The Railway

This is why I love using Unilocal and putting on our events — because the whole nature of them isn’t to be a dictator and say this is what we’re doing and where we’re going — it’s basically all about the democratic nature of the group in choosing where we go after we’ve enjoyed the original meeting up spot/​activity.
And again that’s how I ended up at the Railway after our Elite Unilocaler Katharine S and her husband Adam said we must check it out on our recent craft beer club trip to Stockport.
Like most decent pubs in Stockport — ‘The Railway’ is definitely worth going 5 mins out of the main drag to and the clientele is made up of regulars who seemed pretty chilled at having us newbies in and taking advantage of the super low prices for some fantastic beers. Of the beers they’ve a fantastic selection of German lagers, Bury based Outstanding beers and I was so impressed to see that Thornbridge’s Jaipur was on offer for £3.20 — wow, that’s £2 a pint cheaper than Chorlton!
Ok so this place isn’t going to win any interior design competitions anytime soon but that isn’t the point — this is a fantastic pub and a great place to hang out in.

With ‘real’ staff and regulars. Most of whom have their own glass, and a usual chair and drink. It’s not quite Cheers, but almost everybody knows your name. If they don’t, people will say hello to you and may even start a conversation.
Whilst it is frequented by ‘old men’ and scraggy looking dogs. It’s not an old man’s pub. Be it the tables of outdoorsy times in for an apres-​climb pint, the Thai-​ladies-​that-​lunch (well shop then neck a pint of wheat beer and get giggly), the quiz league or the live action role play group, it’s a pub for everyone. (Well except kids).
It’s the kind of pub you can go and have a quite pint in, bring in your fish and chips to eat with your pint, or stop all night, putting the world to rights.
Then, there’s the booze: Six regular beers, five guest ales, two draft ciders, four draft lagers, couple boxes /​kegs of scrumpy and perry, thirty to fifty bottled beers and lagers, several bottled ciders, thirty whiskies, half a dozen vodkas and selection of spirits, liqueurs and fruit wines.
The numbers don’t really do it justice though. As Stockport & South Manchester CAMRA’s Cider Pub of the Year 2013 and winner of loads of other beery awards, it’s the kind of place that will do you a taste of the beer/​cider/​perry before buying, has Leffe on as a guest beer (in pints) and does it’s own beer and cider festivals.
Beers range from 3% and just over £2 a pint though to 13% and £5 a bottle. While they don’t take cards, some of our friends are more surprised by how much change they get from a round.

This is my local. There is always lots of good beers to chose from. From real ales to fancy bottle lagers. Just ask if you want to try something new. The pub itself is getting a bit of a make over so it will hopefully be smarter soon at the moment it could do with a little work.
The beer is very good value. Its the perfect place to pop in for a pint if you other half is deep in shopping mode in the Peel Centre across the road.
The landlady Sue has a no swearing rule which I find make me feel very welcome and this in one of the few pubs I feel happy having a drink myself.

This place is much better than it was a couple of years ago. Today, the beers were superb, and there was a lot of choice. Just a stetch of the legs from the Arden Arms. Go! Oh, many Belgian, German & other world beers here… Go!!!

The Porter’s Railway doesn’t look like much from the outside, but it’s a fantastic little pub. With about fifteen different hand pumps, each boasting a different real ale, it’s a beer lover’s dream. But if, like the wurzels, you’re a cider drinker, worry not: you’ll find some great varieties of that too, all pretty well priced.
The first time I came here, there was a real ale and cider festival on, so there were even more tasty brews to try. They also had a big bonfire in the beer garden, which made for a great atmosphere!
Apparently they have a model train running around the bar here, too. But I don’t remember; I was drunk.