This isn't Liverpool. No, don't think that for
a minute. To do so would be to slight Tranmere fans. This is the Wirral, and it's not
Liverpool. It's just near Liverpool. Okay?
I am a perennial respecter of the opposition, but I can't help wondering
where this pathological determination to stress the non-Liverpudlian nature of Birkenhead
and its environs comes from. I mean, is Liverpool that bad? I think it's an excellent
city, with loads of great pubs. And, try though they might, Liverpool dominates the area.
Merseyside is Liverpool, isn't it? If you're going to the game from outside the area,
chances are you're going to come through Liverpool. Coming from London, you’ll be
catching a train to Lime Street, or even taking advantage of the dirt cheap easyJet deals
to fly to Speke Airport. If you want to hang about overnight, you'll be stopping in
Liverpool, won't you? And guess where’s the best place to go drinking before the
game?
So why fixate on it? Is it an attempt to construct an identity for
somewhere that doesn't have one? After all, if anyone knows where the Wirral is, they
merely know that it's 'near Liverpool'. Liverpool defines the Wirral, and in seeking to
stress their separateness, the folk of the Wirral merely seek a different, negative form
of definition: the hope to be defined by what they are not. I concede that parcelling them
up with Liverpool could become annoying. You wouldn't want people to identify Burnley as
being 'near Blackburn' would you? Similarly, I suppose if people kept thinking Burnley was
in Yorkshire, you could grow cross. But for heaven's sake, there's only a river between
them. The central part of local railway system is underground, and whips you through a
tunnel from the east to the west bank of the Mersey without ceremony. When you emerge on
the other side, you don't get any big sense of being somewhere different. And people who
live in South London still say they live in London, don't they?
I only wish the ground was in Liverpool because, frankly, the pubs are
better there. The only sensible approach to this game is, therefore, to maximise your time
in Liverpool before and after. It's a good drinking city and Burnley supporters don't get
too many chances to go there.
The Wirral
However, we wouldn't dream of insulting the good folk of Birkenhead by
producing a guide which consists entirely of Liverpool pubs. So we'll have a go. It's just
that in two visits I haven’t found anything like a good pub close by. It’s a
rather underpubbed part of the world, very residential. What pubs they have tend to be
big, modernised, empty and unappealing.
There are pubs near the ground, but if you don’t know by now that
pubs near football grounds are crap, it’s time you started learning. Two are right by
the away end, which is known as the Cowshed. (Away fans used to be accommodated in the
larger and more modern stand behind the other goal, until, apparently, home fans objected
to visitors getting the best bit of the ground.) The two pubs here are the Mersey
Clipper and, oddly enough, the Prenton Park. They’re recommended by the
usual web sources and are said to welcome away fans. Don’t expect them to sell beer.
I can confirm that another close by, the Sportsman, doesn’t, as we had time
for a quick one on our recent visit. I wasn’t impressed by this large, basic pub in
which the pool table and Sky sports were given positions of honour, although it was
friendly and the locals didn’t seem to mind our crew of already intoxicated Clarets.
The ground is something of a public transport challenge. It’s not
particularly near any railway station, although Rock Ferry (trains from central Liverpool
stations, of which more below) is just about the closest, being a brisk twenty minutes
away. There are two pubs next to the station, both beerless. One was called the Rock
Castle, or something like it, and the other was possibly the Duke or King of something
or other. Not particularly helpful, but having ascertained that they did not sell good
drink, we didn’t stop in either. Turn right from the station along Bedford Road,
which becomes Bedford Avenue, until you come to the junction on the corner of Victoria
Park. Turn right up Bebington Road, and when you get to the next junction you can take
Everest or Mallory Road (many of the local roads have a mountaineering theme, reflecting
George Mallory’s local roots; there’s a Ben Nevis and a Snowdon too) or Prenton
Road East. All are on your left and all take you to the ground, although Prenton Road is
handiest for the away ends and the first two pubs above. I think the Sportsman was
somewhere around the junction of Prenton Road East.
The only other pub I can remember, because it was in the Good Beer Guide
on a 1995 visit, is the Lord Napier, on St Paul’s road a little to the north
of Rock Ferry station. This was a cold, miserable and unwelcoming place. We couldn't find
it on our most recent visit, for which I wasn’t exactly sorry.
Rovers Rearguard - a curiously defensive name for a site - at http://tranmererovers.rivals.net has a
skeletal pub guide. Choose 'club info' from the menu. Another unofficial site at www.white-in-exile.redhotant.com has a
map of the area. The official site can be found at www.tranmererovers.co.uk, and it paints a
picture of a friendly club trying to serve its supporters. It even offers their fans pub
ideas for away games - although I'm not too sure about their Burnley entry.
