St Helens

Where's the Good Beer Guide update, you may be asking. My early copy was lost in the post so here we are on publication day and I still haven't seen it. Hmph!!Anyway, off to St Helens today to mop up a few odds and ends, starting in the Royal Tavern:(Due to a camera malfunction I didn't get a picture today, this one is from 2021.)This is a plain comfortable boozer and it was ticking over well at two on a Thursday. I enjoyed my first Carling of the day, costing £4.10.A quick scan of the glasses on the table showed that this is not one of the places I'm used to where everyone is on Carling. I could see Coors, Fosters and Moretti just in my end of the knocked through space.Cheerful chatter and banter filled the room, with muzac very much in the background.I checked out the Wheatsheaf over the road. Inside I could see a counter with beer taps, but there was no furniture, just a decorators ladder in the middle of the room. I'm sure that's exactly what I saw five years ago as well?Next,…