Searching for some northern spirit in Silk Town

 Searching for Northern spirit in Silk Town

My New Year’s resolution for this year was to make a better use of my precious weekends - a desk based job with a degree of stress all week, the need to get out and be more active and the inspiration from one of my blog regulars Shouting from the shed who author regularly expounds the doorstop miles and the idea of taking mini adventures in your own back yard.

A recent chat at the end of our beery podcast (maltravale), where I floated a possible trip back to Manchester, as it had been a good 18 months since we last drank our way around Cottonopolis, prompted brother to state that he would much rather have return visit to Macclesfield - the focus of our Podcast Episode 55 when we had discovered a cornucopia of great beery venues - something for every one micros, solid old antiquated and hipster new brewery taps. 

A Northern trains flash sale offering stupidly low prices. (£3.40 for a day's return!) and having read good things about a newish brewery tap that the under the radar Bollington Brewery had opened and the chance being sole to include a couple of pubs that we had missed out on our previous visit including one that must have one of the best murals in the UK beer world - here’s a tease 

  

Unfortunately a couple of the venues we had visited back in March 2024 have closed - a reflection of the perilous state of the trade - both the Wet led and treacle would have been on my must return/include list for a trip to Macc. I was very glad to see that just down from where the Wet Lad bar was on the very quaint Castle Street N Carter and Co family butchers and fine purveyors of pork pies was still hanging on - though 2 small pies for a £5 did remind me I was in Cheshire.

Much of this trip had me pondering about Northerness - I have recently read a couple of rather good books that delved into the matter. Being born in Middlesbrough and raised in rural North Yorkshire with parents from both sides of the Pennines (I know this is starting to sounds like one of those Royal Navy adds) but having spent all my working life in a what is best the North Midlands I do I often get Northern pangs and i often jumped on a train or bus to head to places like Macclesfield for Buxton to bath in what feels to me a little spiritual northern refreshment - for Buxton it's probably the trip over the moors which reminds me of the road to Whitby with Macclesfield it’s Mill chimneys, sooted bricks and steep roads up form the ancient transport channel of rail, road and Canal.

An earliest start meant I arrived at a cold and quiet Macclesfield Station despite being in quite a regal setting in its amphitheatre with the parish church leering above and a gaggle of pubs facing you across a broad approach, the actual station is a bit of a let down  no Victoria splendour here, just a dour low level functional transport hub. One of its web descriptions sums it up well: it was rebuilt in the brutalist style of architecture; the beauty of the building was perceived to be its very functionality and its design follows the Modernist approach.

A little early for most of the town's bars, opening times which all appeared to be in sync with 12 o clock openings, meant only one thought was to head to Spoons. About a 10 minute walk and set on Park Green this was one of the venues we had missed in our last. Is it when we opted to go to the rather swish Red Willow Brewery tap across the road ( indeed Park Green provides a mini crawl with no or 5 bars nestled cheek by Jowell together.

Silk Town Spoons the former home of the towns Acquiring Useful Knowledge Society

This is one of those interesting spoons which the company is rightly praised for the role in preserving so many of our iconic and historical buildings. Its name The Society Rooms gives a hint of its philanthropic past. Formerly the home of the Macclesfield Acquiring Useful Knowledge Society (an early version of a mechanic institute) which was established in 1850 in a building which had originally been built as the vicarage of St Micahel’s church, indeed it sits beside Parsonage Street.

The Useful Knowledge Society's aim  was to teach working class men the 3Rs, it later housed a school of design and a technical school was added in 1900, it was supported by a number of Macclesfields businesses and mill owners who saw a need for a more educated workforce. Macclesfield had long served as a market town for east Cheshire, but after the first silk mill was established in 1743, it quickly industrialised into the leading English hub for silk production. By 1850, there were 169 silk companies operating, marking the peak of the town’s dominance in the industry.

Further reading suggests that Macclesfield was a hot bed of philanthropy especially based around non conformitar. At least 78 Macclesfield institutions were founded with voluntary funding in the mid to late 1800’s  fell into four broad categories - religion, education, public services and public amenities. The religious institutions included 61 churches, chapels, Sunday schools, day schools and missions. This high number was generally due to the separation of various sects which resulted in a complete set of new organisations.

