Blog Tracker
08-12-2023, 15:20
Visit the Paul Bailey's Beer Blog site (https://baileysbeerblog.blogspot.com/2023/12/macclesfield-revisited-pt-1.html)
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Last Tuesday I enjoyed a really good, “Proper Day Out” whenI visited the north-east Cheshire town of Macclesfield. It was only my secondvisit to Maccy in 40 years, although it’s a place I often travelled through, bytrain, as a student at Salford Uni, on visits back to Kent. This time around Iwas due to meet up with a select band of connoisseurs from the Beer & PubsForum, a group hosted by Tapatalk, where the plan was to visit a half-dozen or so ofMacclesfield’s best pubs, close to the town’s station.
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The high cost of train travel initially put me off from attending,but further online exploration and a second dalliance with “Split-Ticketing”brought the cost of a return ticket from Tonbridge, down to a manageable £53.My“Old Git’s” Railcard helped as well, but what didn’t assist was thecontinuing “industrial action” by the train drivers’ union, which led to a dayof cancellations and travel disruption. No matter, I got there and back.Without too much hassle, and it was good to meet up with some familiar facesand people who were much more familiar with Macclesfield and its pubs, than Iam. The day didn’t get off to a flying start when I couldn’tfind my woolly hat, but rather than spend too much time looking for it, I leftthe house hat-less and with the thought that Maccy would be cold, given itslocation close to the Peak District. Chaos on the London Underground wasanother issue, forcing me to take a rather roundabout, diversionary route toEuston, but I still arrived there in plenty of time, only to find my AvantiWest Coast train was 12 minutes late in departing.
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My Split-Ticket meant having to leave the fast andcomfortable mainline train at Stafford, and switch to a Cross Country serviceto Macclesfield. That train was also running late, but more annoyingly, wasabsolutely rammed. I managed to squeezemyself on, and then stood in a group of equally squashed passengers in thespace at the end of one of the carriages, next to the toilet. Nice! Fortunately,it was only 30 minutes’ worth of discomfort, which was nothing compared to thelady I stood next to had endured. She had boarded the train somewhere in theWest Country and was heading up to Whitehaven in Cumbria.
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I wished her well, as left the train at Maccy, glad to haveescaped the mele of the overcrowded train, and headed off into the town, keento meet up with the rest of the group and get stuck into my first beer. I wasslightly disoriented when I left the station, and nearly headed off in thewrong direction, but Google Maps soon put me right, and it wasn’t far to thepre-arranged second pub of the day (I had already advised via Tapatalk, that I couldn’t makethe starting point).
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsGCluazEbivtxRMDr6e-4RKssjqZSYNMPug8soMRV9BVX6ybSzdZ7KdGrOpE1HEX2bHskO vvFBiXWxVtFfdyeJKO7kVzrI-6491FqS80SnJ5A0YUnyLAxGaP5sI231iZGequFXRTMByUd2rB7 yeIbGMzox-CGgIJST6VKaGxOytyRmDe12mvrvGjFe2I/w400-h225/Castle%20ext%20-%20close%20up.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsGCluazEbivtxRMDr6e-4RKssjqZSYNMPug8soMRV9BVX6ybSzdZ7KdGrOpE1HEX2bHskO vvFBiXWxVtFfdyeJKO7kVzrI-6491FqS80SnJ5A0YUnyLAxGaP5sI231iZGequFXRTMByUd2rB7 yeIbGMzox-CGgIJST6VKaGxOytyRmDe12mvrvGjFe2I/s4000/Castle%20ext%20-%20close%20up.jpg)
This was the Castle, tucked away on a bend, down a narrow,cobbled, side street, just a short distance from the town’s main shopping area.It is an untouched, and timeless example of an old-fashioned town boozer thatquite rightly features on CAMRA Inventory of pubs having a nationally importanthistoric interior. It is thought that the Castle started life as a row of late 18thCentury cottages which were subsequently remodelled into today’s multi-roomed pub.Given the choice of different rooms one could quite easily lost, but oncethrough the front door, I had little difficulty in tracking down the “advanced party.”
