The Ferry Tavern, Penketh, Cheshire boasts one of the best pub garden views sitting on an island between the River Mersey and St Helen’s Canal (Image: MEN)
Perched on its own island and surrounded by breathtaking waterside views, a quaint pub boasts one of the most enviable locations, particularly when bathed in sunshine. The Ferry Tavern, located in Penketh near Warrington, Cheshire, enjoys a unique setting nestled between the River Mersey and the Sankey St Helen’s Canal. Occupying its own strip of island, this award-winning cask ale pub features an expansive beer garden complete with benches. On sunny days, visitors flock to the grassy river bank to bask in the picturesque surroundings.
With a bit of luck, you might even catch sight of a seal or porpoise frolicking in the waters. Recent wildlife sightings have sparked excitement on social media platforms. However, timing is crucial for those hoping to spot these aquatic creatures, with high tide offering the best opportunity, reports the Manchester Evening News.
The pub is popular in the sunshine (Image: MEN)
It has been run by husband and wife Andy and Jade Mulholland for the past 20 years (Image: Ferry Tavern)
The pub’s island strip was formed at Fiddlers Ferry following the opening of the Sankey Canal in 1762, marking the dawn of the industrial age. The pub itself opened its doors in the same year and has been quenching the thirst of weary travellers for over 260 years.
For the past two decades, The Ferry Tavern has been managed by Andy Mulholland and his wife Jade. The family connection runs even deeper, as Jade spent her childhood in the pub after her parents took over the establishment in 1992.
In 2023, they were honoured to be named CAMRA’s Pub of the Year for North Cheshire and have consistently featured in the guide for the past quarter-century.
The local watering hole is renowned for its variety of rotating cask ales, offering seven to eight options on tap at a time with pints priced at £4.
Not just a hit for their beverages, the pub also entices food enthusiasts with “Foodie Fridays”, featuring an array of street food vendors dishing out pizza, fish and chips, Greek mezze, and dim sum each week.
Experiencing a busy few weeks thanks to the glorious weather, landlord Andy anticipates even busier times ahead as Easter approaches.
With a chuckle, Andy said: “It’s like a solar-powered pub! When the sun shines, we get good business. Because we are right by the river, you feel like you could be anywhere when the sun is shining.
The pub has won multiple awards (Image: Ferry Tavern)
The pub has an amazing beer garden (Image: Ferry Tavern)
“In the summer, we’ve got 20 benches, and people sit all along the river bank as well, so we can get hundreds of people out on the garden. On a hot sunny day, it’s packed.
“In the winter, we’re a bit more out of the way because it’s a walk from the car park over the canal to get to us, so it’s maybe not as appealing in the winter months – although we do have real fires in the pub.”
Andy, 47, and his wife Jade, 42, are devoted parents to Charlie, 11 and Jack, 4. The youngsters, like many patrons, enjoy the occasional seal sighting by the river, though Andy advises visitors that seal-spotting is by no chance guaranteed!
Andy said: “The seals do come down the estuary, the Mersey has been getting cleaner and cleaner, so they have been getting quite frequent. They seem to just come in when the tides come in.
“They can hang around for days, the very first time we saw a seal it stayed down here for a few days and it became quite an attraction – we had loads of people coming down to see it.
“The porpoises are less frequent, but if any pass the pub you can guarantee a video of it will pop up on social media, we’re always getting tagged in. It’s great for us as a business.”
Some have questioned if the pub is really on an island due to unusual location between an estuary and a canal, but Andy says: “You have to cross water to get to us! Whether it’s a canal at the back or river at the front, we’re definitely on an island!
Seals can be seen in the water (Image: The Ferry Tavern)
It’s in a perfect location by the river (Image: Ferry Tavern)
“We have no gas mains or water mains – we have a septic tank here and Calor Gas, so yes, we’re pretty much on an island!”
Customers must navigate to the pub via a narrow lane leading to a car park, followed by a stroll over a level crossing and bridge spanning the canal.
The pub is also a favoured resting spot for cyclists and ramblers traversing the Trans Pennine trail that passes by.
Since Andy and his partner Jade took the helm in 2005, succeeding Jade’s parents, their keen interest in the pub’s heritage has led to a historical journey, uncovering the lineage of licensees dating back to 1762.
Andy adds, “The history is incredible here. This used to be the main crossing for the River Mersey, and it’s called The Ferry because the original licensee in 1762 was the ferryman.
“It opened the same year as the canal, so it was obviously someone business-savvy, as it would have been a hive of activity for cargo unloading down here with lots of thirsty workers.
“It’s also believed that this was the point where Oliver Cromwell crossed over – it was stated that he stayed at an inn on the river and as far as we know this is the only place it could be.”
Notably, the pub organises its own music festival, GlastonFerry, in July, with another event planned for September.
If you time your visit to this unique little pub just right, the expansive horizon might even allow you to witness a spectacular sunset.
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
