gold, both very good. Others were the usual regulars, plus guests from Jennings Golden Host, Celt A False Dawn,

Caledonian Cavalcant and Merman XXX, Brazilian Wee Heavy (6%), O’Dwyen Irish Stout, Robinson Dizzy Blond and Gwynt-y-Ddraig Black Dragon Stout.

At the Bold Arms in Churchtown on Good Friday for a family event, I tried the Blakemere Snowy Owl and Northern Soul Special Dance Floor – Blakemere is a regular supplier here and they provide a house beer, Churchtown Bitter. Tetley Bitter and Burscough Mere Blonde also on offer.

A beer festival the next day took us on the 49 bus to the Zetland in Southport for a few from Marston Help for Heroes, Hook Norton Hooky and Okells Steam Amber Beer. I could have also tried the Black Sheep Monty Python’s Holy Grail, but had to leave to get the bus home. A check in the Rabbit sadly revealed that real ale was still not available there.

Another Easter Beer Festival the next day took us back to the Railway in Formby for a very extensive selection of beers on the bar from Thwaites Wainwright, Sharp Doom Bar, UBU Parity (which I tried), Daleside Old Legover (another I partook of) and Everard Tiger. In the Beer Festival room beers were Leeds Gathering Storm (which I tried, being from my old home city), Purity Mild Goose, Hook Norton Lion Ale, Ilkley Mary Jane (from the famous Yorkshire song), Castle Rock Harvest Pale, Conwy Beachcomber Blonde, Harviestoun Broken Dial (another for me) and also their Bitter & Twisted, Everard Sunchaser, Jersey Liberation Blonde (I tried this, too), St Austell Tribute and Proper Job, Andwell Five Little Fishes, Taylor Landlord, Wychwood Hobgoblin, Black Sheep Best Bitter and Weston Old Rosie Cider. A veritably grand selection, and the beerfest beers were £3 a pint, the ones I tried were great – concessions available here for CAMRA members.

In April our first meeting at the Metro Hotel Bar in Southport saw me trying Wainwright and Landlord,

More Mike’s Meanderings

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Greene King Abbot also available.

Back down to earth and the next day over to the Heatons Bridge in Scarisbrick for a transport related meeting. I tried two Moorhouse Beers: Black Cat and Springwatch, both good – the alternative was Tetley’s Bitter (now coming from Wolverhampton).

Later in the month we did a trail around some Southport town centre pubs, and our first stop was the Barons Bar, for a taste of two, Slaters Golden and Portobello Market Porter. Other beers were from Tetleys, Moorhouses Barons house Beer and Pride of Pendle, Lancaster Black, Okells MPA, Slaters Smoke Porter and Westons Old Rosie Cider. The Barons continue to provide a good range of real ales and the ones I tried were in good condition.

Along Lord Street next to the Sandgrounder for a pint of Lancaster 1842 Pilsner- other beers were Bombardier and Peerless Full Whack at 6%. Next the Sir Henry Segrave with its great selection of beers – for me it was the Phoenix St George’s Flag Bitter, and a good choice. Others apart from the regulars were Adnam Broadside, Saltaire Raspberry Blonde and Bavarian Black, Moorhouse Black Witch, Greene King George and the Flagon and Old Rosie Cider. A few days later and still in Lord Street, to the Inn Beer Shop for a meeting and to taste the two Southport beers, Sandgrounder and Golden Sands (these are regulars).

Into May and to the Guest House in Southport for a Branch meeting where I sampled some Caledonian First Dawn, Southport Dark Night and Beer Studio Citra Chinook (where

do they get the names from?). Others included regulars Jennings Cumberland, Wainwright, Ruddles Best and Theakston Best Bitter, with guests Theakston Lightfoot and Tour De Wot? Wychwood Fiddlert E 100W and Cross Bay Halo EPA.

A few days later into the Sir Henry Segrave again, with its good choice – I tried an Aussie beer, Feral Hop Dogs at 6%, plus a Milestone Classic Dark Mild. A couple of days later to the Freshfield in Formby again for it to receive an award from our CAMRA executive as it had become one of the top four UK Pubs of the Year in 2014. Great beers again – I

purchased a Liverpool Organic Liverpool Stout and a Yorkshire Dales Horrabank. Other regulars plus beers from Bowland, Phoenix, Oakham, Hopback, Marble and Dancing Duck.

The next day to the Cricketers in Ormskirk for another transport meeting, and I had beers from Cross Bay – Zenith, and Reedley Hallows Filly Close Blonde. Reedley also had a Pendleside on (I believe they are from East Lancashire) and Thwaites Wainwright, Nutty Black and Burscough Ringtail also on offer. The Cricketers is a fairly recent newcomer, a revived pub in fact, and we later made it our West Lancashire Pub of the Year for 2015. On the way home we called at the Royal Oak in Aughton for a pint of Cross Bay Halo (another Cross Bay was Nightfall and also Tetley Bitter on too).

On 24th May we were scheduled to go to the Hop Vine in Burscough to the Beer Festival, but Northern Rail were cancelling trains (a Sunday habit) so we decided it was too dodgy to risk becoming marooned out of town and settled for some more Southport Town Centre pubs. So we assembled in the Tap and Bottles and I had some nice Blackjack Belmo Single Hop and Salopian Kangaroo Court. Oracle from Salopian was also on, and Moorhouse Black Cat. Next again to the Barons Bar, with a good choice – I sampled Cottage Iron Duke. Other guest beers from Lancaster, Hop Back and AllGates.

Again to the Metro Bar, where a Beerfest was ongoing – Beers on the bar were Abbott Wainwright and Landlord, but I chose beers from the festival from Southport (Bothy Gold) and Black Edge US Ale. Others on offer were Cross Bay Halo, Burscough Duke of Lancaster, Prospect Pioneer, Moorhouse Blond Witch, Lytham Bumble Bee Honey Beer, Problem Child Rascal, Martland Mill Clogmaker and five ciders and perries. Commendably, most of the beers were from north western breweries.

Next yet another visit to the Henry Segrave for a Peerless Red Rocks – many other good beers on offer as usual here.

A Beerfest meeting occurred at the Inn Beer Shop in Southport where we sampled the usuals from Southport Brewery, Carousel and Bothy Gold. Shortly after, a transport meeting at the Heatons Bridge for Moorhouse Black Cat and Copper Dragon Vienna.

En route home we called at the Sparrowhawk in Formby and I tried the Salopian Oracle (very good

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here) and Red Star Formby IPA from our newest area brewery. Other beers were the Phoenix House Beer, Titanic Plum Porter, George Wright Drunken Duck and Cornish Pilchards Cider.

On 10th June we made an award at the Cricketers in Ormskirk as they had been voted our West Lancs Pub of the Year. They were most pleased and I tried Bowland Summer Squeeze, Old School Top of the Class (this was free of charge!) and Salopian Lemon Dream. Thwaites beers were also on, together with Cross Bay Zenith and Old School Headmaster.

Later another visit to the Segrave for a pint of Yeastie Boys (NZ) Golden Perch Ale and Ramsbury Gold – other guests from Parker and Lymestone.

