The Turks Head, Royton, Oldham

 

The Turks Head

119 Castleton Road, Royton, Oldham  OL2 6JP

TEL: 0161 624 9895

Large red brick pub with four or five outside tables, looks 1930s, it was perhaps built to serve the housing estate it is on the edge of. It is now definitely a restaurant. I have come across restaurant pubs that have so little space for drinkers that you can barely call them pubs, like the Olde Hall in Haworth but this pub had almost none. There are only three small tables available for people who have just come in for a drink and a few, inevitably uncomfortable, high stools at the bar. The just-drinkers seem to prefer the outside tables. Too bad if it rains since none of them are under a canopy or marquee.

ambience - 3

Good if you've come to dine, no piped music so conversation is possible and there's a convivial atmosphere

decor - 4

The whole pub is done in tasteful shades of green and has comfortable seating

service - 2

The trouble was, as soon as I stepped in a waitress strode up and wanted to know if I'd booked a table. Since I was at the time in muddy boots (I had just done a walk along local footpaths and across fields), carrying a rucksack and my hair was plastered to my head with sweat, I could hardly have looked like I'd booked in as a diner. The approach was a bit too peremptory and I felt unwelcome. When I said I'd only dropped in for a drink the waitress immediately lost interest and vaguely waved in the direction of the eastern end of the bar. But let's be generous, she was very young, maybe she doesn't have the experience yet to appreciate how she might come across in the wrong way.. 

features - 1

serves food

I couldn't tell if it's also child and dog friendly. I didn't see any children or dogs when I was there. There's no room for pub games and there were no TV screens. Though some people might appreciate a pub where football is absent!

real ale - 2

Usually two guest ales. They had Wainwright when I was there.

toilets - 5

Pristine and fully supplied

Score 17 out of 30

The Angel, Lees

 

The Angel

2 Nicholson Street, Lees, Oldham OL4 3BW

Big open plan space with a smaller tap room, just off Lees High Street. Children and dogs allowed in before 8pm.

Decor - 3

dark walls and furniture but not stylish not gloomy

ambience - 3

service - 5

real ale - 0

features ;- 5

TV screens

bar food

quiz night

darts

toilets - 4

The disabled access is reasonably good, no stairs and the main room is well lit.

Score 20 out of 30

pool

The Park Inn, Shaw, Oldham

121 Buckstones Road, Shaw, Oldham OL2 8DW

This pub is literally down the hill from the Black Ladd, and is in the edge of the suburbs of Shaw and about 10 minutes from the tram stop. The only view is of the old mill in the centre of Shaw, but it's only a little way downhill from Shaw Clough Country Park, if you fancy a walk.

decor - 5

Can't fault it, fairly recently decorated, light and bright, much more like a restaurant than a pub. And it has all straight back, comfy chairs. Unlike a lot of pub dining chairs, they don't have the struts at each side that stick into your bum.

ambience - 4

service - 4

features - 6*

serves food 

dog friendly, in the tap room

family friendly

pool table

live music

quiz night

real ale - 4

toilets - 4

Score 27 out of 30

*I know I originally only allowed for up to 5 features, but I've changed that rule because so many pubs have so many different additions.

The Black Ladd, Grains Bar, Oldham

487 Buckstones Road, Grains Bar, Oldham

01706 847541

This is worth a visit just for the views. It is near the top of the hills above Oldham, surrounded by fields and gives a wonderful view over most of Manchester. And yet the nearest tram stop is only a 20 minute walk straight down the hill, at Shaw.

decor - 4

Black and white beamed interior, stone floor in the bar area. Seats comfortable enough.

ambience - 4

Relaxed, traditional feel

Real ale - 1

one only, Black Sheep

Service - 4

Fast and attentive

Features - 3

serves food, English pub menu

Family friendly

Has to have a point for that view

Toilets - 3

In decent condition,  but short of soap

Score 19 out of 30

The Spinners Arms, Springhead, Oldham

The Spinners Arms

Woodbrook Road, Springhead, Oldham OL4 4BS

TEL: 0161 691 8537

Although it's in the middle of a housing estate, and not that far from a main road, this pub seems rural because its near the end of a road that ends in fields. You can drive to it via Woodbrook Road, or it's a short walk from the 350 bus stop on Huddersfield Road. Or you can get to it on foot from Oldham Road at Grotton, then Radcliffe Street and Stonebreaks bridle path, which joins Woodbrook Road after three-quarters of a mile.

Decor - 4

Ambience - 3

Real Ale -   1

A JW Lees pub

Features - 5

Serves food, afternoons and evenings

Dog friendly (dogs on a lead)

Sunday quiz

pool and darts

Three TV screens for the sport

Service - 4

Friendly and helpful

Toilets - 5

Pristine

Score 22 out of 30

The White Lion

The White Lion

109 High Street, Lees OL4 4LY

TEL: 624 3621

This pub stands out on its own at the top of Lees High Street, and at one time was in Yorkshire, before they changed the county boundary  by half a mile and put it into Lancashire. It hosts events for Yorkshire Day, which is celebrated in the eastern districts of Oldham that used to be in that county.

