Swiggin in Wiggin : September 2012 - Wigan

These mobile phones are great aren’t they?
Without them, one Saturday we would not have
known where to meet up with the others when we
caught a later train from Wigan to Liverpool Lime
Street. No surprise that the response was “We are
in the Fly in the Loaf on Hardman Street, get over
here quick”. The was the starting point of our visit
to Liverpool taking in 9 pubs in 6 hours, a pleasant
circuit, working our way down the hill back towards
the station ready for the last dash for the train,
visiting some classic pubs with great beer.
Of course, by the time we got to the Fly in the Loaf
everyone was ready to move on so, with apologies
to the pleasant bar staff, who came to take our
order of drinks, we didn’t linger.
Up the hill into the Philharmonic, with its entrance
on Hope Street. Its impossible not to be impressed
with the décor and ambience of the Phil and is
worth a visit. The beer was good as well with a
choice of 6! Again there were 2 helpful members
of staff behind the bar who knew their beers,
always a good sign.
From there we turned right and walked along Hope
Street, past the Philharmonic Hall, and turned right
into Rice Street to call in at Ye Cracke. This old pub
looks like it’s in the wrong place. In a side street,
newish houses opposite but, once inside, it’s a
busy place, lots of original features, a neat beer
garden at the back, and again good beer. Beer is
served in plastic glasses for customers going out
to the beer garden but this seemed a hit-and-miss
system with people walking outside with glassware
and the bar staff clearly thinking we should have
gone outside as we got plastic glasses at first.
On emerging, we realised we had not visited the
Belvedere. So it was back to Hope Street, cross
the road into Falkner Street (past the bistro on
the left) and the gorgeous Georgian buildings to
Sugnall Street. There is a surprise immediately;
it’s a cul de sac with the Belvedere being the only
occupant. Because of the location they have tables
and benches outside, which is a good job – it’s a
very small pub but with good beer.
Liverpool walk
25
Next on the list was the Pilgrim, so we retraced
our steps past Ye Cracke, and called into the
Pilgrim. Busy as ever with students, we raised the
average age of the customers by about 20 years.
Undeterred, we found some seats outside rather
than in the pub (which is actually in the cellar).
Our next pub was the only pub to let us down all
day. Leaving the Pilgrim it was turn right, turn
right, turn right and we walked into the Grapes on
Roscoe Street. Unfortunately, we were met with a
row of empty hand pumps so with a (hopefully)
friendly “thank you” we walked out again.
To get over our disappointment we turned left,
walked back toward the main road, crossed Leece
Street into the other end of Roscoe Street and
found ourselves in the Roscoe Head which has
justly won numerous awards from CAMRA and other
organisations. Gorgeous beer, knowledgeable bar
staff, good atmosphere what more could you ask
for! Back onto Leece Street, to the bottom of the
hill and the Dispensary in Renshaw Street was to
be our last pub before getting the return train to
Wigan. One day I will understand why it’s called
the Dispensary. Have the grapes in the tiles on the
floor and on the wall behind the bar anything to
do with it ? It all felt a bit unsure of itself but one
thing was certain, the beer was great.
Finally, we headed off along Renshaw Street to the
station – oh but what’s this we spot - a new bar
serving real ale. Time for a quick half in The Inn
Liverpool Beer Emporium – served in the classic
barrel glasses. A very different venue to all our
other locations that afternoon, we wish them luck
with their new venture.
On the train back we agreed that every beer we had
was good, some were very good, and some were
excellent. We had Cornish beer, Yorkshire beer,
Lancashire beer, local beer, light beer, dark beer,
all sorts. We tried to sample the range of beers
in each pub and between the 6 of us, we enjoyed
every one - not a bad pint (or half) all afternoon is
a great testimony to the pubs of Liverpool.
Why not try out our route – a walking distance of
less than 2 miles. It’s well worth it.