Yet another post shopping visit to the Sir Henry Segrave (this is getting like my local!) and I drank some nice Wharfe Bank Yorkshire IPA and Wild Weather Howling Gale Celebration Mild. Other great guests from Adnams and Woodfordes, with Black Dragon Cider.

Father’s Day saw me in Churchtown with my daughter and granddaughters and we visited the Bold Arms first for the Blakemere Eagle Owl, with Gold, Freshly Squeezed and Tetleys also available. Then over to the Hesketh Arms for a nice pint of Brains Rev James Gold. Wainwright and Brakspear Bitter also on the pumps.

My annual bowling match with retired bus managers took place at Liverpool Cricket Club in Aigburth on 24th June and in nice weather I sampled the Bombardier and Black Sheep Best Bitter – I lost in my game!

To finish this time, firstly to, you’ve guessed – the Sir Henry Segrave for pints of Fort Barcelona Pale Ale and Burton Bridge Stairway to Heaven, both good with beers from Harviestoun, Robinsons and Brains also on sale. Finally to its partner, the Willow Grove for just a pint of Tring Kotuku NZ Hopped Rye Grain Ale – unusual, but good. Others were guests Hawkshead Windermere Pale, Robinson Trooper, Shepherd Neame Bishop’s Finger, Roosters Wild Mule and Parker Saxon Red Ale.

Mike Perkins

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67 Moorfields

Liverpool, L2 2BP

Tel: 0151 236 1734

www.liontavern.com

Cask Marque

CAMRA National Inventory Pub

“One of the 100 best pubs

in the country” Daily Telegraph

supply a selection of prize-winning real ales (including Locale brews) plus handpulled cider

One of the largest selections of malts on Merseyside

10p off a pint of real ale for card carrying CAMRA members

Bob Dylan Society 1st Thursday of the month

Acoustic Night 2nd Thursday of the month

Meet the Brewer 3rd Thursday of the month

Poetry Get Together 4th Thursday of the month

Quiz Night Every Tuesday at 9.30pm

Food – see the board for a good value selection

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Award winning pubs rely on quality staff behind the bar and The Freshfield is certainly no exception.In this issue we feature attractive Kirsty Wain w ho is the assistant manager and part of the friendly and efficent team who do an outstanding job behind the bar and serving food under the leadership of joint managers Steve and Simon.Thirty one year old Kie hails from Bolton and now lives locally in Formby,she has done bar work on and off since sixteen and has been working at The Freshfield for three years.It is evident that she really enjoys her work always engaging with the customers with her friendly

smile and bubbly personality which has been recognized with many complimentary comments by visitors to the Freshie on Trip Advisor.When not working Kie enjoys a drop of gin,mexican food espically fajitas, holidaying in Mexico,sea water sports including speedboating off Anglesey,listening to house music,watching the T V series Sons of Anarchy or the movie White House Down starring her favourite film star Channing Tatum.Why not call at The Freshfield and meet the charming Kie perhaps after a visit to the nearby beach or Red Squirrel Reserve where the National Trust supports the endangered animal almost as effectively as the Freshfield supports real ale drinkers.The Freshfield offers 12 beers plus a cider mainly from the micros,it has won numerous Camra awards and was judged runner up in the National Pub of the Year 2014. Food is served 12 noon till 9pm daily. Only 5 minutes walk from Freshfield station.

Best Bar None

AugGuzz’15 Marriage Lines!Mrs Guzzler and I have discovered the secret to a happy marriage. Every week we go to a restaurant and have a candlelit dinner with

sexy chat, lots of wine and kissing and cuddling. She goes on Tuesdays and I go on Fridays!

The appliance of Science “If it weren’t for electricity we’d all be watching television by candlelight.” George Gobol.

Lead item? Two youths were taken to the Police Station the other day. One for drinking battery acid, the other for swallowing a firework. They charged the first one and let the other one off.“I once bought my kids a set of batteries for Christmas with a note on it saying, toys not included.” Bernard Manning.

Blotto Draw numbersThis week’s winning numbers are; 8, 14, 19, 32 & 37 The Bogus Ball Number was 43.Don’t forget that if you DO or DON’T have the Bogus Ball number...You’ve not won. Bada Bing!A woman walks into a bar and asks for a double entendre... so the barman gave her one!

HmmmTwo women were at a bar. One looked at the other and said, “You know, 80 percent of all men think the best way to end an argument is to make love.”“Well,” said the other woman,” that would certainly revolutionise the game of Ice hockey!”

Homer’s quotes“Donuts. Is there anything they can’t do?”“Beer. Now there’s a temporary solution.”

Quote“I am a drinker with writing problems.” Brendan Behan.

Museum“I went to the museum where they had all the heads and arms from the statues that are in all the other museums.” Stephen Wright

I Wish I’d Said That!“You can tell German wine from vinegar by the label” Mark Twain.

Norm!Sam: “How’s a beer sound, Norm?”Norm: “I dunno. I usually finish them before they get a word in.”

Health Matters“There’s so much pollution in the air now that if it weren’t for our lungs there’d be no place to put it all.” Robert Orben.

George Bernard Shaw“The power of accurate observation is often called cynicism by those that do not have it.”

Groucho!“I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn’t it.”

Get it off yer chest!You can write to Guzzler via his e-mail address, which is <a.l.guzzler@supanet.com>But don’t forget you can always use “snail mail” via the editor – address elsewhere.

Final ThoughtHow much deeper would the oceans be if sponges didn’t live in them?

A.L.Guzzler’s Quiz Question.Q. On which date does the 16th Sandgrounder Beer Festival start?A. Thursday 15th October to Saturday 17th October

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On the 14th March the Merseyside Transport Trust was running its annual Beer ‘n’ Buses event, when buses from Ormskirk and Burscough run to a timetable serving several pubs in the West Lancashire area. A party of us plumped for the Parbold area, and our first stop on an ex Liverpool Transport AEC Regent from around 1953 was the Eagle and Child in Bispham Green. This is a great traditional soundly built pub and usually has a good beer range. On this day they had Thwaites Original and Nutty Black, Southport Carousel and Golden Sands, George Wright Cheeky Pheasant, Cross Bay Zenith and Old School Absent IPA on sale – I went for the Old School. Many local beers here, also cider from La Cantina – their Reserve Moody Blues. This is a grand pub, but usually difficult to get to without a car.

Back on another well preserved bus into Parbold, where we dropped off at the Railway firstly and I sampled Banks’s Sunbeam – also on view Bitter

from the same brewer, plus Wychwood Hobgoblin. This is another good local’s pub, right next to the station, and was once a Burtonwood house. We walked next to the Windmill and I sampled Hophurst Twisted Vine – a new one on me. Others were Cumberland Corby Fox, Coach House Cheshire Gold ad Prospect Silver Tally – a good selection. A short walk to the Stocks Tavern for a pint of Piers 59 NY from an unnamed brewer. Other drinks: Oceanic Ismay, Thwaites Stocks Bitter (house beer) and George Wright Drunken Duck.