Interestingly, you may wish to note that the Football Ground Guide [www.footballgroundguide.co.uk] informs us
that it is a criminal offence to drink alcohol in the streets of Birkenhead. Not that you
would.
I was taken to task for going on rather about the "beer free
wilderness of the Wirral" in a previous edition of this guide by one of our readers,
John Young. It seems I’ve missed some decent pubs, for which I offer due apologies. I
suppose it’s because I like Liverpool and tend to go drinking there, meaning the only
bit of the other side I’m familiar with is the strip between station and ground.
I’m therefore pleased to be able to let John redress the balance:
"I went to the Tranmere match with good friend who is both a beer
drinker and Tranmere season ticket holder. You seemed to have Liverpool covered, but were
bemoaning the other side of the river. Well, things aren't quite so bleak on the way to
Prenton Park. I drank some excellent beer in good pubs on The Wirral.
There were four pubs listed in the Good Beer Guide 2000 under Birkenhead.
Of these, the Old Colonial and the Stork are not in the 2001 edition, but on my visit I
could see no reason why they've been dropped. I saw no football fans in any of these pubs,
and no evidence that there might be any hassle.
Get off the train to Hamilton Square and the Dispensary (Chester
Street) is only 50 yards away. It’s a long, thin one-roomer with the bar dividing the
room. Apparently a genuine old pharmacy, it had a full range of Cains beers.
It's only a three or four minute walk to the Old Colonial (Bridge
Street), a large pub, again with a choice of Cains beers and a guest. There appeared to be
a few students in here, but it seemed like a good pub.
Another couple of minutes to the Stork (Price Street), described to
a 't' in GBG 2000. Had four or so non-esoteric but perfectly adequate beers on.
The Crown Ale House (Conway Street) isn't much further away, but we
didn't have time to get there.
Looking at the map, you could get off at Conway Park station and go to
these in the reverse order. There's a taxi office round the corner from the Dispensary.
The ground is a five minute taxi ride (probably twenty plus minute walk)
from round here."
Thanks for these, John. The Stork, I’m given to understand, is a
beautifully preserved Victorian pub with many original fittings, such as stained glass,
ceramics and mosaics - and bellpushes, once used to demand service.
And so, having paid due deference to the un-Scouseness of Tranmere, we now
offer a Liverpool pub guide.
Liverpool
The centre of Liverpool is very compact but quite confusing. It has, to be
honest, too many streets, going in too many directions. Just about all of the pubs are
close together, and with the exception of the Baltic Fleet, which is a little out on a
limb, if you’re in one good pub, chances are you won’t be more than ten minutes
away from another. Sure, there are lots of bad pubs and dreadful bars, but real ale pubs
in Liverpool seem to have found their niche and developed a clientele. There aren’t
too many one handpump local’s boozers in the centre, and the emphasis seems instead
to be on providing lots of choices of guest beer. Plenty of the pubs do food too.
Your best bet is to get a map, work out where the pubs are and walk around
as many as possible. The only problem is that you won’t be able to go to them all in
one go. For that reason only, I’ve divided Liverpool up into a number of small areas,
which separately or combined should make for good crawls depending on your time. These
shouldn’t be taken as gospel. Pubs in different sections aren’t always so far
apart. Dale Street starts close to Lime Street station, for example, while pubs such as
the Dispensary and the Globe are easily reachable from there too.
There are four railway stations in the centre of Liverpool: Lime Street,
Central, James Street and Moorfields. They are connected in an underground circle, rather
like a mini Circle Line, except that it only goes in one direction, which is that above.
Although the stations are close together, it’s worth noting that if, for example, you
want to go from Central to Lime Street, it’s probably easier to walk that go around
the other stations. The station where the loop begins and ends, and from where trains head
off under the Mersey to the Wirral, is James Street.
The main landmarks for the purposes of orientation are the Liver Building
on the Mersey and the two cathedrals, with the funky Catholic cathedral east and slightly
south of Lime Street and the imposing Anglican cathedral roughly half a mile further
south. The two cathedrals are connected by Hope Street, and all the metaphorical juice has
already been extracted from that one. Lime Street and Central are handy for the pubs near
either cathedral, Central is good for the pubs in the pedestrianised shopping streets and
Moorfields is your best bet for pubs around Dale Street and Tithebarn Street.
