When I go away (whether for business or pleasure) the first thing I reach for is a Good Beer Guide! I like to know what pubs serve real ale, what ales they keep on tap, which have accommodation, serve meals and where they are. However while I will always take a Good Beer Guide with me, the guide only covers the very best pubs with most real ale pubs not included and for those pubs in the guide details can change in the course of the year.

Fortunately CAMRA has developed the “Whatpub” website precisely to address this shortfall. The website is maintained by local CAMRA members, should cover every pub serving real ale and is maintained on an ongoing basis. Members can even feedback comment if they find anything has changed in these pubs.

In Halton, we try to make sure that the details of pubs in our area are kept up to date! As examples of recent changes; The Kingsway Hotel in Widnes has recently started to serve real ale (Greene King IPA) and gone from keg to cask – hopefully the continuation of a new trend in Widnes! The Windmill in Windmill Hill, Runcorn has sadly recently been closed. The Ring O Bells in Daresbury, and the Prospect in Weston Village have just been accredited as serving Locally brewed real ales and given LocAle status. The Grapes in Widnes has gone from keg to cask... The list goes on!

All of these changes have been made to Halton's pubs on Whatpub. If you go anywhere in the country and want to check out the pubs and beers first give Whatpub a try! But also.. if you have a pint of real ale in your local in Halton and find there is anything incorrect on Whatpub, let us know. We will thank you for it!