It’s a very nice building, and the Wetherspoons has several different eating areas. It was quite busy for an early Saturday, but when a Macclesfield Man City supporters’ club used it as a pick‑up point and a couple of coaches turned up, the pub virtually emptied. I managed to get a  nice window seat which allowed me to watch the world go by and oversee the coming and going of a large carp park which again is a luxury few Spoons have. A good range of ales were on offer and after loading up with a trad breakfast - with haggis n side(It was Burns week at Spoons) I did follow with a very nice pint of Odin - a new one for me from Brightside Brewing Company from up the road in Greater Manchester. Review suggest this is generally a quite Spoons - it is a slight walk from the town centre and is certainly surrounded by a number of other beers - definitely worth a visit ad a lovely building to look around/  

As it was now heading towards midday and as the opening time for most MACC bards I headed up what I would call the main high street towards the centre of town, had a general mooch about - I again had to miss out the delights of he Shamrick, Maccs Irish pub which looks lively, though ha not yet opened - I also put my nose through th door of the Bate Hall up in the central pedestrianised  civic area  the town’s oldest public house, dating back to the 15th century. Whilst there are some hints of heritage in the exterior I think the term insensitive refurbishment sums up the current ambience - though this may be a disservice and i do need to go in and visit on my next visit - i had a more reliable heritage pub in the cross hairs though did take a detour to cath the Cockin Treacle pub though thai again was solidly shut at 12 on a Saturday lunchtime and reports suggest that this may be permanent which is a shame with such an elegant building

Found along the winding cobbled streets of the Castle Quarter, the Castle has regularly been named the best pub in Cheshire. It certainly boasts one of the best chocolate box settings. It’s ‘What Pub’ listing builds the anticipation even more 

An untouched, timeless and now rare example of an old-fashioned town pub and has been identified by CAMRA as having a nationally important historic pub interior. With whitened brick this 18th century pub tucked away on a  cobbled street. It probably started life as late 18th century cottages which were subsequently remodelled. The quaint exterior belies its inner proportions, which are equally charming. There are leaded lights, moulded plaster ceilings, copper-topped tables, bell pushes dotted throughout its warren of little rooms. The star feature, however, is the wonderful hatch bar reminiscent of a traditional, bowed, shop window.

The Castle pub dates back to 1721 and has been a famed ale house for 300 years and that age means the good and great have popped in for a drink including the Beetles in one of the rear rooms -lays homage to Mac's very own music god Ian Curtis,of Joy Division.Have been in here on the last trip, when it had been extremely busy, i was hoping to catch it early and hopefully geta seta in the renowned from snug (very reminiscent of the Blue Bell front snug in York). I think I was the first customer on and had the front snug all to myself - a smaller cask offer that i had reminded form our last visit - i went for a very nice light pale Turncoat from Wheetwood. It was a very pleasant 20 minute or so sat in front of the fire reading the Cheshire CAMRA magazine which would guide me to another new venue later in the afternoon

        

But my next venue would require a stretch of the legs down the cobbles back to the station and along Sunderland Street then up and over the inner ring road and higher still up Brook Street - very much reminding me macc is positioned at the bottom of quite a Steep Valley with road, canal railway all squeezed together in the V. AS the sweat was starting to drip, a welcome sign and arrow directing me to the Bollington Brwery and Tap was a welcome site - tucked away down a back street this former bakery is anothe fone buuildingtaht has had a lot of love and care.

A spacious venue set out on the ground floor with brewery to the right and tnen a family room and then the tap room to the left and then an Asian street food offer up stairs. The tap room was relatively quiet on arrival but it did slowly feel up as the afternoon moved on, got to say the young lady running the bar on her own was a real star, efficient, welcoming,  informative and kept all with full glasses and all in all it’s a really nice venue ~ the beer was spot really good range of cask and keg showcasing the Bollington range a few regional guests as well. Was able to mooch around the brewery part. Which was clinically clean, though didn’t appear to be much action guess they brew on the week. Spent an enjoyable hour or so sampling most of the cask a a little dissa[painting they don’t do thirds or paddles bit of a missed opportunity to keep all the lines flowing. I particularly liked the family room/area in between the bar and brewery areas - this place is definitely worth the walk up the hill (there appeared to be parking available in the surrounding streets), there was also a nice patio outdoor drinking space on the side of the tap room - the beer wasn’t bad either.

