Trafford and Hulme’s second midweek outing took us down the line to the town of Macclesfield famous as the Silk Town and also the Treacle Town, apparently a cartload of the gooey substance was once overturned in the street and the residents of the time came out in force to scoop it all up.
First stop had to be the Waters Green Tavern because a. it is a stones throw from the station b. it was open and c. it’s a damn fine pub, we were not disappointed, more hand pumps than you could shake a stick at, Barnsley Bitter and Salopian Oracle were our choices to go with our meals which were to be fair pricy but good.
Cross the road and you enter the Old Millstone, not much to report here, a hasty half of black sheep and we were off up the hill to the vicinity of the town square. Here we found the Five Clouds Tap and Bottle a newer place in the now familiar ‘shop front’ type, one hand pump dispensing Track Sanoma and a number of keg lines of varying strengths and styles one of which was Thornbridge Hellas Lager sampled by one of our number.
Setting of now down the hill past the splendid town hall from the Georgian era, 1823 to be exact, through the busy shopping district to the lower part of town and into the Jolly Sailor, a pub full of quirky artefacts we sat at a very shiny wooden table which seemed much too good for us to be putting our pint pots on. There was a good choice on the bar as well, Draught Bass, Harvest Pale and a couple from Storm Brewing, we stayed a while here and took in the surroundings. A curiosity on the windowsill next to us appeared to be Japanese in origin it looked like a soup or tea urn in the middle of two plate holders with small paraffin or candle heaters underneath them attached at either side. Scattered around the walls among the days gone by photos were musical instruments old and new, none of us are musical enough to play anything so we just admired them.
Opposite now to the Snow Goose Cafe Bar multi roomed and multi layered run it seemed by two women with an eye for décor and furnishing which made every room different. Musical instruments hanging on the wall was again a feature but on this pleasant afternoon we sat in the back among old wooden casks and some interesting stone features. Beer once again featured Storm Brewing this time Hailstorm and Ale Force and a Moorhouses called Nick O Pendle a cycling reference I think
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No time really to visit anymore pubs and there are plenty, Macclesfield is very much a dormitory town and a lot of places didn’t open until 4pm so maybe next time or perhaps a Saturday trip to do the town justice.
Source: Trafford & Hulme