Any port in a storm - the James Watt, Greenock

Greenock, is an historic industrial town on the Firth of Clyde, 25 miles west of Glasgow. It was the fourth port of call, on our Round Britain Cruise, and the first one where we could just walk off the ship, and straight into the town centre. This made a welcome change from the tenders, or even busses, that effected the previous ship to shore transfers. 

Mrs PBT's was particularly excited about this easy means of getting ashore, especially as she had spotted an enormous Tesco's, whilst carrying out a spot of research ahead of arrival in Greenock.  The local authority are keen to capitalise on the town's deep-water berth, with its obvious appeal to cruise liners, and have constructed a modern Cruise Terminal, connected by a short walkway to the centre of town.

After disembarking, the pair of us headed into the town centre, and towards Tesco. You couldn't really miss the massive superstore, but being a supportive husband, I thought it wise to indulge my good lady wife's requirement for a spot of retail therapy.  She didn't really need any more clothes, in fact she definitely didn't need any, but somehow she can't resist the siren call of the clothes rack. To be fair, she bought me a hoodie, plus a T-shirt alongside a number of items for herself, but as someone who has been trying to slim down his already sparse wardrobe, a hoodie wasn't a fashion item I was in desperate need of. To satisfy my own "obsession" I purchased a number of bottled beers, from the Loch Ness Brewery, to drink in the cabin, of an evening, and I'm pleased to report that those I've sampled so far, have been very good.

Shopping expedition over, I escorted Mrs PBT's back to the ship, before setting off to explore the town, on my own.  I was in good company, as there were quite a number of Queen Anne's crew, heading off into the town as well. I'm not sure how much shore leave crew members get, but the groups I saw were all in a jubilant mood. They had all dressed down as well, which much have come as relief, particularly for the waiting staff, to get out of their stiff, starched uniforms. I believe the correct term is "de-mob happy!" As for me, a pint or two was on the cards, but in a country where cask is now quite thin on the ground and, totally absent in areas such as the Highlands & Islands (as we discovered earlier in the cruise), where would I find a decent pint?

What Pub threw up a few examples in Greenock, although as none of them seemed very inspiring, the obvious answer was to seek out a place where the presence of cask is virtually guaranteed. This meant, of course, the local Wetherspoons. I'm well aware that I've been quite critical of Tim's "barns" in the past, but needs must and all that, and the old adage of "any port in a storm" certainly applied to Greenock's Spoons. The Greenock JDW is named after local hero, James Watt the famous Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist. Watt also gave his name to the unit of electricity, and whilst sharing the same name as one of the two Brew Dog founders, is obviously not the same individual! 

The James Watt, is an imposing, stone-building, which was designed as Greenock's main Post Office. It first opened its doors in 1899, and cost £20,000 to construct. The pub is situated just the other side of Greenock's main retail park, and was a bit of a hike from the cruise centre, but I fancied a walk, even though this would be my second trip ashore that morning. Like many other JDW pubs that began life as re-purposed, former commercial or financial buildings, this grandiose former post office lends itself to be being a pub. It was ticking over nicely when I arrived, with a wide range of customers sat inside, sheltering from the inclement weather that was sweeping down and across the estuary, from the surrounding hillsides. 

When I walked in, I found that a queuing system was in place, and with just one staff member taking customers orders and dispensing the drinks, ordering food was rather an issue. This isn't a problem for those familiar with the process, but for infrequent customers like me, it was rather confusing, as every dish came as part of an offer, that also included a drink. From past experience, I know that drinks included in the food offers, are usually limited to basic swill, such as Ruddles Bitter, GK IPA, plus whichever "cooking lagers" are on sale at the pub. Like I said, the opportunity for me to sit down and browse the food menu, hadn't occurred, and whilst I could have returned to the bar having done so, the queue wasn't getting any shorter.

So what about the beer? Well, along with the usual suspects, Abbot, Doom Bar, and Ruddles Bitter, there was one local beer on sale, in the form of Belhaven 80/-, plus an old favourite, Jaipur from Thornbridge Brewery. I enjoyed a pint of each, with the Jaipur unsurprisingly coming out tops. The 80/- was alright though, and it's good to see this traditional Scottish ale, enjoying a  bit of promotion. I have to say that sadly, I saw precious little cask being poured, during my visit. Fortunately, the two cask ales I tried were both in reasonable form, and made a welcome change to nationally promoted keg lagers, and Irish stouts, that I'd been drinking at some of the other ports we visited, on the cruise.

As you probably gathered, I decided against ordering something to eat at the James Watt, and waited until I returned to the Queen Anne. After all, most of the food on the ship is "all inclusive." That aside, my visit to the pub showed the JDW chain in a good light, apart from the shortage of staff, and the same applies to the town of Greenock, itself.