So I next headed back down Brook Street, taking time to take in views of the townscape - it’s amazing how Macc has retained much of its Victorian roofscape there ain’t many tower blocks or 70’s concrete monstrosities. I was also slowed by the cornucopia of building styles and little cobbled side streets.   was heading back to Sunderland Street to visit a bar I’d seen and walked passed a number of times - and potentially the one with the best mural in the country which you see straight away when you turn the corner of Sunderland Street. 

The Snow Goose Alpine bar and mural is a bit of a landmark in Macc (though there is a trail of murals and art works around the town. The town council provide a nice little guide and map https://www.macclesfield-tc.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Macc-Art-Trail-updated.pdf. The snow Goose is number 6 on the trail, there are another 8 or so murals on Sunderland Street.

The Snow Goose describes itself as an eccentric café-bar, and it certainly features an eclectic mix of old furniture, beer casks, and brightly coloured cushions, among other unique details. Opened in March 2011, its theme focuses on mountains—especially the Alps. While this theme isn’t immediately evident in the downstairs bar where drinks are served, apparently the first floor offers a rolling vista of mountain photography on a flat screen TV.

Regular ales are from Storm Brewery (approximately 400m away), and others from Wincle, another local brewery.  On my visit there were two wince and Storm Bosley Cloud - I have read that it acts is the unofficial tap of Storm Brewing (founded 1998) which is located just around the corner by the riverside.don’t mind a Wincle beer but feel they don’t travel well and seem to taste much better at the brewery which is well worth a visit though a little far from civilisation-I have to say this was the poorest beer of the day - slight vinegar suggested it was near its end but it was one of those where it looked ok and as usual left me with that conundrum of should i take it back or keep drinking and of course it did the later. The bar had been set high at Bollington so maybe my taste buds were just over sensitive.

With legs still aching from my yomp up and down Brook Street and the need to pick somewhere sensible to meet up with the wife and sister in law, who had decided last minute to drive out to Macclesfield. I head back around the corner to Park Green, I had suggested meeting them in the rather posh bistro style bars of Red Willow tap or Bollingtons the fountain. But whilst enjoying my earlier pint in the castle I had picked the Stockport area CAMRA newsletter and in it read about Alfred’s in Park Green being awarded a recent pub of the month award - I thought it was worth a visit..

Apparently this is Hydes brewery of Salford most southern tier house - and a great addition to what is now a bit of a beery Mecca with 4 very good bars cheek by jowl. Two cask beers were on offer in a busy bar - very open and airy - 2 beers both new to me Hopster billed as a zesty blond ale and Lowry, a premium golden ale - I plumped for the Hopster and very nice it was at a reasonable £4:25, drunk on the rather nice front patio which was catching a watery but welcome late afternoon winter sun and a pleasant 20 mins it was until the sun disappeared behind a big black cloud. 

The arrival of wife and sister in law meant it was time to move some where a little warmer and a whole 10 yards down the road was the Redwillow taproom. Billed as a ‘Sensitive conversion of former shop premises with original windows, parquet flooring and a sympathetic bar top, contrasting with the modern look of the lighting’

This is a pleasant bar - hard to describe really lots of settees and bistro type Tarbell with the bar tucked away in the left hand corner - the bar=g ex shop windows do mean its nice and airy. A mix of cask and keg lines brewed in the brewery on the edge of town next to the railway - indeed they are one of the contracted beers served on the West Coast trains - Red Willow Tilting Ale. Initially, starting as a cask only brewery set up by a husband and wife team in 2010, you don’t tend to se their beers much elsewhere though they also have a sister tap over on Buxton in the former NatWest bank which is well worth a visit.

The final venue was literally next door in Bollington Brewery’s other Macc venue the Fountain, opened in 2021 in what was the  former Co Op store - thinks it was actually a bathroom show from priory to conversion - this is a huge space slightly more bare bones that the Redwillow but still has some nice corners and a high table and stools in the big windows where you can watch the works go by on the ubiquitous Sunderland Street. A busy bar with a good range of well kept Bollington Beers. 