We then leapt onto another preserved gem (a Bristol RE, I think) for a short ride to the Wayfarer, which is also the home of the Problem Child Brewery. I

tried their own Good Spankin’ (their Scallywag also present) and a pint of Windswept IPA, followed by a half of Alchemy Five Sisters Red Pale Ale. Liverpool Organic El Dorado and Gwynt-y-Ddraig Black Dragon Cider were also available. Another old bus ride to the Red Lion in nearby Newburgh, our final stop, for some Burton Bitter Red Lion Ale – Banks’s Bitter and Pedigree also on the bar. After a great day out another bus ride back to Ormskirk for our connecting journey home on a nearly new Arriva double decker. The Merseyside Transport Trust also runs other special events with free bus rides and they are always looking for support – see them on www.mttrust.co.uk

Mike Perkins

West Lancashire Bus Day

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IF MY son moved to York in order to sever maternal apron strings, he failed. Any location with 15 hand-pulled real ales between Platform One and the taxi rank was never going to be far enough away. The York Brewery Tap is the only station bar I know where none of the customers are actually going anywhere (check out the absence of wheelie cases.) Dominating this brass and mahogany temple of fermented felicity is a large circular bar servicing rail and bus travel at the same time, like a back-to-back. It also stocks a heavenly crispy crust hand-crafted stilton and pork pie.

It takes some effort to leave this utopia, but, hey-ho, a pub crawl should involve at least a bit of crawling. After my reluctant exit, I turn left, cross the River Ouse, turn right into Lendal and left into Stonegate

The pub known as The House of Trembling Madness lies towards the end of Stonegate, but it would be rude not to pop into the Yorkshire Terrier along the way, perhaps for a Guzzler or a Ghost Ale. The House of Trembling Madness has a beer shop façade (and is easily missed). Walk through the shop, climb the wooden staircase, and you will find a beamed and bare-boarded attic space with its small-pane windows filled by a view of the Minster. There’s a slightly queasy tilt to the walls, and the collection of stuffed animal heads does nothing to settle the stomach, but I manage to re-calibrate my inner ear with a half of Hardknott Brewery 5.6% Code Black (‘I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you’).

From the end of Stonegate, turning right into Low Petergate, there is another narrow street on the left called Goodramgate. I would rename this ‘Goodbeergate’ as any pub here is guaranteed to please. There’s the Old White Swan, a mis-match of 16th century buildings glued to the edges of a courtyard (haunted). Then there’s the Snickleway Inn, 15th century and galleried (haunted), but my personal favourite is The Habit (haunted). I like the log-burning stove that sits centrally inside a large dog cage and is always lit. I like the winter mulled cider and unintentional shabby chic, the mysterious tall narrow doors set under the stairs, the huge

rusting masonry nails inserted into the walls centuries ago for some long-forgotten purpose, the life-sized sculpted foot that holds the front door open. Oh, yes, and the beer. This is where I plunge ‘into the abyss’, courtesy of Blue Bee brewery of Sheffield, with their 6% stout that carries an aftershock of Fisherman’s Friend. I convince myself it’s clearing my sinuses, if not my head.

After kicking the Habit, the next pub is a mere stumble away. The Cross Keys sits at the corner of Goodramgate and Deangate where the narrow lanes open out into the Minster Yard. This is a large comfortable pub of the Nicholson’s chain and it ranges far afield for its ales: East End Brewing Company, St Austell Ales, Itchen of Hampshire, Red Squirrel of Hemel Hempstead, Hopback of Wiltshire (with a few Timothy Taylors and York Breweries thrown in to keep the locals happy). But you can’t run a successful pub in York if you haven’t got a ghost, and the Cross Keys has hundreds, all under-aged. The building was once a privatized workhouse for orphans where the ruthless capitalist owner killed most of his customers through starvation and neglect. He fudged the records to maintain his income and hid the rotting corpses in a large cupboard until, allegedly, the sounds of sepulchral sobbing overcame his senses, whereupon he went mad and was locked away himself (hopefully in a small cupboard). If it’s sunny, you can read this depressing story in the courtyard where either the celestial influence of the Minster, just over the road, or the ambrosial influence of the Minster Ale, just over the bar, will surely elevate your mood.

York is a medieval-flavoured ‘ale-dorado’ where a random ramble is just as rewarding as any carefully planned itinerary. My son (who inherited his mother’s beer-buds) has lived here for more than two years and swears he has never had a bad pint. Not once. He is now in the process of buying his own flat just outside the city walls. Guess who’ll be sleeping on his sofa!

Kay Ellis

From the House of Trembling Madness into the Abyss

(A Sleep-over in York)

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It was Saturday 11th April this year when I finally got to a classic pub in Leicester that I had missed the chance to go to four years previously on my previous trip to Leicester with Liverpool & Districts CAMRA.If you live in the Southport area and you have not been on a coach outing with Liverpool CAMRA, then you are missing one of the great benefits of being a CAMRA member, as we have no Social Secretary in Southport & West Lancashire CAMRA, and seemingly not enough interest to support regular coach trips.Booking on the April monthly Liverpool social some time ago, I travelled with my mate Dave Taylor, catching the 8.47 train from Birkdale in time to get to Liverpool Moorfields and walk down to the Ship & Mitre pub, the coach picking us up near the Queensway tunnel entrance at 9.50, ten minutes earlier than usual due to the distance involved.On arriving in Leicester about 12.30, we did something different to everyone else, which we quite often do. We let everyone else get off the coach, which was stopping at the Haymarket Bus Station. We did this last time we went to Leicester, on 19th March 2011 to be precise, when we headed for the nearest Good Beer Guide pub, the Ale Wagon. This time, however, we stayed on the coach as the driver was parking the coach for the day at a coach park for the National Space Centre in the North Leicester area.Now I would have gone round the National Space Centre, but at £17.00 for an adult I thought it was a little expensive, especially as we would not have stayed there for very long. This was a CAMRA trip when all is said and done. However, instead we went, much to Dave’s disdain (going by the sulk he gave me) to the Abbey Pumping Station, which was free. Now I have always been a bit of a collector or “ticker”, and this was in my “Britain’s Most Amazing Places” book, and well worth a visit. Now known as the Leicester Museum of Science and Technology, it still houses four beam engines that played a vital role in the city’s public health and sanitation by pumping 945 000 litres of sewage every hour to the Beaumont Leys treatment works. Pooh!From doing a whistle-stop tour of the pumping station, we walked to the Corporation Road/Abbey Lane junction nearby and easily found Beaumanor Road thanks to the excellent directions e-mailed to me by Leicester CAMRA Social Secretary Gary Akiens. The Tom Hoskins was easy to spot in the distance, as it is adorned with Leicester City flags. It was good to see a pub supporting its local football team. Southport pubs take note!Whilst the choice and quality of beers at the Tom Hoskins may not have been the best of the day, this proved in my