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In order to buy a beer, it was necessary to visit thecentrally located hatch bar, which allows service to several different rooms,although not to the one where the group was sitting. Pavo Pale Ale fromManchester based, Squawk Brewing Co was my pint of choice, and this pale andwell-hopped didn’t disappoint, in fact it hardly touched the sides and was justwhat was needed after standing in a cramped and rather warm train corridor. Ispent the time catching up with the day’s participants, who were, Pub Curmudgeon,Stafford Paul, Sheffield Hatter, and Retired Martin.
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The latter pair sloped off for lunch at a different venue,but with an alternative pit stop in mind for myself and the two Mudgies, therewas time for a look around the Castle, before moving on. To the right, as oneenters, is a tiny vault, with a narrow lounge on the left. This was where thefive of us sat, after my arrival. Past the bar is another lounge on the right, plusat the far end there is a larger, raised area. Attractive, open fire places featurein three of the rooms, and these, combined with the leaded windows, mouldedplaster ceilings, copper-topped tables, and old-fashioned bell pushes, give a lovely, cosy,and homely feel to this classic, heritage pub. As I am attempting to visit as manypubs as possible on CAMRA’s list of (https://pubheritage.camra.org.uk/)Historic Pub Interiors, (https://pubheritage.camra.org.uk/)the Castle with itsthree-star rating, was a worthy addition to my quest.
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The next pub was a complete contrast, but in order to reachit we had to first climb the hill up to a street, which appeared to be oneof Macclesfield’s main shopping thoroughfares, before descending at the far end,past the bus station. Alfreds, a modern,town centre café-bar, appears to have had several incarnations, but following arefurbishment last year has traded under its current name (minus the possessive“S”). It now belongs to Hydes (https://www.hydesbrewery.com/), a long-established family-owned, Manchesterbrewery whose beers I remember with affection.
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Times change, and whilst Hydes remain family-owned, andstill trading, they now operate from a new, state of the art brewery, inSalford’s Media City. The beer range too has been revamped, although it stillincludes a couple of favourites that I remember from my time in the Manchesterarea. Hopster, a 3.8% zesty, blonde ale, is a new addition to the range and provedan excellent accompaniment to my lunch of cod, chips, and mushy peas. The twoMudgies and I parked ourselves at a convenient table, looking out across thebright, spacious, and airy interior of this popular new addition toMacclesfield’s town centre, and settled down to enjoy our respective menuchoices.
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We’d arranged to meet Martin and Will at 2.30 pm at theQueen’s, an imposing, red-brick, Holt’s pub, opposite the station, but inreality, it was nearer 3pm by the time we arrived. As the advanced party werealready well stuck into their pints, most of us opted for half pints of thesole cask offering – Holt’s Bitter. I’d renewed my acquaintance with this legendaryManchester brewery’s beers on a couple recent trips to the local area (Manchester& Stockport), so felt I wasn’t missing too much by sticking with a half. Iwas also feeling rather full, following my ample, lunchtime meal.
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It wasn’t far to pub No. 3, but we’re going to skip thatone, until next time. This isn’t because the pub wasn’t any good, as on thecontrary it was excellent. Instead, we’re passing on it for now because it wasalmost two good, and so much so, that a few lines at the end of this articlewouldn’t do it justice at all.
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Pub No. 4 was halfway up a hill, on the other sideof the rail tracks, but still only a short hop from the centre of Maccy. TheSilk Trader, named in honour of the silk spinning industry that the town was oncefamous for, is a Robinson’s house that has undergone the full company refurb,and if you don’t know what that entails, then ask Pub Curmudgeon. (https://pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/)
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The pub was selected as a potential source of Robinson’s OldTom, the legendary dark ale, named after Tom, the brewery cat, and almost as old asthe company itself. Brewed to an abv of 8.5%, this potent, barley wine isavailable in bottled form all year round, and makes an appearance in cask form,each winter, in selected Robinson houses. The Silk Trader was thought to be agood bet for a glass of cask Old Tom, but sadly, it was not to be. Instead, wehad to make do with a choice of either Unicorn or Trooper.