The beer you're most likely to get around town is the already mentioned
Cains. A heartwarming success story, Cains was part of Higsons, which was taken over by
Boddingtons and eventually closed down by Whitbread. The brewery was, however,
independently revived, and now stands as something of a Liverpool flagship, with their
beers achieving near ubiquity around the city and distribution to other parts. You'd have
to go some to come to Liverpool and not get Cains. I like the Dark Mild, but the bitter's
also good, and they do seasonal beers too. Their brewery is on Stanhope Street, just south
of the city centre, as is the Brewery Tap. They do brewery tours, albeit at the
inconvenient times of Monday to Thursday evenings. Contact details are available at www.breworld.com/cains.
Lime Street
This is the station you’re most likely to arrive at. On a recent
visit the station was being extensively renovated and was consequently an unwelcoming
place. A branch of the Head of Steam pub chain (which usually stock a good range)
opened on the station in late 2000, and local reports are positive, so that might be
somewhere to bear in mind if you’re in a hurry. Out of the station it’s a mess
of roads. Head straight across St George’s Place, past the classically splendid St
George’s Hall for the Moorfields crawl, or turn down Lime Street, then Renshaw street
for the cathedral pubs or Ranelagh Street for the pedestrian centre. There, are, however,
a couple of handy stops if you’re pushed for time:
Wetherspoon's, Lime Street - Close by the St John's precinct
opposite Lime Street station, this is a large and characterless example of that chain.
This isn’t one of my favourite Wetherspoon’s pubs and they didn’t even have
any Cains on last time I looked in. As there are better pubs, why bother? However, if you
want something to eat in a hurry and a pint, then you’ll get it here.
Dr Duncans, St John’s Lane - Splendid, rightfully
lauded Cain’s house, nicely converted from some old club rooms. Think the Commercial
Rooms in Bristol, but smaller and with better beer. Quite a lot of the old features seem
to have been retained. It’s a multi-roomed, split level pub, and one of the rooms is
decorated with lavish ceramics. The full Cains’ range, including seasonal beers, is
stocked. It’s as handy for the station as Wetherspoon’s, but better. It’s
also a good pub for the Queen’s Square bus station.
Around the cathedrals
Rather a full-on crawl, this, with six good pubs I know of, probably more
I don’t, and other pubs like the Globe and those around Lime Street easily added on.
You’ll also walk past lots of shocking doormanned bars around Renshaw Street and
Hardman Street, along with enough kebab shops and the like, if that is what you seek.
The Dispensary, Renshaw Street - A nicely done up Cains pub, which
also stocks guests. A very pleasant place selling high quality beer, with extremely
friendly service and affable locals. Renshaw Street follows on from Lime Street, down from
Lime Street station.
Roscoe Head, Roscoe Street - A splendid locals' pub, and very
welcoming. Although it has a few cosy rooms, these are small, so it can get busy. It sells
excellently kept Jennings beer, and is a Good Beer Guide perennial choice. It's just round
the corner from the Dispensary and is close to the bombed-out church, a striking roofless
building reclaimed by trees, which is rather beautiful at night.
The Cracke, Rice Street - Probably my favourite Liverpool pub, an
odd collection of ramshackle rooms in which it is easy to get lost. It has a loyal
following, and a good and varied beer range. What more could you ask for, except perhaps
clean toilets? It can be a bit hard to find. Look for Pilgrim Street, north of the
Anglican cathedral.
The Blackburne Arms, Catharine Street - Yes, very nearly a bad name
for a pub, but this is a good example of a local Cains house. It's east of Hope Street and
the Anglican cathedral.
Everyman Bistro, Hope Street - Perhaps a bit tarty for my taste,
being a bistro-cum-bar in the basement of the Everyman Theatre up by the Catholic
Cathedral end of Hope Street. However, if you're looking for something to eat and maybe a
decent pint at the same time, this might be for you. More importantly, the bar stays open
late at weekends, certainly until one o’clock (possibly two o'clock?) on Fridays.
Liverpool has a reputation as a late-drinking city, but of course most of this goes on in
grim new bars with bouncers on the door, ear-bleeding music and a notable absence of
drinkable drink. The Everyman isn’t ideal, but it keeps late hours, doesn’t have
bouncers and sells decent beer, so it’s a better bet than most. Some days all pubs
will stay open as late as they like, but until then you need to know about these places. I
have had some decent pints of Cains in there. It was heaving on our Friday night visit,
and it’s a large place. Naturally, late weekend drinking means they attract a few
idiots, on top of the arty, middle-class, ostentatiously book-carrying crowd they normally
serve, and we weren’t too happy about some bloke trying to nick our drinks! The
reaction of the barman, who evidently regarded us as a nuisance for drawing this to his
attention, wasn’t exactly endearing either. But at least they sell beer, and you
might have a win to celebrate as we did. (Incidentally, other pubs that I’m told stay
open late at weekends and should sell a pint, if you’re not too fussy, are the Flute
and Firkin, on Hardman Street next to Lime Street station, and the Hogshead on
North John Street.)