eyes the best pub of the day, despite being the first pub we went to. It was after all in the Good Beer Guide and had some very good competition, but the Woodforde’s Wherry, although unexpectedly dear at £3.30 for an out-of-town pub was nevertheless very acceptable.For a classic pub, the pub is probably the youngest pub I have ever written a Classic Pub article about. It was only built in 1984 as the brewery tap for the Hoskins and Oldfield brewery, which sadly closed in 2001. However, the portfolio of Hoskins beers is mainly brewed at the Belvoir brewery, Old Dalby in Leicestershire using the Hoskins Brothers’ name. The brewery was established in 1895 as T. Hoskins Ltd., but sold in 1983 to become Hoskins and Oldfield.Coincidentally, when Dave and I last visited Leicester our first stop was the Ale Wagon, which was the only pub in Leicester selling any of the Hoskins Brothers’ range of beers. And yet back in the late 1980s, when my CAMRA Classic Town Pubs book was published, the Tom Hoskins sold the whole portfolio of Hoskins beers: sadly by the time I had got to visit the pub there were none.The pub was once the Hoskins’ family living room. It began with a single public bar, which was “just a shade above spit and sawdust” according to the licensee. However, the taproom remains fairly basic, with stone and board floors with wooden benches.There is now a comfortable lounge area which was a later addition to the pub, carpeted with wood-panelling and comfortable seats. This was created out of the old office, malt store and grist mill where the beer was once brewed – hence why it was once called the Grist Room.So perhaps you can now see why I regard this as a Classic Pub. It may be quite new as public houses go, certainly classic public houses, but the building has an interesting history and is an excellent community pub, hence the support for the local football team. It has over the years held Bonfire Night parties, St. Andrew’s Day celebrations and other events. Whether they still do I am not sure, because I never seem to spend long enough in one pub when I am on CAMRA pub crawls. But there was also a garden outside from which you can see the well from which the brewery used to draw its water for the beer.Needless to say this is a pub worth visiting, especially if you are a Liverpool or Everton supporter going to visit the New King Power stadium next season. Personally, I used to prefer Filbert Street, but what happened to that is a question I don’t know. Now it’s probably another housing estate!Cheers,

Dave Williams

Classic Pubs of the UKThe Tom Hoskins, Leicester

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Much has happened since Thwaites celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2007. At that time the brewery was the UK’s seventh largest

brewer and making the most of its 350,000 barrel a year capacity on outdated equipment that was installed in 1966. The free trade was growing and contract brewing was extensive. It operated around 420 tied houses, and 8 hotels, including the luxurious Stafford Hotel in London’s Mayfair. Eight years later, there are just over 300 tied houses, 8 Inns of Character and 6 hotels, with the Stafford sold for £77.5 million. Many street corner locals and a good number of town centre pubs, predominantly in the North West, have gone and outlets offering accommodation and a restaurant in a market town or country location are being sought in many parts of the country. A new logo has been introduced and £10 million will have been spent on pub refurbishment over three years by the end of 2015.

In July, 2011, a conditional agreement was put in place with Sainsbury’s to sell the brewery site for supermarket development to assist with the building of a new state-of-the-art brewery at a site locally. This was followed by the withdrawal from a range of kegging, canning and bottling contracts for other firms. It was hoped to build the new brewery within four years. Negotiations with Blackburn with Darwen Council and Sainsbury’s came to nothing. In late February, 2014 the company made the decision to cease brewing on the main plant and transfer the brewing of its main brands to Marston’s in Wolverhampton leaving just the Crafty Dan micro-brewery, installed towards the end of 2011, to continue brewing within the Star Brewery site in Blackburn. The capacity of the micro was increased to 5,200 brewer’s barrels a year via the addition of extra fermentation vessels.

The company announced in the summer of 2014 that it was to seek planning approval from Ribble Valley Borough Council by June, 2015 to build a new £10 million brewery, head office and visitor centre on a seven acre, greenfield site it had bought at Mellor Brook in the Ribble Valley, some four miles from its existing site in Blackburn. The plan was to

start construction work in January, 2016 with the new brewery set to commence operations in April, 2017.

The latest developments came in Spring, 2015 when Thwaites sold its two main brands, Lancaster Bomber and Wainwright, the company’s 1,500 or so free trade accounts and its distribution operation to Marston’s in a deal worth £25.1 million. Marston’s will supply Thwaites’s tied houses (under a 10 year arrangement) and the free trade from the Shadsworth depot in Blackburn. Despite being brewed in Wolverhampton under new ownership, both Wainwright and Lancaster Bomber will continue to be sold badged with the Thwaites logo for at least the next 3 years. Marston’s plant in Wolverhampton is to continue brewing Thwaites’s Original Bitter (for the next 3 years), Thwaites’s keg mild products and carry out all bottling (Nutty Black is the only bottle conditioned beer) and canning for Thwaites.

The only brewing being done in Blackburn is on the Crafty Dan micro-brewery which is currently producing circa 2,500 brewer’s barrels per annum. This facility is being used to brew the following cask beers : Nutty Black Mild, Thwaites Best Cask (TBC) plus all the Signature Range and some other seasonals. TBC (3.8% abv) appears as a “house beer” under a name selected by the landlord in some of the company’s tied houses. There are expected to be an increased number of over twenty Signature Range brews in 2015 plus other limited editions from the company’s trial programme.

Marston’s will be keen to promote their beer range in the form of Pedigree, Hobgoblin and Cumberland, etc. Increased sales of Banks’s Mild could threaten the future of Nutty Black Mild. The future of the Crafty Dan beers in the free trade is uncertain. The CEO of Thwaites has reiterated that the move to Mellor Brook in the Ribble Valley is still “the best option available” but nothing has been decided and other options are still under consideration.

Michael Kershaw

Thwaites

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I have said for many years I am blessed for where I live, on the coast with the woods and some of the best pubs in our area. But I now have a dilemma. As a CAMRA member it is in my DNA that I go to the pub, that I encourage others to go the pub. It’s where people meet up and sort the world out,

it’s where sports debates rage on year after year, it’s where people meet up and end up getting married (well maybe). My dilemma is this, you see there is a new kid in town and it’s called the Bottle Tree. A finer example of a specialist off licence you will find hard to beat. Just opposite the fire station on Church Road in Formby, with a bus stop about 40 yards away!

Owner Chris Giles is a serving member of Her Majesty’s Royal Air Force and he has invested his hard earned savings in this venture so he will have a real job when he completes his public service! Whilst he is on active duty the shop is watched over by his dad Chris, his mum Tricia and brother Tom.

When you enter the shop you have a job to determine where to look. Directly in front of you is a bar which serves real cider, on draught, normally from Cornwall and on a shelf a selection of quality spirits including the now famous Liverpool Gin. To the right is a selection of over 200 different beers on sale from breweries all over the UK and beyond at any one time. And to the left a mixture of excellent wines, red, white and sparkling with a great pedigree. Local breweries get a special look in as do local snacks such as Lancashire crisps and the Liverpool nut company. But it’s the beers that get special attention. Dad Chris is regularly on his

travels to towns and cities to breweries far and wide to bring the beer home for us to enjoy. A recent trip had him in London bringing specialist brews back. A recent visit by your correspondent noted beers from Belgium, Spain and the USA.

A special feature is once a month they have a licence whereby you can drink in the shop. They have a couple of casks on the bar as well as the bottles, and seats and tables are provided. It’s a smashing place to spend a couple of hours. If I’ve got a moan (very hard to do) those bottles of Guinness on the bottom shelf just won’t go away! Well worth a visit.

