Hijacked By The Weather....

I had been looking forward to a day in Manchester visiting a few pubs and then finishing with a gig, but lethargy and logic aided by warm sunshine and an overgrown hedge led to a change of plan....

I have been very slow to get going in the garden this year. Aside from a spot of weeding and a trip to buy some plants and compost at the garden centre down the road, as of last weekend I had done virtually nothing. The hedge has been increasingly in need of a cut but on the occasions when I'd had the chance to do it the weather had always intervened and thwarted my intentions. So last Saturday, waking up to a bright sunny morning, I decided to seize the opportunity. 

I'd booked a train from Halifax to Manchester Victoria at around lunchtime, so I reckoned I had plenty of time to get the hedge cut before I went for the train. I admit I started a bit later than I should have done and found that with it being the first cut of the year, the hedge needed a bit of extra trimming and tidying, and so by the time I'd got it finished the train I had planned to catch had already gone. Also I'd gradually found myself drawn into a few extra garden jobs and was enjoying the pleasant sunshine and just being outside. The birds were singing happily, in the distance the hum of a lawnmower could be heard, but otherwise it was quiet and calm. Eventually I asked myself the question. Did I really want to spend a warm afternoon in a busy, noisy city, and then face the general carnage of last train back from Manchester on a Saturday night, by now sipping on a nice cool glass of Faith as a reward for finishing my jobs? I could still get a later train and get to see Big Special, who were on at the Deaf Institute. I looked into going instead from Huddersfield where I would be able to get a later train home from Piccadilly which is also closer to where the gig was. No trains were running, just the dreaded rail replacement buses, so no thank you. In the end the weather won and I didn't go.

Although to be fair, Manchester is better placed than many of our towns and cities with beer gardens and outdoor drinking areas. Several of the city's pubs have a pleasant space where you can enjoy an al fresco drink. Ones that immediately spring to mind are the Marble Arch, where the long-established beer garden now features pods for those times when the Manchester weather is less clement, the peaceful and secluded area out the back of the wonderfully-eccentric Bar Fringe on Swan Street, and the Terrace on Thomas Street, which not only has an enclosed courtyard but a large roof terrace away from the bustle of the streets below. And mentioning Thomas Street, like other areas in the Northern Quarter and in the city as a whole, many of the bars like Fierce have their own pavement drinking areas, many which dated back from that strange period when we came out of lockdown, and have since become a permanent addition to the city's streets and squares, a scene that has become familiar in most towns and cities over the country, especially where there are very few beer gardens. A favourite sun trap and a great place to watch the world go by is the Crown Kettle, where tables and benches are set up outside on the corner of Oldham Road and Great Ancoats Street, although on the negative side it is noisy, busy, and traffic fumes fill the atmosphere....

Marble Arch beer garden, complete with shelters

But whether there are available beer gardens or not, I am less inclined to travel as far these days as the mercury in the thermometer starts to rise. Particularly if you end up on a busy, stuffy train. A couple of years ago I went to the North Yorkshire market town of Malton which was on an incredibly warm day and before I wrote the subsequent blog I did think about calling it Meltin' In Malton but over the next few days the temperatures climbed even higher so that when I wrote it by comparison the day in question was relatively cool. But it was an exceptionally warm day to be doing a pub crawl, and aside from a short spell in the attractive beer garden out at the back of the Blue Ball Inn, I spent the afternoon seeking shelter in the generally cooler atmosphere to be found indoors.

Blue Ball Inn, Malton, on a hot day

I had a couple of similar occasions last year. I went to Macclesfield, a visit inspired by visiting a few haunts of the former lead singer of Joy Division, Ian Curtis, who had lived and worked in the town before he tragically took his own life. As I wandered the streets of the Cheshire town the heat level continued to increase and by the time I had seen the mural, walked up to Barlow Street where he had lived with his wife Karen, and had a couple of pints on the way I was feeling pretty frazzled by the time I got back to the town centre, having also had a steepish climb up the hill to the Wharf on Brook Street, which owes its unlikely name for a hillside pub on its proximity to the Macclesfield Canal which passes through above the town. Having worked up a thirst as I climbed up the hill I did thankfully come across a friendly pub with an equally friendly landlord called Chris working behind the bar. Sadly as an aside, the Wharf is currently up for sale as the popular landlord is moving on to pastures new and so a campaign group has been set up to ensure the survival of this much-loved pub as an integral part of the local community. More information here at savethewharf.uk.