All in all a grand day out and rekindled my good beer vibes about the  town - great to tick a couple off new bars and the brewery is definitely worth a visit. The train is a great option three different franchises run on this line so there are usually good deals to find with trains literally every 15 mins and most of the venues visited are no more than 10-15 minutes walk from the station. There’s even a choice of three pubs directly across from the station if you need to wait for connections.

A grand Grand Final day out in Manchester – drinking in the heritage and honouring my East Yorkshire roots.

 A grand Grand Final day out in Manchester – drinking in the heritage and honouring my East Yorkshire roots.

Always good place to start a day in Manchester and handily only a 10-minute walk from Piccadilly. O Sheas never fails with a great pint of Guinness and a full fat Irish breakfast (it’s also handily a very short walk from both the Peveril of the Peak and the Britons Protection, two of Manchester’s drinking gems). We had intended to call in the Pev as we headed back into the centre and duly arrived at 12.05 as their website said a 12 o’clock start on Saturdays, but unfortunately found locked doors and little sign of lie.

Theres nothing particularly special about O’ Sheas – it’s quite a large bar with a small stage at the rear – there are some nice oval open booths in the front windows, you can’t miss the Oirshness – wall to wall Guinness adverts and Gaelic titled toilets, its normally git a mix of folk in there though it does seem to attract the ‘real’ Irish expats, perhaps more than Mancs other Irish pub of renown, Mulligans – whenever I’ve visited it has been a lot less manic than Mulligans and I would say the better pint despite all the accolades that Mulligan’s gets.

Apparently according the TripAdvisor it's one of the only bars in Manchester where you can see Liverpool FC playing on their screens. The pub’s menus give a short history of the pub stating that  O’Shea’s first opened in 1994, with then Republic of Ireland football manager Jack Charlton pouring the first pint of Guinness.

Fuelled for the day 

The menu goes on to state that since its opening, an estimated two million pints of Guinness have been served at the venue, which sits in a historic former warehouse building in the middle of what was once Manchester’s ‘Little Ireland’.

Missed opportunity - the Pev all locked up at 12 

Having found little life in the Pev, we headed back across town to and on to what has become one of my Manchester rituals, a beer in the Arndale micro bar. I am always amazed that so few people, even beer nerds, don't know about this great little bar. There's always a warm welcome and a good range of beers. I’ll admit that I always get lost trying to remember, once in the Arndale, how to get to the market bit, which is basically in the north east corner of the centre near to the Shudehill bus station. 

The cream is back in Manchester - The Arndale Market micro

The bar is tucked next to the food quarter of the market, you are  usually able to get a seat, indeed the seating areas seem to be have expanded since I was last here. I had hoped of finding cask Boddingtons on my visit and there on the bar of the Arndale was the ‘cream of Manchester’ now brewed under license by Salford’s J W Lees.

The newish Victoria Tap (opened in October 2023) but sitting in a much older shell, though Victoria’s new Eden Project like bubbly new roof does slightly warp its former Victorean splendour. Apparently this was previously an MnS Express store – though I’m sure I spotted an original Gentleman’s toilet sign on the outside.

A sister pub to the Piccadilly Tap and the fair better of the two drinking venues in the refurbished station – more on the Beer Hall below – it comprises a long thin bar and then outside drinking area where you are literally brushed by the trams whisking in and out of the new Metro link in the station.

It's opened with a promise of 7 cask lines to showcase local independent breweries and on my visit its was fairly true to its vision, though my choice of independent beers from Bakewell and Leeds perhaps stretched the ‘local’ bit a little.

This station vibe is strong with an information screen giving trading information and lots of train related photos around the bar which apparently is made out of old railway track many of the Saturday afternoon clientele we're getting stuck in to the Bitburger pilsner which apparently the bar has a bit of a reputation for but that was a good range of both cask and keg beers and a great place of sample in halves and thirds it being grand final day it was pretty full of rugby fans and also folk coming and going to their trains it's also a good place for a drink before attending gigs at the very nearby me an arena or whatever its current places

We managed to get seats at the far end of the bar and enjoy the unenjoyable here from Kirkstall and from Thornbridge this will definitely be a stop in future on word strongly recommend calling in if you are in this part of Manchester. For balance, we decided to have a quick look at the other bar in Victoria station which is the Beer House on the opposite the concourse and clearly identified by its rather impressive dome.

