retiredmartin

June 2026. Haydock. Merseyside.

I can still get thrilled at a visit to a new place, even if it is a mining village north of St Helens.

Genuinely, I’d no recollection of Haydock, bar driving past the racecourse, and that’s virtually the now famous Makerfield.

But Sankey Valley Park is an absolute joy,

a proper oasis off the East Lancs Road,

and we got to chat to some cheery gentlefolk scousers, leaving them just before the conversation turned to football.

The mines may have left a legacy of self-reliance on heavy industry, but it also left some benevolent clubs aimed at self-improvement.

As the chatty barmaid at the Reading Rooms was happy to explain.

Half a dozen Old Boys in on a Monday, mostly playing snooker, a great atmosphere with the Bee Gees in the background.

“Which one should I have ?”

Normally this gets the “It depends what style you like/I don’t drink beer” response, but here the barmaid confidently picks the White Witch,

and as the lacings suggest, a crisper pint you’ll not find in St Helens.

It’s a club, so like me have your gold card ready.

Ideally not the one with your wife’s name on it.