Halton Castle, Liverpool

This was my last pub of the day, on a mission to visit heritage pubs in Camra's book of those to be found in the north-west of England. This one has some interesting features, but at first I was struggling to identify them, being distracted first by the availability of Black Sheep Bitter on the bar, and then by other customers taking an interest in my reasons for being here in the first place. On closer examination, the "bar-back, possibly of mahogany, [with] a number of carved upright oval shaped carvings, mirrors and a cupboard with glazed door" was still there, as was "an elaborate overmantel held up by decorative carved brackets" in the smaller lounge bar, but everything had been painted grey. Oh dear. Anyway, the beer was in excellent condition and easily my best of the day, and the welcome from staff and customers was warm and friendly. But once again: oh dear...

A little gem in the village, from Monday Karaoke, Tuesday quiz nights , sports on tv, and darts going on it can have something for everyone. The separate rooms give it that old style cosiness, gets busy at the weekend so get there eary in the evening if you want a good spec.

Fair enough pub with usual scruffy, beer-bellied horse racing blokes in.