The former was formerly known as Robinson’s Best Bitter,whereas Trooper is a beer developed in collaboration with heavy metal rockgroup, Iron Maiden. I wasn’t sure whether I’d drank this beer before, although Iwas obviously familiar with Unicorn, when it was known as Best Bitter. My Untappd listing described Trooper as arefreshing and hop-dominated, golden beer, and it’s a brew that has obviously beena success, for both Robinson’s, and Iron Maiden vocalist, Bruce Dickinson, whohelped the brewery develop the beer. Our group sat in an area at the right ofthe entrance, and away from the bar, where the lighting was rather subdued. Arequest to increase the intensity, seemed to fall on deaf ears.
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With time ticking on it was time to move on to the final pubof the day, which was just a block or so further, up the hill from the SilkTrader. The Wharf turned out to be a pleasant free house, offering a range of fourcask ales, all brewed in Yorkshire. For me it was a choice of either the OssettYorkshire Blonde, or Barnsley Gold from Acorn Brewery. I opted for the latter,in memory of two people I used to know who originated from the famous SouthYorkshire, former mining town. It was a pleasant enough beer, but by this time Ihad other things on my mind.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyNCnAAN-ZICdwJ5LYV5ZmHCk7rFPI3mHltvnTuK7QYx2qfCpyjEoAP-BP8sce4bTQdSG9TvQhxR5Wx8L4BUg3nB62Xeycfng3uqBDBixO Lf0QMvlHRQKf4y4glvWoO6uNZ0l1vBSIPV3S0BPpGNgAB9LmQd-7p9D4sGxM0eI0GhDJZjzVPMH_dyWSHpM/w400-h221/Alfreds%20cod%20&%20chips.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyNCnAAN-ZICdwJ5LYV5ZmHCk7rFPI3mHltvnTuK7QYx2qfCpyjEoAP-BP8sce4bTQdSG9TvQhxR5Wx8L4BUg3nB62Xeycfng3uqBDBixO Lf0QMvlHRQKf4y4glvWoO6uNZ0l1vBSIPV3S0BPpGNgAB9LmQd-7p9D4sGxM0eI0GhDJZjzVPMH_dyWSHpM/s3788/Alfreds%20cod%20&%20chips.jpg)
As the afternoon slowly wore on into evening, I had beenchecking my phone for travel updates on the trains home. A spate ofcancellations indicated that the sooner I left Macclesfield, the better my chanceswere of getting home that night. There was only myself plus the two Mudgies leftin the pub by this time, Will and Martin having departed earlier, so looking atmy watch and realising the train for Stafford departed in 20 minutes time, I thankedPeter and Paul for their company, hurriedly said goodbye, and hot-footed it to Macclesfieldstation. Fortunately, it was downhillfor most of the way, and I managed to catch my train without having to breakinto a sweat.As hinted earlier, there’s more to come about my visit toMaccy, the trials and tribulations associated with train travel during a periodof industrial unrest, and, most importantly the other amazing pub we found inthe town, that was every bit s good as the first one (Castle). To be continued.
