Sharp's Doom Bar at the John Laird, Birkenhead

This Wetherspoon outlet was clearly the busier of the two as it took us a while to reach the bar. We eventually found some balcony seating behind a pile of empty fish n’ chip plates. To the left of us, a pair of local lads were finishing their lunch before heading off to a gig with their guitars. The beer selection wasn’t that impressive either, so it was just a quick half of Sharp’s Doom Bar and a comfort break before we re-joined the others. Neither was the atmosphere, as everyone was crowded into a large open-plan room. One of the reason for the crowds here was that it was directly behind a bus station and adjacent to a shopping centre. The bricked building wasn’t particularly inspiring, but the pub does have some local history as it was named after Birkenhead’s first Member of Parliament. On our way out we walked past the Crown which surely marked the old times with its barren wasteland and a shiny new highway adjacent to it.