Since the advent of the final two bars in this piece, I’ve been aiming to combine the Micro Pubs of The Heatons into a summer crawl/stroll. Only to be beaten to the punch by a waggy bearded goat boy, the ever excellent Deeekos. Read his piece here. But, not to be put off by that….

I just fancied something a bit different yesterday. Manchester is Brewtap heaven, but I’m easily bored. With “The Lovely One” being at a girls night / hen do thing, I fancied getting out and stretching my legs. That and making good use of the GM County Card saw me running – yes, me, running – for a train….

Meeting up with Linda and The Arch Nemesis at Piccadilly, a 9 minute train journey took us to Burnage train station. And a 60 second walk along Fog Lane, to….

Reasons To Be Cheerful – 228, Fog Lane, Burnage.

I do love a bar with a song title as a name….

Of all the establishments today, this is the most recently opened, having had a rather tortuous genesis. It’s safe to say that the owners had to jump through some hoops to get this place off the ground – planning objections and the like are never going to be fun.

This was my first visit. And it was well worth the wait.

Brightly painted, simply furnished and very attractive venue with two distinctly separate drinking areas, this place was a joy. With 6 keg taps and 3 hand pumps on show, there was plenty of choice for such a small venue. Nice gin selection too……. I’m developing a liking for gin.

It’s not often that I break my Prime Objective and choose a beer from south of my personal Maginot Line – south of Crewe – but there was a beer from Five Points on the bar on cask. And I simply LOVE Five Points. Have done ever since they started and I grabbed some of their initial test brews. It’s safe to say that I’m a big fan

And the Brick Field Brown didn’t dissuade me. A lovely beer. I do like a good earthy and hoppy brown.

Excellent can/bottle selection, fabulous tunes with – at one point – Zeppelin fading into Bon Iver, a friendly and engaging host and a bloody attractive venue. This place ticks all the boxes.

I could have “cheerfully” stayed here for hours. But this is a crawl. So, leaving R2BC and turning right along Fog Lane, across the A34 onto Kingsleigh Road, about a gentle 10 minute stroll is the next venue..

The Beer Shop – Kingsleigh Road, Heaton Moor

This is a gem of a place that is completely under most radars and gets unjustly overlooked when compared to its fellow nearby Micro Pubs, but you shouldn’t bypass it.

I think that Jeff recommended this place to me a few years ago. I popped in on the way to a BBQ and left with not only a few bottles, but 5 litres – bag in a box – of Magic Rock High Wire. I was smitten.

Back then, bottle selection was centred on Belgium, Bamberg & the US. Now there is far more UK – especially local – stuff on the shelves. The draught beers are on cask, with two on yesterday, both from Track. The El Capitan was glorious. A fruity delight.

The owner is truly passionate about his local breweries and certainly knows his stuff. It nice to chat and find shed loads of common ground about some of the best Northern breweries.

If I remember rightly, there is a tie up with a local takeaway that you can order and eat in too!

As I said, it would be folly to overlook this place, which is – it’s fair to say – the earliest of local Micro Pubs. Don’t pass it by.

Turning right from the door, cross Mauldeth Road and walk up Leegate Avenue onto Sevenoaks Ave to Shaw Road (again, a pleasant 10 minute stroll) to

Bottle – 9, Shaw Road, Heaton Moor.

The Heatons sicken me. With all these simply excellent little pubs.

Bottle is the brainchild of Corin Bland. He of High Peak Beer Co at Stockport Market. I loved the place from the moment I went in for the first time in 2015. Beautifully designed space, eclectic decoration (I LOVE the music themed beer mat frames) and – in a fairly bold move back then – keg only.

As good as this place looks, it’s all about the beer. And Corin can certainly source beer. He knows his stuff. We chatted about a shared love of the Cornish brewery Black Flag and he mentioned a Cornish tap takeover coming up – something I wouldn’t want to miss

(Perfectly Posed…..)

A simply superb takeaway beer selection – as anyone who has been to Corin’s stall at Stockport Market would expect.

Draught wise, I had an Oakham that was really refreshing. Then my evening started to head south. With a beautifully smooth and incredibly tasty Cloudwater NW DIPA Citra. Stunning. But ill advised. And probably why I fell asleep on the bus home…… (oh, there were other reasons too. But that’s where it started….)

Leaving with a can and a bottle in my bag, we exit, turn right, then left at the top of Shaw Road onto Heaton Moor Road, past this helpful road sign…

…. past Heaton Chapel train station and across the A6 onto School Lane.

Heaton Hops – 7, School Lane, Heaton Chapel

The simplest thing to say about this bar yesterday was that it was rammed. Both inside and out. There’s a reason for that.

Damian O’Shea and his partner Charlotte nailed this place from the moment they opened. It just has whatever “it” is. And has been hugely popular from the get go.

Damian can source beer. Undoubtedly. But it’s the details here that make this place what it is. That turn this tiny space into a magnet for beer lovers

The beer, as always, was exceptional – in this case, Sonrisa by Buxton, SO tart and juicy – and business was brisk. There wasn’t a seat unclaimed. So time for a train back to Beer City.

I wish I’d gone straight home…. I might not have needed THIS so much this morning….

The message? Yes. Manchester is a truly fabulous place to go drinking. But a short train journey from Piccadilly – and a little gentle walking – can take you on a fabulous beer journey. To four special and individually superb bars and pubs.

But put them together? I’m still smiling.