Circus Tavern, Manchester

Not sure I would attempt on a weekend or an evening, but something rather special about a Thursday afternoon of illicit drinking. Goodle suggest it opens at 2pm but found it all bolted. Went next door and heard the barlady saying they were "keeping off hours". It was open at 3pm. Already full :-) A young barman dealt with the drinks (Tetley or Wainwright) on cask, whilst the landlord did a fine job of shoehorning as many people as possible into the two tiny rooms. Thankfully table service from there on - as once wedged in, you need to be brave to wedge yourself out. The Tetley was in fine condition and everyone seemed really pleased with themselves for getting a seat. Led to a very jovial atmosphere. Quinno sums it up nicely in his last line!

Blink and you miss it place; very narrow, squeezed back from the road in a terrace and listed in the CAMRA National Inventory. There’s a corridor to enter with a teeny servery at the end which appears to be part of the understairs cupboard. Two little rooms off to the right of the corridor, both with fires and traditionally furnished in a basic manner with bench seating and old bell pushes. Two cask, Wainwright and Tetley Bitter. My Tetley was in fair nick for what is now a shite brew (NBSS 3). I liked it here, despite its obvious limitations…time your visit for a quiet period else you’ll easily end-up standing in the corridor. Perhaps file under ‘do it to say you’ve done it’.