Ian Garner

Pubs giving CAMRA discount to card carrying

CAMRA membersTap & Bottles 20p off a pint 10p off 1/2pint

Sandgrounder 30p off a pint of Real AleBold Arms Churchtown 20p a pint Real Ale

Freshfield 25p a pint Real AleRailway Formby 20p a pint real Ale

Phoenix 10% off Real Ale Park Birkdale 10% off pints and halves

Wetherspoon’s 40 x 50p vouchers for CAMRA members for use over the year

I am sure this list is not exhausted and if I have missed anyone out of Southport and West Lancs area or you decide to start offering discount please let me know at pamkelly49@o2.co.uk

This list will be a permanent feature of Ale and Hearty hoping to try and encourage pubs to be included.

The Bottle Tree, Formby

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Lancashire Cricket and Beers is made up from a group of like minded cricket and real ale enthusiasts who meet on the last Friday in the month at seven top real ale venues.The idea is to keep a group of friends who follow Lancashire County Cricket Club and league cricket in touch during the winter months enjoying a few beers and a chat at a selected Good Beer Guide listed pub.

Last year in September we celebrated Lancashire CCC winning the LVCC Div 2 championship at the Trackside, East Lancashire Railway Station, Bolton St Bury. On a very busy balmy evening the group enjoyed a variety of traditional ales seated on the platform whist steam trains passed on a regular basis during a special rail enthusiasts weekend.

Our October meeting was held at the Peel Park, Accrington, which is located near the old Stanley football ground which is always a popular venue. This back street local is a hidden gem with six real ales and a warm and friendly welcome. On our visit the beers included Ossett, Salamander and Bank Top.

November took us to the Baum, CAMRA. National Pub of the Year 2013,which is situated next to Co-op Pioneer Museum in Toad Lane, Rochdale which was a bit of a trek for those who chose to travel by train. Although the pub and beers were excellent it was very popular with diners and most of the tables were reserved, so seating was a problem for a dozen drinkers who wanted to sit together, although we managed a few pints of Spotland Gold before deciding to move on to a nearby Spooners.

Mad Friday in December took us to The Anvil, Wigan, which is handy for the train and bus stations. We managed to find seats in the back room and enjoyed the usual fine selection of beers on offer which included Allgates, Dark Star, Magic Rock at £2-40 a pint. On a very busy evening the bar service was impeccable from the team behind the bar which is always the case in this great pub which is adorned with local CAMRA awards.

In the new year our January get-together was at the Spinners Arms, Church St, Adlington, again close to the railway station on the Preston to Manchester line. This is a cosy, friendly local which always offers a fine selection of quality beers. On our visit Windermere Pale, Loweswater Gold, Coniston Bluebird and Abbeydale Moonshine tested our taste buds and sent us all home happy and contented.

The Magnet, Wellington Road North, Stockport was chosen for our February jaunt to accommodate those who live in the South Manchester area. This former coaching house reopened in 2009 under the guidance of landlady Lesley and her family and it has won numerous awards for its hospitality and vast selection of beers. It is a very busy pub with a massive list of ales on offer but although the bar staff are efficient and pleasant getting served can be a problem at peak times. We decided to move on and call at the legendary Crown, Heaton Lane on the way back to the railway station for a couple of flyers before catching the train, these pubs serve far too many beers to list.

Our final venue in March was The Continental, Preston, situated besides the River Ribble on South Meadow Lane and is well known to Southport, CAMRA members who usually visit the two massive beer festivals held each year. The main bar area is complemented with a conservatory, non food lounge and large beer garden at the rear. Under the ownership of Jeremy and Ruth, The Continental has become a great venue for drinkers, diners, families and live music lovers who can enjoy numerous gigs etc. staged in the concert room. The house beer is called Continental brewed by Marble Brewery at £2-60 a pint and you will usually find a Pictish beer on the menu. Well that’s our fixture list for 2013/14 completed and we can now look forward to the new cricket season starting in April with Lancashire again competing in the top division.

Jeff Carter

Lancashire Cricket and Beers

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On 14th April I met up again with my pub trotting friend John from Basingstoke with others, and we decided to give the Liverpool pubs some attention. We met in the Globe in Liverpool, always very busy and I tried a pint of Lees Jester Magic, which was very good. Other beers included Doom Bar, Wainwright, Pedigree New World and Landlord. Next a short bus ride up to the Georgian Quarter to the magnificently decorated Peter Kavanaghs, for a nice pint of Oarsome, from unnamed brewer. Also on tap Abbott, Elland Edenism, Cottage Porter and St Georges Hall.

Over to the Blackburne Pub and Eatery for Lancaster Lemon Grass, unusual flavour, but quite nice whilst Empire Strikes Back was also on. Up the nearby side street to the Belvedere for a nice pint of Sandstone Desert Dragon, no pork pies this time! Other drinks on sale were Liverpool Organic 24 Carat Gold and Last Man Standing, in addition to another Sandstone, Edge. On to the architectural gem and famous Philharmonic for a pint of Navigation APUS IPA (of USA origin). Other beers were Doom Bar, Everard Sunchaser, Ilkley Mary Jane (where ‘as ta bin since ah saw thee?), Cameron’s 150 Commemorative Brew, Liverpool Organic 24 Carat Gold (a most popular beer, it seems), St Austell Nicholsons Pale Ale, Dorset Jurassic Vanilla and Bourbon Porter. My friends were most impressed by the great design of the pub, and some inspected the famed gent’s toilets.

On to the Okells owned Fly in the Loaf for a pint of Clouded Minds Clout Stout, as I fancied a darker brew, the Okells beers were their Bitter and Spring Ram, plus the ubiquitous 24 Carat from Organic and also Lancaster Lemon Grass. Crossing the road and round the streets, next to Ye Cracke, a well-loved local community pub, for the Welsh brewed Bragdy Heavy Industry Nelson’s Eye, from a choice amongst others – York Minster Ale and Hart Cobblestones Stout.

My final pub for the day was the well-known Roscoe Head, which has appeared in every edition of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide, now one of a dwindling minority. I tried the Romsey Flack Manor Hedge Hop, whilst my companions chose from Mordue Northumberland Ale, Landlord, Tetley Bitter, Wells DNA IPA and Cross Bay Halo. I made my way home then, as my friends were going back to their hotel is Liverpool, prior to trying out yet more pubs!

Into June and another rendezvous with John from Basingstoke who had been to a function in the area. We met in the Wetherspoon’s Court Leet in Ormskirk for a pint of Peerless Red Rocks, other choices apart from the usuals were Adnam Broadside, Lytham Royal, Cross Bay Zenith, Lancaster Red, London Pride and Coach House Banana Classic Bitter. Then to the nearby Hop Inn Bier Shoppe for an Elland Pilot IPA. Another Elland was 1872 Porter and also Burscough Priory Gold and Salopian Automation. Final stop in Ormskirk was

the Cricketers for a pint of Salopian Golden Thread from alternative choices Thwaites Wainwright, Nutty Black, George Wright Galaxy Hop

Fusion Citra, Bowland Hen Harrier and Cross Bay American IPA.