Enroute to Victoria's Beer House - look for the dome 

The Beer House also has a former life as it was previously the pumpkin café and opened as a bar in June 2015. It's in the grade 2 listed station buildings and stands out with an art nouveau style it's quite a large Spacey hall inside with a good a great range of seating there looked to be some nice Spence sheets by a wind by the windows why is it boss of 2 cask ales available I didn't know that the camera guide suggest this is usually one on our visit unfortunately there were no cash scales available so we decided to leave the station and try another new bar the Saddlers cat which is only a couple of minutes’ walk away in the middle of the Co-op quarter this is a mix of modern and old red brick headquarters four different arms of the cooperative movement

The Saddlers Cat is owned on run by nearby Cloudwater brewery but does offer a range of other independent breweries beers and on our visit only one of the three was a cloud water this area is known as Noma which apparently stands for north of Manchester and there's an award-winning regeneration area of office residential an entertainment space the bard's look out over a rather nice square and on a sunny afternoon how's on our visit sitting outside on their extensive beer garden was a very nice experience with the impressive Co-op Bank glass tower reaching out above us and a range of older and rather more attractive red bricked buildings completing the square.

Previously called the pilcrow the bar was developed in true collaborative style initially it was purpose built by the Co-op group Pub when an older pub had to be demolished to make room for the new headquarters the Noma website report that this was a bar built by the people of Manchester through a series of workshops run by master Craftsman locals designed and made the tiles bar pumps tables and even hanging baskets only certainly did a good job it was ticking over well on a Saturday afternoon with a mix of rugby fans locals on people obviously on a crawl around the area a little more pricey Than some of the more traditional pubs around that was a good choice of free cask beers and something like 10 keg offers.

Handily the tram station at Victoria links to Old Trafford (though the actual Old Trafford tram stop is by the Cricket ground and requires a bit of a yomp to get the Football stadium – having visited few times previously was aware that the area around the ground is  a bit of a beer desert unless you want to drink macro lager in the Premier Inn and pay some exorbitant price to have  beer in the Football hotel – luckily for us the Cricket Ground had been set up as a FanZone and had opened a couple of their outdoor bars – serving a rather surprising blast from the past – John Smiths Smooth at a fiver a pint – still it was all very orderly and we did comment that it was so great the supporters of both Grand Final teams and fans ins shirts of all colours (and sizes) were drinking and getting on particularly well -it is a rather strange social conundrum that followers of the oval ball forms of rugby can enjoy and drink copious amounts of alcohol – including in their sesta and its all fine – but often the same folk can’t watch a round ball game with the same freedoms – I do bet that stadiums like Old Trafford love their rugby days and the amount they can make on beer sales.

Fanzone at the home of Lancashire Cricket 

It was a similar experience in the stadium – whilst there was an allocation of ends at Old Trafford – Hull to the Eats and Wigan to the west where we were in the North stand fans of both teams sat, watched and drank side by side. A fairly basic offer in the stadium itself draft John Smiths, Heineken, Madri and Bulmers and bottles of Carlsberg and fairly reasonable at around £6 a pint.

Beer with a view 

My East Yorkshire roots and time in St Helens meant that we were shouting for Hull KR, who on a bit of high ride this year were comfortable winners – having a text to say our train had been cancelled we did dip out just before ethe final whistle to tram our way back to Piccadilly and home south.  

So all in all a grand day out – the sun shone all day, a couple of new place ticked off and a couple of nice pints in the old faithful’s – defiantly be worth doing another sorties around Victoria - |I note there are a couple of other newish taps and micros that have popped up.

