In a core-annular pipe flow, if the outer lubricating fluid has a yield stress, it is possible for the flow to be both linearly and nonlinearly stable; see Frigaard [I.A. Frigaard, Super-stable parallel flows of multiple visco-plastic fluids, J. Non Newtonian Fluid Mech. 100 (2001) 49-76] or Moyers-Gonzalez et al. [M.A. Moyers-Gonzalez, I.A. Frigaard, C. Nouar, Nonlinear stability of a visco-plastically lubricated viscous shear flow, J. Fluid Mech. 506 (2004) 117-146]. In this paper we provide an experimental demonstration that such flows can be observed in a laboratory setting. Approximately 120 experiments using Xanthan and Carbopol solutions have been carried out and show that stable axisymmetric flows can be established and persist stably over many hundreds of diameters. Via control of the individual fluid flow rates, it is also possible to vary the inner fluid radius over a significant range, which suggests utility for various industrial processes. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.