Later nearer my home we looked in at the Sparrowhawk in Formby and I tried the juicy Titanic Plum Porter. Others were the Phoenix House Beer, Peerless Triple Blond, Weetwood Cheshire Cat, Salopian Oracle and George Wright Pipe Dream – cider from Cornish Pilchards.

Mike Perkins

Pub Crawls round Liverpool and Ormskirk

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“We put the ale into Lonsdale”,is the proud boast of Kirkby Lonsdale’s Orange Tree, and with some justifaction. This is a mecca to the sport of Rugby Union, walls emblazoned with international memorabilla, and headquarters to the local rugby union club, with quality tastes to match by all appearances. Crafty Stan, a mixed blend of milder pale ale at 3.8 per cent was my first quencher, the one I eventually returned to as by far the top one on offer. Not before sampling very acceptable Stanley’s Pale Ale, also 3.8, and the stronger Monumental blond, golden with a floral nose and apparently brewed with body from three different hops. Famed for it’s sizzling steaks, the Orange Tree offers a beer tasting tree whereby five different beers, each comprising one third of a pint, can be downed for the princely sum of £4. These might include the Magpie Brewery’s ‘Magpie’ (Surprise Surprise) using new British crusader hops, or the ruby red Lonsdale Radical. Kirkby Lonsdale has no shortage of thriving inns,the most recent addition the Royal Hotel, now refurbished and thankfully once again dominating the market square.

Its Hawkshead Adelaide 3.7, proved perfectly kept quality and temperature-wise, magnificent in fact, with caramel coloured Hen Harrier from the Bowland Brewery, and Buster IPA with its tropical undertones, completing a top trio. From Kirkby Lonsdale, on then some 800 feet higher up into Arkengarthdale, topped of course by the Tan Hill, which needs no introduction as England’s highest. But my stay for three nights is the whitewashed 18th century Charles Bathurst, named after a leading lead miner who was a descendant of Oliver Cromwell’s physican. A great place to take your medicine as prescribed by mine hosts of the’CB’as it is affectionately known in this part of the world. Immaculate Copper Dragon is backed up with Magic Sponge (brewed with aplomb), Masham’s Black Sheep and Deuchars IPA.

One mile lower down the valley, tucked away in the hamlet of Langwaite, lies the Red Lion,one of the gems of Yorkshire, indeed anywhere in England for

that matter. Rowena Hutchinson has been landlady here for 51 years and sells anything from Beechams to maps and Mars Bars, when she isn’t dispensing Black Sheep and Riggwelter within strictly observed opening hours of 11-3pm and 7-11pm. “But we stay open a little longer if it’s busy,” she admits with a twinkle in the eye. At 71, she has no intention of retiring, and secretly the locals admitted they are dreading the day she ever does, in case the Red Lion then roars its last.

Geoff HowardOrmskirk

Thurs 10th Sept SAT 12th

Over 80 ales, ciders, perriesQuality Food available ˘ Disabled access Mechanics Lounge Bar open for wine, soft drinks and hot drinks

www.burnleybeerfestival.co.uk

Sept SeptFREE ENTRY TO

CAMRA MEMBERS £1 NON MEMBERS

£1 CAMRA MEMBERS - £3 NON MEMBERS

NOON TILL 11PM EACH DAY

FRI 11th

y

east Lancs camra BURNLEY MECHANICSEAST LANCS CAMRA

Festival

present

burnley beer

UP HILL AND DOWN DALE

Snoozers in Boozers

Just for fun can anyone tell me where this sleeper was sleeping also who are they?? e-mail the editor answer next publication.

Answer to last edition Well known Arriva bus driver Paul Hinton in the Bold Arms, Churchtown. Congratulations to Fred for getting the snoozer correct.

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Thurs 10th Sept SAT 12th

Over 80 ales, ciders, perriesQuality Food available ˘ Disabled access Mechanics Lounge Bar open for wine, soft drinks and hot drinks

www.burnleybeerfestival.co.uk

Sept SeptFREE ENTRY TO

CAMRA MEMBERS £1 NON MEMBERS

£1 CAMRA MEMBERS - £3 NON MEMBERS

NOON TILL 11PM EACH DAY

FRI 11th

y

east Lancs camra BURNLEY MECHANICSEAST LANCS CAMRA

Festival

present

burnley beer

22

Here on Fiddler’s Farm we pride ourselves on making original Lancashire Crisps - using potatoes grown on our family farm, hand cooked in our own kitchens and enhanced with the traditional flavours of Lancashire, a region renowned for its food heritage.

8 Delicious flavours

By ‘eck, you’ll find ‘em tasty

To Order - Get in touch

Tel: 01704 823572info@fiddlerslancashirecrisps.co.uk www.fiddlerslancashirecrisps.co.uk

23

This time we go way back to November 1995 (up to January 1996) and Ale & Hearty Vol 1 No.3 (we later scrapped the clumsy Vol stuff). This was in the hands of our first Editor Rob Barnes, who was very conscientious, but later moved away to live in Peterborough.Front page headline in the single colour font (magenta), and produced without computer aid by us was CAMRA Slams Boddington’s Takeover – this referred to the takeover of Boddington Pub Company by the Greenall Pub Company. CAMRA condemned the move, saying that there would be a reduction of competition between the two, a failure of Boddingtons to keep its regional brewery identity, and it was felt that the administrative benefits had been exaggerated.CAMRA also said that the irony was that neither company still owned a brewery, otherwise the rules might have been different, and it proved that the 1989 Beer Orders had miserably failed by limiting the number of pubs a brewery could own. This had led to the split of brewery and pub interests, and the problem still prevails today.On page two CAMRA also criticised the proposed closure of the Tetley Walker Brewery in Warrington, and promised a campaign against that, but now sadly it is long gone, also later followed (in 2010) by the closure of the 18th century Tetley brewery in Leeds.The Barons Bar were holding a beer festival on 7/8/9th November and drinks on offer were Bombardier, Church End What the Foxes Hat, Dent Ramsbottom, Hambleton Nightmare, Ind Coope Burton Ale (can you still get that?), Little Avenham Pierrepoint’s Last Drop, Wild Blonde, Yates Bitter – not many microbreweries then, but a good range, and how many still exist? A mystery 1000th award winning guest beer was to be revealed on 7th November, and on the 9th half price beers for CAMRA members.

