Best cider pubs in Southport and West Lancashire revealed

The best cider venues in Southport and West Lancashire have been revealed! 

The list has been published to mark the 2020 Cider Month, which is held every October. 

It has been compiled by Southport and West Lancs CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) members, who are now asking people to suggest any other great venues which they can add to their list. 

CAMRA spokesperson Neville Grundy said: “Every October, around the time of year when apples are harvested, CAMRA celebrates real cider and perry.

“Real ciders and perries are made naturally from apples (cider) or pears (perry) without pasteurisation, filtering or artificial ingredients and are served without gas pressure.

“To mark Cider month, CAMRA will be supporting a new cider initiative to help people learn more about cider and perry. Cider expert Gabe Cook has launched a Discover Cider campaign with more than 30 cider producers to help bring the nuanced and varied world of cider to the wider public. To find out more, go to: discovercider.com.

“The North Merseyside and West Lancs areas aren’t naturally cider country, but cider and perry are probably more readily available than you might think.

“Cider lovers can easily identify pubs that serve real cider or perry by keeping an eye out for our window sticker, or by using our handy pub search website WhatPub (whatpub.com) to filter for pubs that serve cider and perry. Bring up the pubs in your area and tick the ‘real cider’ box in the right column to see all the local cider outlets.

“CAMRA’s North Merseyside Cider Pub of the Year is the Grasshopper in Sandon Road, Hillside. Other outlets include:

•       The Tap & Bottles, 19A Cambridge Walks.
•       The Willow Grove, 387-389 Lord Street.
•       The Guest House, 16 Union Street.
•       The Sir Henry Segrave, 93-97 Lord Street.
•       The Bottle Room, 657 Lord Street.
•       The Sparrowhawk, Southport Old Road, Formby.

“Our West Lancs Cider Pub of the Year is the Court Leet in Wheatsheaf Walk, Ormskirk. Other outlets include:

•       The Farmers Club, 65 Burscough Street, Ormskirk.
•       The Slipway, 48 Crabtree Lane, Burscough.
•       The Thirsty Duck, Unit 9 & 10 Burscough Wharf, Burscough.

“If anyone knows of a cider outlet in the Southport, Formby or West Lancs areas that isn’t listed, or if you run a cider pub that isn’t here, please let us know via the contacts on our branch website – southport.camra.org.uk – and we will update the WhatPub website.

“Enjoy autumn and, as keen cider and perry enthusiasts sometimes say, wassail!”

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