“Ta, duck” – THE SEA LION, IPSTONES

March 2026. Ipstones. Staffordshire.

An invigorating Spring trip through the Dales towards the Staffordshire Moorlands at the start of Spring.

And then, Staffordshire has fallen !

I couldn’t even be bothered to colour in the whole Staffs map; have you seen the cost of pink marker pens nowadays ? I paid £2.29 for a pinkie in WH Smiths TG Jones last week.

Only four new entries to tick in one of the UK’s great pub counties, and the Sea Lion in Ipstones near Alton Towers is left till last with its 6pm weekday opening and a last bus back to Leek at 4:17pm.

Three pubs for 1,488 pubs says Wiki. The Marquis of Granby just closed suddenly, but the Old Red Lion has Doom Bar,

and our Guide newbie sounds even more exciting.

Ipstones is old and pleasant, like me,

and a 20 minute walk reveals the famous Ipstone stones that were carried by pub tickers from Leek after too much Bass in the Blue Mugge.

It’s always good to visit a pub you’ve never heard of,

and wonder what has propelled the Sea Lion (not many of those in the GBG) to Guide stardom ?

Unusual beer range ?

Nope. Just unusually high beer quality for a Greene King range, Mrs RM declaring the Abbot and Landlord a “wow” (NBSS 4, I guess).

The locals are ringed around the bar, which always dulls the pub experience a bit when you’ve seated yourself on a table, but you get the “Ta duck” as beautifully delivered as you could hope, and a “Thanks” on the way out.

Spurs v Forest on the telly (3 big screens, improbably), but all the talk is of holidays in Torremelinos and falling over. At the back, a pool room and a piano room for big occasions, presumably.

“I could just stay and sink another pint” says Mrs RM. Yes, she really did say “sink“.

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Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

9 thoughts on ““Ta, duck” – THE SEA LION, IPSTONES”

    1. Yes, you really ought to get out more, Paul 😉

      That’s a particularly hard part of Staffordshire to get to, as anyone who’s tried to get to Alton Towers for a day out will know!

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      1. Thanks Martin, and I’ve got the excuse that I didn’t use buses for sixty-six years.
        For most of the year there is an X41 bus between Stafford and Alton Towers which I intended using last year for the Alton pubs but oldie bus passes aren’t valid on it and I’m sure the £11 fare each way wouldn’t make it any less bumpy.
        I have though spent thirty-three nights at Dimmingsdale Youth Hostel which is three miles from Alton Towers and have happy memories of lunchtime DBA in the Talbot and a firkin of Pedigree for the evenings.

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      2. I was hoping you were going to tell us you’d travelled to Alton Towers to go on that ride where you shoot vampires with a toy gun, as I can’t say Alton impressed me that much pubwise.

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      3. I knew the DBA would have gone but has the Talbot also lost the proper outside toilets opposite, not behind, the pub and the old Buntings jug behind the bar ?

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  2. Beautiful, just back from a night in Staffs myself. Not only did I fall over in Torremolinos many decades ago but I did the dying fly in a very busy area. Your comment has just triggered cringe many fold over.

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