The Merseyside Pub Guide

by Phil Wieland

OLD SWAN

Pub	Beer	Comments	Location
Albany	Cains / Foster's	A very pleasant old pub, converted from a number of terraced houses on a side street. This seems to be the ideal 'local', with excellent beer and friendly staff and regulars. Last visited 2004.	Albany Road / Derby Lane
Black Horse	Trophy / 4X, Carlsberg, Stella	An enormous nicely decorated pleasant lounge with wood panelling, plus a plain clean and tidy public bar. LSTV and a bowling green. Last visited 2004.	Prescot Road
Cygnet	Tetley / Carling, Carlsberg, Stella	Rather faded before its January 2000 refurbishment and now pleasant, plain, clean and tidy, this is a knocked through corner house with an unusual shape. Boarded up for a time but now re-opened.   Disco   Karaoke   Live entertainment Last visited 2004.	Prescot Road / Derby Lane
Garfield	John Smith's, Trophy, Worthington	Now CLOSED, to become a Wetherspoon's. One large opened out room in this scruffy conversion from a former supermarket. Food. LSTV. All you can eat banquet! Live entertainment Last visited 1998.	Prescot Road / Queen's Drive
Mason's	Boddingtons, Trophy / Heineken	A large trendy plastic knocked-through one room pub, appealing to the younger clientele. Two LSTVs and about a dozen ordinary ones. Last visited 1998.	Prescot Road
Millfield Inn (Ferndale Inn)	Tetley / Carlsberg	A nicely decorated one bar pub on three levels. There were two hand pumps out of use. Pool table and LSTV. Another in the "Oak Lodges" chain. Last visited 2003.	Prescot Road / Day Street
Old Omnibus (Dickie Lewis')	Hydes, John Smith's	This classic 50s pub had a plain cheap & cheerful parquet-floored bar side, and the lounge side was exactly the same. After a couple of years as Dickie Lewis' it shut following a fire in April 2003 and after a protracted refurbishment has now re-opened under its original name. The pleasant new decor is nicely restrained, and the parquet floor has been carpeted. LSTV.   Live entertainment Last visited 2003.	Saint Oswald's Street / Mill Lane
Old Swan "White House"	Tetley, Worthington / 4X, Carling, Carlsberg	With a pound a pint on bitter, lager and mild all day, this is a very busy pub! The plain knocked through interior has a low ceiling in parts. Last visited 2004.	Saint Oswald's Street / Broad Green Road
Piano Bar		The bouncers wanted to charge for admission, so we went elsewhere. Not visited.	Derby Lane
Red House (First Avenue)		In August 1998 I visited the First Avenue and wrote "a scruffy tatty dump which looks like a youth club. Disco. Very cheap beer, absolutely no atmosphere." More recently, restored to its traditional name and a more traditional interior this is much improved! Last visited 2004.	Broad Green Road / Prescot Road
Taff's Tavern	Tetley, Trophy, Worthington	A plain flat house in a row of shops. Rather nice wood-panelled interior and a varnished wooden floor. I'm told that since my visit it has expanded into the property next door and also gained a function room upstairs. Last visited 1998.	Derby Lane
Wetherspoon's (Garfield)	usuals	A standard Wetherspoon's, cheap good beer and food, and very busy on a Friday night. Last visited 2005.	Prescot Road / Queens Drive