A 450 mile pub crawl – up and down the Northeast Coast Part 1

A 450 mile pub crawl – up and down the Northeast Coast Part 1 – Granite City – The land of shillings, heavies, and the Golden T 

Having developed something of a pan-chance for long distance pub crawls following the trip in May up and down Irelands Wild Atlantic Way The thought of a 600 mile trip from York to Aberdeen and back Felt like a grand couple of days out for our annual malt travel podcast trip. I will cover our 2 day trip in three sections and it's opener we'll concentrate on our trip to Aberdeen the granite city with what we had read only a limited beer scene. 

It's a long way to Aberdeen roughly 330 miles and about 5 1/2 hours by train of the East Coast main line. Our plum was to spend the first part of our day one travelling up to Aberdeen on the 1st train out of York spend a couple of hours in Aberdeen and then head back South to Dundee for an overnight stay and then second day to take in Edinburgh and Newcastle upon Tyne on our way back to York 

As one of our podcast trio works worked for one of our National Rail networks he was able to procure some very reasonable tickets and whilst I had been to Aberdeen a few times before but only by playing the other two of us had never visited. So it was an early start meeting in York at around 7 AM to get on The 7.35 departure from York which would get us to Aberdeen or just after 1:00 in the afternoon. 

We were very privileged in having had in having first class tickets which meant we could have a quick brew in the first class lounge at York an then comfortable seats on what would be a 5 hour plus journey We set off on time and were soon taking in a splendid full English breakfast have got to say that the catering and service so our two days was top class 

I must also add that the East Coast mainline is also a stunning trip that saw was taking in two countries 11 counties 4 cities and one town for listed railway bridges and some fantastic scenery particularly north of Newcastle upon Tyne. 

Our pub total for the trip was just under 20 although we actually only drank in 17 whilst this trip was about beer I'm pubs it was also about travel unseen more of our country Rail travel is a very civilised way of getting around the country when it works well and we were blessed on this trip with trains on time and we're always able to find the seat despite what turned out to be very busy trains the trip took part over the first weekend in July and as is to be expected it was a little drink north of the border though it did brighten up on our second day 

So after a pleasant five hours which seemed to fly by and having sampled both of the beer options glad to see from 2 Yorkshire breweries we arrived in a dump Aberdeen on time just after 1:00 PM. Whilst we had discussed and perused maps and guides on the way up we had no particular plan an agreed just to follow our noses we were met with a rather stunning station something that is a feature of the East Coast main line

Aberdeen rather fine station

Up the steps to Union Street

We headed out into the granite city which was dump on Moody the first challenge was to get up onto Union Street which is pretty much where most of the action in Aberdeen can be found.

Most of the guides and reviews we had read mentioned that Ma Cameron's was one of Aberdeen's pubs that we should visit and just happens to be the oldest hosterley  in the city. 

Just off the main 3rd of that which is Union Street and on a cobbled corner mark Cameron's did look very inviting and was already pretty full with lunchtime trade it is known for its snug bar which is also the original pub giving it its oldest in the city tag. 

So that's where we headed and we're lucky to find that this part of the pub was a little quieter I have read that the snug bar is not always open so you are able to sit in the snug whenever the pub is open. The bar the snug bar was open for our visit on a Friday lunchtime though it wasn't all good news as there are no cask pumps in the snug bar only up in the main bar so we so we kicked off our crawl with scotland's most popular and what would become ubiquitous drink Tenants lager this was also what most of the locals we're drinking in the snug bar. 

Ma Cameron's named after Amelia mark Cameron who run the pub in the 1930s Retiredmartin.com gives the pub the following review;

Old on the outside, horribly Greene King-ised on the inside. Think any chain pub /diner you’ve ever been in. Halloween tat and condiments on every table top didn’t help. To be fair to the average punter will find Ma Camerons neat, cheery and good value. Its just the homogenous GK makeover, ketchup and oversized menus on every table and with a TV on every wall is deeply depressing. 

Have got to say the oversize tv in the snug showing tennis which no one was watching did rather overpower the snug room on our visit This is actually a Belhaven pub, Belhaven are now an arm of the Greene King empire and they do tend to dominate pubs in East side of Scotland. (Geene King bought out Belhaven in £187 million. 