Under “Talking Pints” the Editor Rob was bemoaning the Whitbread practice of charging more for guest beers in its Hogshead pubs than for their own product – Whitbread and Boddington beers were selling at £1.27 to £1.43 per pint, with others between £1.50 and £1.90. Other pubs were more reasonable with guest beer prices. How things have changed since then!Dave Williams in his regular Classic Pub articles praised the Cittie of York in High Holborn, London. Although misleadingly tiny on approach, the pub is like a stately home serving draught beers. The pub had an old fashioned passageway leading to an ornate hall, with huge vats above the bar, medieval ceiling, and intimate little snug rooms Near to Chancery Lane tube station and well worth a visit as I assume it is still trading well.Dave also wrote an item on Featured Pubs which covered the Cheshire Lines in Southport, one of the town’s oldest, dating from 1864, and its former names had been the Baker’s Arms and the Albion. The pub is now listed, and survived closure because a government compensation fund had run out of money around the time of the First World War. It was a Tetley Walker pub, and is still a great local worth visiting. A good food menu is on offer.There was a rumour, from Dave Leyland, that metric glass measures were to replace our pints with European sizes, but gladly, for most, this did not come to fruition. Peter O’ Connor wrote an interesting piece on pubs on our border, which are now in this branch area’s territory – these were in Banks, Mere Brow, Bescar (Swan, now long gone), Burscough, Scarisbrick (Red Lion now a restaurant), Halsall (The Halsall Arms now a solicitors), Barton, Blue Bell – gone, Haskayne, Downholland, and Formby (which was in our area).The issue had 12 pages (no page numbers!) and 8 advertisements (Barons Bar 2, Central Cabs 01704 544414, Heatons Bridge, Ship Lathom, Martin Inn, Up Steps and Zetland Hotel).You will see from the details above that there have been many pub, brewery and beer changes in the last 20 years.

Mike Perkins

Past Ale & Hearty

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Further to my article on the Isle of Wight which I visited in February on a coach tour with Shearing’s, I enjoyed myself so much that I booked another trip shortly afterwards. Not wanting to do things by half, this time I went to the other extreme of Great Britain by staying at the Highland Hotel, Strathpeffer in the Scottish Highlands, a journey of some 400 miles from Southport via stops at Stretton near Warrington, Gretna Green and a final stop near Pitlochry in Perthshire.

Arriving on Monday evening, 18th November, it was chilly but dry. After dinner and a glass of wine, a walk round the village and a few gin and tonics (drinks were free but no real ale in the hotel), we retired to bed after a long day.

The next day saw us taken on a tour of the Speyside area, which included a stop in Aviemore. And, would you believe it, coach driver Gary parked up just off the main Grampian Road, opposite the railway station and next door to the Cairngorm Hotel, which was one of the two entries in the CAMRA 2014 Good Beer Guide! We had an hour in Aviemore, arriving at about 10.45, so we had to wait for the hotel bar to open at 11 o’clock. But it was worth waiting for, as I had time to try a welcome pint of Cairngorm Gold before the coach departed at 11.45.

This was sadly to be my only pint of the day, because despite driving through the village of Carrbridge and past the Cairn Hotel (another GBG pub), we did not stop there other than a brief stop at a picturesque spot for a few photographs in the freshly-fallen snow that morning. However, it was a good opportunity to fathom out the local landscape and the accessibility of the best local pubs via public transport, and Carrbridge is on the main line from Inverness railway station.

The next day I decided to get a Stagecoach bus into Inverness, catching the 61 at about 10.10 from Strathpeffer into Inverness bus station. This took about half an hour, getting me into Inverness before the pubs opened. As a result, I decided to try and get to all six of the pubs listed in the GBG and to find the one which was furthest away to start with. On walking out towards the A96 Aberdeen Road to find

the Snowgoose, a Mitchells & Butlers Vintage Inn pub in Stoneyfield, which I was told was near two travel lodges and about two miles out of town. On hearing that from one of the locals I decided to turn around and head back into the town centre. Incidentally, the local people still referred to Inverness as a town, despite the fact that it was given city status in 2000, the same year as Preston.

My first port of call in Inverness was in Church Street. Easy to find, being central, the King’s Highway is one of Wetherspoons’ newest pubs. All the beers in here were surprisingly strong, so I settled for a pint of TSA (Traditional Scottish Ales) Lomond Gold, which I think had an ABV of 5.0%! So stronger than I would have liked, but when you are paying £1.65 using your CAMRA Wetherspoons voucher you are not going to complain!

Next stop was Number 27. This involved a short walk up Church Street to Union Street, a right turn towards High Street, which is where I thought the GBG listed Clachnaharry Inn would be, but when I could not find the Clachnaharry I walked up Castle Street via the Tourist Information Centre.

Number 27 was on the left hand of the street, and a trendy, pleasant bistro-style bar selling more Scottish beers. I tried a beer from Loch Ness brewery, a dark beer, yes, if you’ve drank real ale you’ve guessed it, called Dark Ness!!! Whist the pint was dearer than the previous one at £3.30, it was not as expensive as I had been anticipating, and cheaper that I generally pay in the Lake District.

After a leisurely pint whilst reading the day’s news by looking at the pub’s papers, a short walk along Castle Street took me to the Castle Tavern. Although a pint of Cairngorm Trade Winds was £3.45, this was the best pint of the day and also the best pub of the day. Close to Inverness Castle, it was a friendly pub which looked as though it sold good quality and reasonably priced meals. And this is where I realised where I had gone wrong earlier. My mate Dave (Taylor) who had travelled with me on holiday asked a chap where the Clachnaharry Inn was. Well, unbeknown to us he was landlord Donald McLean and he used to own that pub as well. Advising us

Scottish Pub Crawl

25

that it was a fair walk to the pub, and that in fact Clachnaharry was on the opposite side of the River Ness and situated on Clachnaharry High Street and not Inverness High Street, he offered to take us there in his pub taxi service without asking for payment. We took him up on his kind offer and we were there in ten minutes, a journey which took us considerably longer on foot on the way back.

The Clachnaharry Inn again sold Scottish beers, and I had a game of darts with Dave in between supping my pint of Orkney Dark Island which cost £3.40.

Whilst the walk back towards Friars Bridge was probably a mile and a half, our journey was broken up by a visit to a Titanic museum. Why a museum commemorating the Titanic in Inverness you may ask. Well, it appeared that somebody from the area was either a passenger or a crew member on the ill-fated voyage in 1912 or was related to somebody on the ship. It seemed a tenuous connection and I had supped a few pints by now, but it was well worth the visit, which was also free, so for us the Scots have got an unfair reputation for being mean. In fact the locals had been extremely helpful in our aims to get around the city’s pubs.

Crossing the Ness, whilst looking to catch a sight of the monster in case it had ventured into town via the river, we took a right turn at the roundabout and headed down Chapel Street, which led us back to Academy Street. Here on the left was the famous Phoenix. Sadly, no real ale here, but I did have a look inside and took some photos as it is an historic pub interior. However, the GBG-listed Blackfriars was opposite, and here I got an excellent pint of Cromarty Atlantic Drift costing £3.35, a good end to an enjoyable crawl and the furthest British pub crawl I had ever accomplished.

But after my visit to the Inverness Tourist Information Board and some enquiries about getting the ferry across to the Orkney and Shetland Islands, I am hoping to go one better in the next year to visit Britain’s most northerly real ale pubs!

David Williams

Letter to the Editor

Dear EditorThe Magna Carta is one of the most significant legal documents in history and the 15th June commemorated the 800th anniversary it was sealed in 1215. June 15th was designated as ‘Beer Day Britain’ because ale was mentioned in article 35 of the great charter. “Let there be throughout our kingdom a single measure for wine and a single measure for ale and a single measure for corn ‘namely’ the London Quarter” ale was so important in England in 1215 that it was included in this historic document. It is hoped in future that pubs, clubs, breweries etc will support ‘Beer Day Britain’ on the 15th June every year.