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Last Tuesday I enjoyed a really good, “Proper Day Out” whenI visited the north-east Cheshire town of Macclesfield. It was only my secondvisit to Maccy in 40 years, although it’s a place I often travelled through, bytrain, as a student at Salford Uni, on visits back to Kent. This time around Iwas due to meet up with a select band of connoisseurs from the Beer & PubsForum, a group hosted by Tapatalk, where the plan was to visit a half-dozen or so ofMacclesfield’s best pubs, close to the town’s station.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKPvZIx4V_8agQefrUcMPz2UBolWkXqh3YZukf83RZzH qVH1uLlabF6LB__Z2pcGXHdtPgOmfpkuS05t5ZvnWWi7IOofQF-5HswbBgBw0zqepI6lscP2mwgB_6L22vhmHduiqkuxsgBX5iX9z TlBMIHFJGXqkd3ZrGEwB4lnMXj-Ww7bz7Hco0vK0euVQ/w225-h400/Macc%20Cobbled%20Street.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKPvZIx4V_8agQefrUcMPz2UBolWkXqh3YZukf83RZzH qVH1uLlabF6LB__Z2pcGXHdtPgOmfpkuS05t5ZvnWWi7IOofQF-5HswbBgBw0zqepI6lscP2mwgB_6L22vhmHduiqkuxsgBX5iX9z TlBMIHFJGXqkd3ZrGEwB4lnMXj-Ww7bz7Hco0vK0euVQ/s4000/Macc%20Cobbled%20Street.jpg)
The high cost of train travel initially put me off from attending,but further online exploration and a second dalliance with “Split-Ticketing”brought the cost of a return ticket from Tonbridge, down to a manageable £53.My“Old Git’s” Railcard helped as well, but what didn’t assist was thecontinuing “industrial action” by the train drivers’ union, which led to a dayof cancellations and travel disruption. No matter, I got there and back.Without too much hassle, and it was good to meet up with some familiar facesand people who were much more familiar with Macclesfield and its pubs, than Iam. The day didn’t get off to a flying start when I couldn’tfind my woolly hat, but rather than spend too much time looking for it, I leftthe house hat-less and with the thought that Maccy would be cold, given itslocation close to the Peak District. Chaos on the London Underground wasanother issue, forcing me to take a rather roundabout, diversionary route toEuston, but I still arrived there in plenty of time, only to find my AvantiWest Coast train was 12 minutes late in departing.
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My Split-Ticket meant having to leave the fast andcomfortable mainline train at Stafford, and switch to a Cross Country serviceto Macclesfield. That train was also running late, but more annoyingly, wasabsolutely rammed. I managed to squeezemyself on, and then stood in a group of equally squashed passengers in thespace at the end of one of the carriages, next to the toilet. Nice! Fortunately,it was only 30 minutes’ worth of discomfort, which was nothing compared to thelady I stood next to had endured. She had boarded the train somewhere in theWest Country and was heading up to Whitehaven in Cumbria.
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I wished her well, as left the train at Maccy, glad to haveescaped the mele of the overcrowded train, and headed off into the town, keento meet up with the rest of the group and get stuck into my first beer. I wasslightly disoriented when I left the station, and nearly headed off in thewrong direction, but Google Maps soon put me right, and it wasn’t far to thepre-arranged second pub of the day (I had already advised via Tapatalk, that I couldn’t makethe starting point).
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsGCluazEbivtxRMDr6e-4RKssjqZSYNMPug8soMRV9BVX6ybSzdZ7KdGrOpE1HEX2bHskO vvFBiXWxVtFfdyeJKO7kVzrI-6491FqS80SnJ5A0YUnyLAxGaP5sI231iZGequFXRTMByUd2rB7 yeIbGMzox-CGgIJST6VKaGxOytyRmDe12mvrvGjFe2I/w400-h225/Castle%20ext%20-%20close%20up.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsGCluazEbivtxRMDr6e-4RKssjqZSYNMPug8soMRV9BVX6ybSzdZ7KdGrOpE1HEX2bHskO vvFBiXWxVtFfdyeJKO7kVzrI-6491FqS80SnJ5A0YUnyLAxGaP5sI231iZGequFXRTMByUd2rB7 yeIbGMzox-CGgIJST6VKaGxOytyRmDe12mvrvGjFe2I/s4000/Castle%20ext%20-%20close%20up.jpg)
This was the Castle, tucked away on a bend, down a narrow,cobbled, side street, just a short distance from the town’s main shopping area.It is an untouched, and timeless example of an old-fashioned town boozer thatquite rightly features on CAMRA Inventory of pubs having a nationally importanthistoric interior. It is thought that the Castle started life as a row of late 18thCentury cottages which were subsequently remodelled into today’s multi-roomed pub.Given the choice of different rooms one could quite easily lost, but oncethrough the front door, I had little difficulty in tracking down the “advanced party.”