The Cambridge, Mulberry Street - A friendly Burtonwood's house up
by the university, between the Catholic cathedral and the campus.
Centre
This area roughly encompasses the mostly pedestrianised stretch between
Central and James Street stations. There are enough bad bars here, possibly connected with
the Beatles tourist industry, so seek out the following, while avoiding the street hawkers
of dodgy goods.
The Globe, Cases Street - One of Liverpool's great pubs, and a long
time standard bearer for good beer in the city. Sells Cains. It's in the centre and
opposite Liverpool Central Station. It's basic and a bit localish, and it can be busy at
nights, but I like it. The floor slopes, so don’t worry, it isn’t you.
The White Star, Rainford Gardens - This has a classic wooden
interior. It's very central, in the pedestrianised shopping area, most pleasant, and it
sells Cains and guests.
Carnarvon Castle, Tarleton Street - A small and agreeable Cains pub
in the centre, off the pedestrianised Church Street. Has changed hands lately, but may
still be good.
Moorfields
This stretch runs from the Birkenhead tunnel entrance close to Lime Street
station to James Street station and the Mersey. Dale Street and Tithebarn Street run
roughly parallel, with Dale Street being the interior. Side streets connect the two, on
one of which is Moorfield Station.
The Ship and Mitre, Dale Street - At the Lime Street end, it’s
a free house selling guest beers in abundance, and is an odd, ramshackle sort of place,
with gas lighting. It also smells of gas. It’s as friendly as you could hope for, but
a bit CAMRA-happy even for my tastes.
United Powers, Tithebarn Street - A weird old pub that thinks it's
still the War. I’ve not been in for several years, so it may have changed.
The Railway, Tithebarn Street - An excellent Cains pub with a
pleasant dark interior.
The Lion, Tithebarn Street - This is next to the Railway. It has a
small smoke room at the front and a larger, attractively tiled room at the back. Something
of an Irish pub in the proper sense. It sold an excellent pint of Lee’s on my recent
visit.
The Vernon Arms, Dale Street - Another one of those pubs stocking a
bewildering range of guest beers, and yet another friendly, wooden floored, nicely fitted
out pub of the kind Liverpool excels in. It has a reputation for cheap and good food.
The Pig and Whistle, Covent Garden - An interesting pub about half
way between Moorfields Station and the Liver Building. It was packed on our Friday night
visit, and seems to be popular with the office workers who dominate this part of the city.
There was nothing wrong with my Jennings, and they also sell Black Sheep. It’s also
known as a bit of a food place. This is a handy option for James Street station, being
easily less than ten minutes from the train.
Albert Docks
The Baltic Fleet, Wapping - A largeish pub standing alone close to
the Albert Dock development. It’s a very comfortable place, nicely done up in modern,
airy colours. Again, service is very friendly. The bar is small, but there are a couple of
pleasant rooms to the side. Beer is from the Passageway brewery and is excellently kept.
Their Wapping Bitter was probably the best pint I had on my last trip to Liverpool. They
have a reputation for good food, and if you’re in a hurry they also see the
world’s best crisps, Seebrook’s. Cheese and onion, naturally. Wapping is the
main road that runs by this stretch of the docks.
You aim should be to go to as many of these as possible. If time is short,
then an edited highlights crawl taking in my favourites would be to start from the Cracke
(from Lime Street station down Lime Street, Renshaw Street, Leece Street, Hardman Street,
Pilgrim Street, Rice Street) then to the Roscoe Head (Pilgrim Street, west down Mount
Street, onto Roscoe Street) then the Dispensary (north up Roscoe Street, left onto Leece
Street, Renshaw Street) and finally the Globe (take Ranelagh Street off Renshaw Street,
then Cases Street), which takes you to Central Station from where you can catch your train
for Rock Ferry.
The other thing for which Tranmere is famous is Half Man Half Biscuit.
These mid 80s student favourites developed a reputation for repeatedly missing performing
on TV's 'the Tube' in preference for Friday nights down Prenton. This being in the days
when football was the least fashionable pursuit on the planet, it was reported then with
some bemusement, although I could never see what was supposed to be so odd about it.
They're now producing their best work, having matured into razor-sharp observers of modern
absurdity. Naturally, that means they once recorded a song about real ale bores called
'CAMRA Man'. Altogether now, 'you can really taste the hops!'