Jeff CarterSouthport, Lancashire

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Well off we went again to Prague, this time we had two extra people Fred brought his wife with him and Joel from Liverpool branch decided to turn to the dark side and come with us.

The times of the planes had changed since last year so we all flew together on Friday morning 29th May about 7.00pm. Trying to organise 11 people took some doing and a couple of meetings as three had to go back early on the Wednesday due to work so they had to fly back with a different airline. Anyway we finally made it and got to the same hotel U Medvidku on time. Some of the places we visited were the same as last year so I will just report on the new ones.

By 3.30pm we had found our way to Pivovarsky Dvur at Chyne on the outskirts of Prague. This was one of Prague’s first micro Breweries in a farm that used to be part

of a monastery, opened in 1992. It was interesting that they restrict smoking between 11am – 3pm this seems to be the start of the smoking ban in Czech Republic. We tried their beers. I had a wheat beer which is upper fermented and has been brewed since 2007, they also have upper fermented Anglo Saxon style beers, brewed since 2011, for example ale and stout.

We were very close to our Czech friend Thomas so we phoned him up and great he came out to meet us.

We moved on to another micro brewery called Rukodelny Pivovarek at Trebonice a really unusual micro brewery which has its own homely pub. Apparently

he posts his opening hours and what Is on tap on Facebook and everyone flocks to the pub, so we were really lucky that he was open. David Stanek won first prize for his beer in 2011 at Sluneve Skie micro brewery festival and has been selling it in the

Prague pubs ever since. They had a great outdoors that led down to a caravan park. This is the back door the front door you go in through the kitchen before you get to the bar really strange!

The next day we had decided to go to Olomouc Beer Festival, Doug had worked out the right train to get which was going to take about 2

½ hours. Olomouc lies beside the Morava River in central Morava. It’s the 5th largest city in the Czech Republic. Once at Olomouc we caught a bus to the festival, and walked down a lane to the field where the beer festival was. The festival was amazing, it certainly made up for missing Southport Food and Drink Festival. It was very similar to Glastonbury; two stages one at each end of the field playing alternate

rock bands and small individual breweries selling their beers and fantastic food stalls. You paid cash as well which was easier, and someone tried to get

me on a London Bus which was set up as a café till I told them I had been on loads. Just like Glastonbury it had one of those really heavy showers and the rock band before giving up sang “Its Raining Men” how good can it get. I can’t go on about how good this festival was, to me it was better that the Prague Beer Festival we went to last year we all really enjoyed it and I think the ones that didn’t go regretted it. To the right was Joel’s dinner doesn’t it look great. Fantastic. I could have stayed there all week but we finally prized ourselves away and went back to Prague.

The next day Sunday we were up early as we had a

Prague 2nd Visit

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boat to catch at 8.30am going to Slapy. It was a 4 hour trip going through 3 locks and then 2 hours in Slap and then 4 hours trip back. This is the first lock we went through.

Coming into Slapy the last 20 miles or so was like going through a gorge. There were houses dotted about up the hills and the Captain was blowing the horn all the way through to tell the residents that we were here. They certainly knew as they came out of the houses in droves shouting “hello”, ringing bells and blowing horn, it was really quite bizarre.

We arrived in Slapy and were greeted by an otter that the Captain decided to feed. I got the impression he did this on a regular bases as it seemed to know the boat. We wondered

up a hill to the only two pubs that were there. We had lunch and then walked back down again as the boat was due to go soon. We spent 4 hours return journey with the same people coming out of their houses to wave at us. We had entertainment on the way back as there was a folk band travelling back who decided to entertain us. They were also drinking copious amounts of alcohol and the more they drank the louder the singing got. It was quite entertaining.

On arriving back we called in a new brewery pub having just opened a couple of days ago. The beer there is called Lion and they do three types 11° Pilsner Lager, 11° unfiltered Lager and a 13° semi dark lager we of course tried the semi dark which was delicious.

Well that’s the first three days over let’s see what the next three days will bring.

To Be Continued

Pam Hadfield

CAM’RA SHOTS

I really like Moretti BirraIn a Stella Glass

Presentation of Lancashire

POTY to Cricketers Ormskirk

Nottingham AGM in Trip to Jerusalem

Old and new R.D in Isle of Man

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Fair dealon beertax now! SaveBritain’sPubs!

Instruction to your Bank orBuilding Society to pay by Direct Debit

Please fill in the whole form using a ball point pen and send to:Campaign for Real Ale Ltd. 230 Hatfield Road, St.Albans, Herts AL1 4LWName and full postal address of your Bank or Building SocietyTo yteicoS gnidliuB ro knaBreganaM eht

Address

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Name(s) of Account Holder

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Reference

Banks and Building Societies may not accept Direct Debit Instructions for some types of account.

Service User Number

FOR CAMPAIGN FOR REAL ALE LTD OFFICIAL USE ONLYThis is not part of the instruction to your Bank or Building Society

Membership Number

Name

Postcode

Instructions to your Bank or Building SocietyPlease pay Campaign For Real Ale Limited Direct Debits from the accountdetailed on this instruction subject to the safeguards assured by the Direct DebitGuarantee. I understand that this instruction may remain with Campaign For RealAle Limited and, if so will be passed electronically to my Bank/Building Society.

Signature(s)

Date

This Guarantee should be detachedand retained by the payer.

The Direct DebitGuarantee

This Guarantee is offered by all banks and building societies that accept instructions to pay by Direct Debits.

If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit The Campaign for Real Ale Ltd will notify you 10 working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed.If you request The Campaign for Real Ale Ltd to collect a payment, confirmation of the amount and date will be given to you at the time of the request

If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit by The Campaign for Real Ale Ltd or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society

- If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when The Campaign For Real Ale Ltd asks you to

You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by simply contacting your bank or building society.Written confirmation may be required. Please also notify us.

9 2 6 1 2 9

Join CAMRA TodayComplete the Direct Debit form below and you will receive 15 months membership for the price of 12 and a fantastic discount on your membership subscription.

Alternatively you can send a cheque payable to CAMRA Ltd with your completed form, visit www.camra.org.uk/joinus or call 01727 867201. All forms should be addressed to the: Membership Department, CAMRA, 230 Hatfield Road, St Albans, AL1 4LW.

Your Details

Title Surname

Forename(s)

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Address

Postcode

Email address

Tel No(s)

Partner’s Details (if Joint Membership)

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Direct Debit Non DD

Single Membership £24 £26

(UK & EU)

Joint Membership £29.50 £31.50

(Partner at the same address)

For Young Member and other concessionary rates please visitwww.camra.org.uk or call 01727 867201.

I wish to join the Campaign for Real Ale, and agree toabide by the Memorandum and Articles of Association

I enclose a cheque for

Signed Date

Applications will be processed within 21 days

01/15

Campaigning for Pub Goers& Beer Drinkers

Enjoying Real Ale& Pubs

A Campaign of Two Halves

Join CAMRA today – www.camra.org.uk/joinus

Email address (if different from main member)

32