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In order to buy a beer, it was necessary to visit thecentrally located hatch bar, which allows service to several different rooms,although not to the one where the group was sitting. Pavo Pale Ale fromManchester based, Squawk Brewing Co was my pint of choice, and this pale andwell-hopped didn’t disappoint, in fact it hardly touched the sides and was justwhat was needed after standing in a cramped and rather warm train corridor. Ispent the time catching up with the day’s participants, who were, Pub Curmudgeon,Stafford Paul, Sheffield Hatter, and Retired Martin.
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The latter pair sloped off for lunch at a different venue,but with an alternative pit stop in mind for myself and the two Mudgies, therewas time for a look around the Castle, before moving on. To the right, as oneenters, is a tiny vault, with a narrow lounge on the left. This was where thefive of us sat, after my arrival. Past the bar is another lounge on the right, plusat the far end there is a larger, raised area. Attractive, open fire places featurein three of the rooms, and these, combined with the leaded windows, mouldedplaster ceilings, copper-topped tables, and old-fashioned bell pushes, give a lovely, cosy,and homely feel to this classic, heritage pub. As I am attempting to visit as manypubs as possible on CAMRA’s list of (https://pubheritage.camra.org.uk/)Historic Pub Interiors, (https://pubheritage.camra.org.uk/)the Castle with itsthree-star rating, was a worthy addition to my quest.
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The next pub was a complete contrast, but in order to reachit we had to first climb the hill up to a street, which appeared to be oneof Macclesfield’s main shopping thoroughfares, before descending at the far end,past the bus station. Alfreds, a modern,town centre café-bar, appears to have had several incarnations, but following arefurbishment last year has traded under its current name (minus the possessive“S”). It now belongs to Hydes (https://www.hydesbrewery.com/), a long-established family-owned, Manchesterbrewery whose beers I remember with affection.
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Times change, and whilst Hydes remain family-owned, andstill trading, they now operate from a new, state of the art brewery, inSalford’s Media City. The beer range too has been revamped, although it stillincludes a couple of favourites that I remember from my time in the Manchesterarea. Hopster, a 3.8% zesty, blonde ale, is a new addition to the range and provedan excellent accompaniment to my lunch of cod, chips, and mushy peas. The twoMudgies and I parked ourselves at a convenient table, looking out across thebright, spacious, and airy interior of this popular new addition toMacclesfield’s town centre, and settled down to enjoy our respective menuchoices.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8o2eDc3zCJyl9LcHWGilyW37IyuKPP2bK6U0qqzuQVk q4PHUZPv0xVGyNjDKdZwSFUG9rYlo-SMGsvGxtRGmFkFpOPD3MIZ_5qOX_8JC_TAB0arel_FccnRtzID mpeMeoSoCdzZJWxab9yPUBJcJ5S_8AZWwo8vy56zZajVF2zeKg zfnDtdNGjknwTH0/w400-h225/Alfreds%20Bar.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8o2eDc3zCJyl9LcHWGilyW37IyuKPP2bK6U0qqzuQVk q4PHUZPv0xVGyNjDKdZwSFUG9rYlo-SMGsvGxtRGmFkFpOPD3MIZ_5qOX_8JC_TAB0arel_FccnRtzID mpeMeoSoCdzZJWxab9yPUBJcJ5S_8AZWwo8vy56zZajVF2zeKg zfnDtdNGjknwTH0/s4000/Alfreds%20Bar.jpg)
We’d arranged to meet Martin and Will at 2.30 pm at theQueen’s, an imposing, red-brick, Holt’s pub, opposite the station, but inreality, it was nearer 3pm by the time we arrived. As the advanced party werealready well stuck into their pints, most of us opted for half pints of thesole cask offering – Holt’s Bitter. I’d renewed my acquaintance with this legendaryManchester brewery’s beers on a couple recent trips to the local area (Manchester& Stockport), so felt I wasn’t missing too much by sticking with a half. Iwas also feeling rather full, following my ample, lunchtime meal.