Wharf, Macclesfield

Last year, on another hot day, I headed to Ripon, but this time I was driving, so with the aircon on it offered some relief from the high temperatures. Another day when it was scorchio as they used to say in the brilliant 90's comedy series The Fast Show. Here I wandered around the streets of this lovely small city whose cathedral seemed visible from everywhere, and I found a couple of places with excellent outdoor drinking facilities; the One-Eyed Rat with its attractive enclosed beer garden, and the Water Rat with a sun-trap area beside the river with an excellent view of the cathedral. It was a hot day, but Ripon, like Malton and, to a lesser extent, Macclesfield, are not too big and therefore lack the bustle and oppressiveness of a busy city, and make for a more relaxing visit. 

The beer garden at the One-Eyed Rat, Ripon

One city where you can enjoy the weather without feeling too hemmed in is Newcastle, where the fantastic topography of the Tyne Valley combined with the wonderful bridgescape built to cross the river and enable the traffic to flow has created one of the most spectacular cities in the country. In the Ouseburn area to the east of the city, there are several spots where it is great to sit and enjoy a pint in the fresh air. One is the Free Trade Inn, whose beer garden affords tremendous views across the Tyne, with the Baltic Exchange, Glasshouse (formerly the Sage), with the Tyne and High Level bridges and riverside buildings framing the river. Close by and further up the hill away from the river is the Cumberland Arms, only yards away from a busy main road and Byker high street, but surrounded by trees and a grassy area its large beer garden provides a pleasant oasis away from the noise and bustle and a pint sat in the garden here is one of life's great pleasures.

The Cumberland Arms, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

And so back to last Saturday. When I finally went out, having followed up my stint in the garden with making a curry, it was early evening so with limited options I just headed in to Halifax for an hour or two. I called in at the Grayston Unity, now well-established in its new home on Horton Street. One thing that had been lacking though following the move was any outdoor space for enjoying a drink, the previous place on Wesley Court having both a yard out the back which didn't catch any sun and a long terrace at the side of the town hall which caught plenty, and was a real draw for customers. However, that situation changed recently with the opening of a lovely enclosed roof terrace which is a real sun trap and has proved to be an immediate hit with visitors in a town where there are very few places where you can enjoy a pint in the sunshine. There is plenty of bench seating around the sides with central high tables and stools, all in a warm light wood, with plants providing a flash of green, whilst beyond the neighbouring roof tops the views extend to the local hills. This Friday sees the official opening of the roof terrace, Friday being the 24th of May, which also marks the 8th anniversary of the Grayston opening in Halifax, and bringing something very different to the town's drinking scene.

The new roof terrace at The Grayston Unity

However, taking all the above into consideration I have to say that whilst I am happy to spend a short time sat outside with a beer I have to admit that nowadays - and possibly as a reaction to the enforced outdoor drinking from three years ago when we came out of lockdown and we could only drink outside for a time - I am generally happier on balance these days to drink and enjoy my pint of cask in the cooler atmosphere of the bar inside.  Hot sun and cask beer are not easy bedfellows and whilst I love being outside in the sun immensely I would rather not risk my beer warming up in the outdoor heat, where other hazards, eg wasps, may lay in wait. 

As I write this, the weather has changed and as I look out on the garden at my newly-cut hedge and freshly-planted pots and containers, the rain is lashing down with more forecast to arrive in the next couple of days. And so it looks like that even if I did fancy a pint outside later, my plans would once again be hijacked by the weather....

The opening image is not of my garden, but of the lovely beer garden at The Olde Whyte Swanne in Louth, Lincolnshire.

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