Belhaven do though have some prominence being Scotland’s oldest brewery founded back in 1719 they have around 150 pubs. To their credit and at least for now they are still brewing in their Dunbar base using Scots barley, the original spring water and a unique Belhaven heritage yeast, Their Belhaven best does come in as Scotland’s 10th most popular alcoholic drink so they are brewing at volume. 

Ma's CAMRA listing states that the snug was due for refurbishment along wit the rets of the pub in 2015 – but pressure from the regulars resulted in the snug have only a light touch refurb with none of the planned structural changes – to that we must thank and praise those regulars. 

Into Ma's snug

The TV does rather dominate the snug 

 

Leaving the pub in an increasingly damp afternoon we headed back to Union Street again admiring the architectural views both ways our next target was a 5 mins stroll west to a rather hidden gem the Grill – grotty and uninspiring from the outside though we must point out the rather splendid ancient looking pub sign but open the door and step back in the 19th century, in deed up until the mid 1970s it was definitely stuck in a time warp as a male only establishment – even when opened up to all the ladies had no toilet facilities for a number of years. 

The Grill Union Street -  grotty and uninspiring from the outside?

Cracking sign though 

Opened, as the name suggests, as a restaurant to serve the nearby His majesty’s theatre 

 

A little further west along Union Street is another subterranean hidden gem the Houff and without a bit of pre visit research i doubt we would have stumbled on this place. Houff which is Scots for meeting place refers to itself on its website as one of Aberdeen’s last traditional pubs – it started out as a wine bar and its certainly has that vibe as you decent the stairs to this plush dark basement bar. 

However 2 Scottish cask beers and a cheery and knowledgeable bar tender tick the beery vibe. 

We did feel a little out of place sitting amongst groups of ladies doing prosecco lunches but the beer was good.

 As time was moving on and we were planning to have evening sessions in Dundee and then near bye Broughty Ferry some 70 miles back down the line where we had a Premier inn booked. Fierce Brewery Tap is the home bar for Aberdeen based Fierce brewery they also have a tap in Edinburgh and provide the beers for Aberdeen FC/ Inspired by west costs IPA’s set up in and very much the trail blazers for Aberdeen’s booming craft beer scene though a mega craft brewery down the road at Ellon can also maybe share some of the Just after we visited said mega brewery BD did announce that they were closing their flagship tap bar in Aberdeen just round the corner from the Fierce tap. 

 Should also mention Six degree North another Aberdeenshire brewery who specialize in Belgian inspired beers – we have featured them in one pouf our lock down podcasts they don’t have a tap per say but The Marine Hotel in Stonehaven is part of their portfolio and their beers are featured in a number of high end bars and pubs across the UK including Edinburgh and much further south in Brighton see sixnorth.co.uk The Fierce tap was surprisingly quiet and it is a little hard to give a fair review, the arriving staff were evidently setting up for bust Friday night and it felt a little like we were a little bit of a hindrance wanting to buy some of their beers. 

Just as Green King tend to furb their pubs in a homogenous way I’m afraid to say we are finding that taps rooms are increasingly homogenous and this was no different scaffold poles cheap wood fittings, big windows and a digital beer board (though the Fierce board was indeed big and colourful), Being a hinderance we were quite adventurous in our beer choice choosing Rhubarb, Irn Bru and Aberdeen FC varieties the cost of each did raise our average price by quite a bit and again being a tap we hade to be satisfied with 2/3rds. 

I will give them the benefit of the doubtI have enjoyed their beers and compared to their big brewing brothers down the road appear to be a good sorts, they have a good reputation for their consistent quality beer, so they would be worth a visit if you venture this far North 

A quick dart back to the station via a surreal road where the Oil rig supply ships seem to be waiting for the traffic lights with Aberdeen’s rush hour. A quick dip into the station shop to grab some of the yellow T bars to keep us lubricated on the train. We had the pleasure of Scots rail service back south in what was an extremely busy train. 

We enjoyed our few hours in Aberdeen and would certainly recommend both Ma’s and the Grill, it’s a long way but the journey itself is a must do and we must thank the Victorian train gods who built this line. In the second part of the blog we will visit the land of marmalade, the Dandy and a UNESCo City of design Dundee and its wee daughter Broughty Ferry.