Ambience - 3

The sign over the door says "Your friendly community local", and it is friendly, if a bit rowdy at times. I didn't get a chance to ask whether it has been designated a community asset. For those who haven't heard of this, it is a method of saving local pubs by making sure they aren't closed down and 'redeveloped' into something else, or simply demolished.

Decor - 3

Wooden floors and furniture, dark green walls and carpets, comfortable seating.

Features- 1

Serves food, a small but good pub menu.

Real ale - 0

Service - 2

The service is good - when you get it. The trouble is, there are a lot of seats in front of the bar and when they are fully occupied by drinkers, it can be impossible to get near enough to the bar to state your order. I hate that situation in a pub because I'm not tall enough to be easily visible. I had to wave a tenner over one of the drinker's heads to get the barperson's attention, and then the bar-proppers were reluctant to move so I could pick up my pint.

I prefer pubs which either only have bar stools at the sides of the bar, or else have a notice that asks patrons to move away from the bar once they've got their drinks.

Toilets - 3

Score - 12 out of 30

The Front House

The Front House 

33 Oldham Road, Springhead, Oldham OL4 4PH

Ambience - 3

Lively without being rowdy

Decor - 4

Nicely decorated cream walls with red and gold pattern, comfortable benches and chairs.

Service - 4

Friendly and attentive

Real ale - 2

They had run out of one of the real ales when I was there, the other one available was Bombardier.

Features - 4

pool table

karaoke, disco and bingo on different week nights

TV screens

toilets - 3

The Top House

The Top House

38 Co-operative Street, Springhead, Oldham OL4 5TB

TEL: 0161 624 1556

Ambience - 4

A friendly pub, just off the main road through Lees and Springhead..

decor - 4

Pale colours, newish comfortable seating

Service - 5

Fast and attentive, friendly staff

real ales - 0

Features - 2

TV screens

pool table

Toilets - 5

Pristine

Score - 20 out of 30 

The Pleasant Inn

The Pleasant Inn, 730 Rochdale Road, Oldham OL2 6XQ

Tel:

It doesn't look like much from the outside, but it really is a pleasant inn to visit, very relaxing with friendly staff. There is one big open room and one slightly smaller one opposite it where the pool table is.

UPDATE 2023: I have been into this pub a few times since I first visited, it is still friendly and relaxing and my favourite pub in my area. But with new management have come a few changes. 

Ambience: - 4

Decor - 4

Newish, comfortable seating

Ale - 0

Samuel Smiths range. One of the few brands of beer that still does mild as well as bitter.

Service - 5

Fast and friendly

Features - 2

Pool table

Bingo on Sunday

The staff used to keep a supply of dog biscuits behind the bar for visiting canines but it is no longer dog friendly. It is not child friendly either. Both dogs and children have to stay outside. There are a couple of tables out front and a couple out back in the car park.

Toilets - 3

TOTAL 18 out of 30

There is a footpath across the road which leads to Tandle Hill park.

The Kings Arms, Grains Bar

The Kings Arms, 4 Delph Road, Grains Bar, Oldham OL4 2JX

0161 652 4216

An eighteenth century pub, on top of a hill, next to what used to be the first toll road from Oldham to Saddleworth (Grains 'Bar', because the road was gated to ensure travellers paid the toll charge for using it). The original Yorkshire-Lancashire county boundary used to run through the building, until it was moved further east in 1972. The fact is commemorated by a sign painted on one of the roof beams. At one time you could have bought your pint in Yorkshire and sat down to drink it in the next county!

    The pub changed management in 2011, this brought about the usual refurbishment but the main change was more comfortable seating and a bigger steak menu. 

UPDATE 2021: As good as ever in all respects.

    

ambience - 4

Lively without being rowdy

décor - 3

Dark wood beams and pale walls, comfortable seats and chairs

service - 4

attentive

real ale - 2

Timothy Taylor Landlord usually available

features- 4

serves food 12-3pm and 6-8pm

children welcomed

dogs welcomed in the bar area (staff will offer your pooch some water if he/she needs any)

toilets - 4

well supplied, dryers work properly

Score 21 out of 30

Bishops Park, which is next to the Kings Head. This is the obelisk at the highest point of the park, which commemorates the Bishop family, who donated the land for public use.

From the obelisk, there are views over Saddleworth to the east...

...and views over Oldham, Rochdale and Winter Hill to the west. On fine evenings, couples park up in the car park to watch the lights coming up over the Greater Manchester conurbation. It's a romantic view, there's a sea of lights to the horizon.



The Railway, Oldham

The Railway, Rochdale Road, Royton, Oldham

There's no indication why this pub is called the Railway when it is a long way from any train station. But a look at the street atlas shows that there is a footpath which starts near the back of the pub and runs between houses in a straight line until it stops at the Rochdale-Manchester Victoria railway line; it looks very like it follows the route of a former branch line.

