The Talbot, St. Helens

Formerly the Sportsman, and with an old Boddingtons inn sign of that name still standing, the Talbot stands on the corner of Talbot Close (previously Talbot Street), which suggests it was either originally the Talbot or has taken the name from a nearby pub that has been demolished. It's a two roomed pub, with separate entrances from the portico. We went in the bar on the left, which was dominated by some fairly loud music. On the counter were seven hand pumps, and there were others in the other room but they may well have been all duplicates. Mostly fairly local, they came from an area covering the north coast of Wales, Cheshire, Lancashire and both West and North Yorkshire. I went for the Poynton Vulcan, but on attempting a drink it had clearly not been pulled through properly. The lad behind the bar apologised profusely and eventually produced a glass of the same beer in good condition. For my second half I went for the Great Heck NEPA, which was deliberately cloudy; it's one of my favourite breweries but the first time I've drunk this beer. (See photos for other beers). Apart from the annoying modern pop music and the glitch with the first half we quite liked it here (we stayed for a second half, after all), and wouldn't mind calling in again. It's en route between the Cricketers and the Turks Head, so it would be rude not to.