Pubs Galore - the UK pub guide

Retros has now closed and is now a Japanese restaurant called Koku Shi.

Easily missed as you walk up the Oxford Road is this pub. Small inside with TVs showing Sky Sports News. Music playing at a decent level on my Monday morning visit with a few regulars. No ale on offer here just lager. I had an Amstel at £3.95 which I thought was a good price. Not a bad little pub, although I can imagine on an evening or weekends it would be difficult to get a seat.

I was last in here in 2016 when it was the James Monro. After a brief spell of being a decent cask ale pub, it went downhill, stocking only a couple of Marston's beers before I believe it stopped cask altogether.

Back in yesterday, the new owners have restored cask and there were 3 across the 5 handpulls - Brimstage Oyster Catcher, Ossett White Rat & Theakston Best Bitter.

The interior of the single room is fairly interesting with lots of old pictures of Liverpool on the walls, along with a few other odd items of interest. Locals were fairly friendly and chatty.

It's good to see this pub get back on track, but I'm not sure the ale range is quite good enough just yet to encourage frequent visits from me. However, I will keep an eye on how it develops.

The brewery tap of a small brewery and cheese business in a diversified far complex. The concrete farm yard provides plenty of parking and when the weather allows, there are outside seats for both the brewery and cheese shop customers. The Tap is housed in small square room at one end of a former agricultural building, a bar counter along one wall, the toilet in one corner. There are about a dozen small tables inside, each of which has a stein serving as a flower pot. In another corner is a game of Ring-The-Bull in place of a dartboard. Cold snacks are available. There was a good local atmosphere, friendly and supported by well-behaved families. Given how remote this place is, it’s unlikely many grockle families will come here, so it’s likely to retain that local feel. Four of their own beers were on cask, a German theme creeping into the names and styles. I had a pint of Dämmerkuss, a dark lagered beer with a North German taste. Needless to say this was in perfect condition. All their beers are available as takeaways from cans in a small fridge. I rather like their style, the facilities are a bit basic, there is a projector on the ceiling but no screen was present, the WiFi didn’t work, the staff were welcoming, but the opening hours are very limited. Definitely worth a visit, but check the website first to make sure they’re open.

Despite its name, there is nothing very Irish about this pub. There is one long room, double-sided at the front and narrowing down at the back, with a outdoor area behind. There is a pool table on one side and a food servery the other and the whole place is painted light grey. Usual rubbish mainstream keg range, with John Smith's and Neck Oil as bitters. I suppose it is warm and not unpleasant if you are waiting for a train, but allow time to get over the footbridge to the station.