retiredmartin

August 2023. Birkenhead.

£5.95 buys you a Merseyrail day saver which will take you all the way from Chester to Ellesmere Port.

Two contrasting ticks in Merseyside, one either side of the river, starting with New Ferry.

It definitely IS New Ferry, though the metro stop is Bebington and the first sign you see is Port Sunlight,

whose model village deserves a post of its own.

New Ferry is still recovering from a massive explosion in 2017, and (less importantly) the sale of the Spoons, which no doubt had nothing to do with the similarity between the poet and an infamous German.

Here’s the obligatory church pic;

Last time here I said the Railway looked worth a stop, so only fair I ignore it again and head for the surprise new Guide entry on New Ferry’s pedestrianised high street.

Third (3rd) time lucky, Railway Inn. Possibly.

I nearly walked past the Cleveland Arms, noticing it only as I nodded at the smoker at the door.

“Of the nine pubs in New Ferry in the 1970s, only the Cleveland survives” says What Pub, which also describes it as “lively“, a euphemism well known to GBG tickers.

I’m going to have to rely on Google for the photos, as my phone remained firmly in my pocket as I entered.

Only two reviews on Pubs Galore, the recent one from Blue Scrumpy (NOT a Sheffield Hatter alias) starting “It’s back to being a basic no-frills locals boozer. I was initially greeted with a bit of scepticism from the barmaid, who obviously didn’t recognise me. But she soon turned out to be fairly friendly.” That landlady was an absolute gem, and proud to be recognised by Wirral CAMRA for running such a great pub.

In a locals pub like the Cleveland, there’s two courses of action;

1. Sheepishly order a half, hide in the corner, take sneaky photos of the regulars, leave after 5 minutes
2. Forget the blog, stand at the bar with a pint of tasty Trappers Hat, chat for half an hour with folk you don’t know and feel your live enriched

I took the second option, something I do a lot more now the GBG is completed. And got my reward from a couple of Old Boys who chatted about the golf, the old Spoons (now a bikers cafe apparently), the difference between Walton and Woolton, and who seemed overly invested in my day’s travel plans.

So the only photos I can bring you are this;

and this;

but you get the idea.

As I left the Old(er) Boy did the thumbs up and said “Wonderful“, possibly the first time anyone has said that to me. They’ll love BRAPA.

And I love Beb.