Ambience - 3

Piped music, not too loud for conversation

Decor - 4

Newish comfortable seating

service - 4

ale - 1

JW Lees cask ale

features -4

serves food during the day
live music at weekends
Quiz night
Comedy night

toilets - 3

Score 19 out of 30

The Church Inn, Oldham

The Church Inn, Middleton Road, Royton, Oldham OL2 5JJ

 0161 624 5424

A neighbourhood pub where nearly all the customers are regulars, with a small bar in a big room with lots of floor space. This, I'm told, is to accommodate the dancers when they have a DJ at weekends.

ambience - 4

homely, comfortable

decor - 2

A bit worn, but the fairy lights round the walls are a nice touch

service - 4

fast and friendly

ale -0

ordinary range of ordinary beverages

features - 2

pool room

karaoke and DJ at weekends

toilets - 3

Score 15 out of 30



The Dog and Duck, Oldham

The Dog and Duck, King Street, Oldham

UPDATE: Alas, the Dog and Duck is no more. It closed shortly after I did this entry and is now tinned up and up for sale.
Update April 2014: still tinned up and no sign of it reopening.  
August 2014: demolished by Oldham Council to make way for a new sports centre.
 

It looks like your average high street pub but this is Oldham's premier gay bar. You wouldn't guess it if you go in around teatime when it's quiet except that the chandeliers and looped pelmet over the bar give it a definite touch of camp, and if you look in the pool room there is a rainbow flag on the wall. Later in the evening, at weekends, it is a friendly, lively fun pub with music (the DJ is often a drag queen) and karaoke.

ambience - 4

decor - 3

well maintained, features original Victorian clay floor tiles in the bar area, decor mostly tasteful but although it's obviously in keeping with the theme of the pub, the pink painted panels in the bar clashed a bit with the rest of the colour scheme. 

service -5

very welcoming

real ales - 0

features - 3

music Thursday, Friday, Saturday

'play your cards right' game Thursdays

karaoke on Sunday

toilets - 3

decent and clean

score 18 out of 30

The Abbey, Oldham

The Abbey, Middleton Road, Oldham

A669, near Oldham College

UPDATE 2022: The Abbey is no more, it was demolished c.2017 to make way for a new sports centre

I am lucky enough to have five pubs within a 200 yard radius of where I live. This pub is one of the five, though it is not one of the best. I think it must have a loyal set of regulars to have survived, two nearby pubs have closed (I used to have seven pubs within 200 yards of where I live!)

Ambience - 1

one big room, one medium sized bar

When I was there they had the TV and the jukebox on loud at the same time,

causing an unpleasant cacophony

Decor - 1

Furniture and floors well worn and drab, poorly maintained

service - 3

Ale - 0

No real ale, usual range of mass produced beverages and spirits

Features -1

Live music at weekends

Toilets - 0

Sorry to say it, but it was the kind of lav that makes you shudder.

The Ladies and the Gents both have identical black doors with no signs, which makes them unnecessarily difficult to find. The Ladies was grubby, smelly and covered with graffiti. And I don't mean artistic graffiti.

Score: 6 out of 30

The Carters Arms, Oldham

The Carters Arms, Rochdale Road, Oldham

 

The Carters Arms, corner of Rochdale Road and Shaw Road, between Oldham town centre and Royton.

Ambience - 4
Decor - 4
Covered with distinctive green tiles on the outside, clean and tasteful on the inside with comfortable furniture.

Ale - 0
No real ale

service - 2
Bar staff more interested in chatting to each other than in serving customers waiting at the bar

features -5
separate pool room 
separate darts room, 
beer garden at the back, 
dogs are allowed in. 
Too many pubs ban four-legged companions when there's no real need to do so. The staff tell me that dogs are admitted on the same terms as humans, "Good behaviour, no fighting or getting rowdy".
disco on Friday nights

Toilets - 3

Score 18 out of 30

The White Hart, Oldham

The White Hart, Rochdale Road, Oldham

A traditional and pleasant pub, but strictly for locals.

ambience - 3
decor - 4               
very comfortable furniture

service - 4             
attentive

ale - 0                  
 no real ales
             
features - 2 
darts and pool room
live music from Friday to Sunday 

toilets - 4
An average lav is made above average by the use of air freshener and a bowl of pot pourri next to the mirrors.

                             

score 17 out of 30

The Old Grey Mare, Oldham

Let's start with a trio of pubs within a mile of each other on Rochdale Road in Oldham. First up is:

UPDATE: The Old Grey Mare has been closed since June 2017. There is still a notice outside offering a new lease. 
UPDATE 2022: The Old Grey Mare is now an Indian restaurant. It used to be the 'go to' pub for away supporters who were going to a match at Oldham Athletic Football ground. I have not heard which pub the away fans go to now.

The Old Grey Mare, Rochdale Road, Oldham

Between Royton and Oldham Town Centre

A pleasant, homely pub with two bars.

Ambience - 4
Decor - 4              The back bar has a pale pine theme and big windows looking on to the
                             beer garden
Service - 4           Prompt and polite
Ale - 1                   Has Theakstons Best Bitter
Features - 3          Has national and local newspapers
                              Beer garden surrounded by greenery at the back
                             Serves food during the day
toilet - 3

SCORE 19 out of 30