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It wasn’t far to pub No. 3, but we’re going to skip thatone, until next time. This isn’t because the pub wasn’t any good, as on thecontrary it was excellent. Instead, we’re passing on it for now because it wasalmost two good, and so much so, that a few lines at the end of this articlewouldn’t do it justice at all.
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Pub No. 4 was halfway up a hill, on the other sideof the rail tracks, but still only a short hop from the centre of Maccy. TheSilk Trader, named in honour of the silk spinning industry that the town was oncefamous for, is a Robinson’s house that has undergone the full company refurb,and if you don’t know what that entails, then ask Pub Curmudgeon. (https://pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/)
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The pub was selected as a potential source of Robinson’s OldTom, the legendary dark ale, named after Tom, the brewery cat, and almost as old asthe company itself. Brewed to an abv of 8.5%, this potent, barley wine isavailable in bottled form all year round, and makes an appearance in cask form,each winter, in selected Robinson houses. The Silk Trader was thought to be agood bet for a glass of cask Old Tom, but sadly, it was not to be. Instead, wehad to make do with a choice of either Unicorn or Trooper.
The former was formerly known as Robinson’s Best Bitter,whereas Trooper is a beer developed in collaboration with heavy metal rockgroup, Iron Maiden. I wasn’t sure whether I’d drank this beer before, although Iwas obviously familiar with Unicorn, when it was known as Best Bitter. My Untappd listing described Trooper as arefreshing and hop-dominated, golden beer, and it’s a brew that has obviously beena success, for both Robinson’s, and Iron Maiden vocalist, Bruce Dickinson, whohelped the brewery develop the beer. Our group sat in an area at the right ofthe entrance, and away from the bar, where the lighting was rather subdued. Arequest to increase the intensity, seemed to fall on deaf ears.
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With time ticking on it was time to move on to the final pubof the day, which was just a block or so further, up the hill from the SilkTrader. The Wharf turned out to be a pleasant free house, offering a range of fourcask ales, all brewed in Yorkshire. For me it was a choice of either the OssettYorkshire Blonde, or Barnsley Gold from Acorn Brewery. I opted for the latter,in memory of two people I used to know who originated from the famous SouthYorkshire, former mining town. It was a pleasant enough beer, but by this time Ihad other things on my mind.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyNCnAAN-ZICdwJ5LYV5ZmHCk7rFPI3mHltvnTuK7QYx2qfCpyjEoAP-BP8sce4bTQdSG9TvQhxR5Wx8L4BUg3nB62Xeycfng3uqBDBixO Lf0QMvlHRQKf4y4glvWoO6uNZ0l1vBSIPV3S0BPpGNgAB9LmQd-7p9D4sGxM0eI0GhDJZjzVPMH_dyWSHpM/w400-h221/Alfreds%20cod%20&%20chips.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyNCnAAN-ZICdwJ5LYV5ZmHCk7rFPI3mHltvnTuK7QYx2qfCpyjEoAP-BP8sce4bTQdSG9TvQhxR5Wx8L4BUg3nB62Xeycfng3uqBDBixO Lf0QMvlHRQKf4y4glvWoO6uNZ0l1vBSIPV3S0BPpGNgAB9LmQd-7p9D4sGxM0eI0GhDJZjzVPMH_dyWSHpM/s3788/Alfreds%20cod%20&%20chips.jpg)
As the afternoon slowly wore on into evening, I had beenchecking my phone for travel updates on the trains home. A spate ofcancellations indicated that the sooner I left Macclesfield, the better my chanceswere of getting home that night. There was only myself plus the two Mudgies leftin the pub by this time, Will and Martin having departed earlier, so looking atmy watch and realising the train for Stafford departed in 20 minutes time, I thankedPeter and Paul for their company, hurriedly said goodbye, and hot-footed it to Macclesfieldstation. Fortunately, it was downhillfor most of the way, and I managed to catch my train without having to breakinto a sweat.As hinted earlier, there’s more to come about my visit toMaccy, the trials and tribulations associated with train travel during a periodof industrial unrest, and, most importantly the other amazing pub we found inthe town, that was every bit s good as the first one (Castle). To be continued.
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