Two in Chorley, the Flat Iron and Pearsons

 

Pearsons

72 Market Street, Chorley, PR7 2SE

TEL: 01257 273467

This pub has been through some name changes. It has been called the George, Yates's Wine Lodge, ID The Place To Be, The Blob. Then it closed for a while and reopened in 2013 under its current name. There's no information why it's been called Pearsons.

Decor - 3

muted colours, bit worn-looking

ambience - 4

lively, crowded

service -2

distracted, clumsy

The place was busy and the barman tried to serve three people at the same time, which

didn't quite work

real ales - 2

They had Lancaster IPA when I was there

features - 3

TV screens

live music and karaoke

dart board

large beer garden though completely plant and flower free, so I'm not giving it a point

toilets - 3

Score 17 out of 30

The New Inn, Middleton

 

The New Inn

34 Long Street, Middleton, Manchester M24 6QU

No phone number listed

An unpretentious, friendly high street pub.

decor - 3

Blue, grey and white with wooden beams

ambience - 4 

very welcoming

real ales - 0

service - 4

welcoming

features - 4

pool table

darts

TV screens

live music at weekends

toilets - 3

Score 18 out of 30

The Alehouse, Clitheroe

 

The Alehouse

12-14 Market Place, Clitheroe BB7 2DA

TEL: 07547359853

Didn't get a picture, I may get one on a return visit to Clitheroe.

This place opened in 2015 and is not a traditional pub but is converted from a double shop premises. I'm all for new bars being opened since so many traditional pubs have closed down (and are still closing down) but the premises have to be suitable. This place is too narrow and cramped to make a good pub. What redeems it is that it serves nothing but cask ales. 

decor - 1

very few pictures or ornaments, wooden interior upstairs and down.

ambience - 2

Lively but both the upstairs and downstairs rooms are narrow and cramped, making it difficult to move around safely between the bar and your seat, and avoid being walked into  by male customers who have already imbibed a bit.  The small space  means there are few seats anyway. 

Service - 1

slow

Real ales - 5

Five taps on the downstairs bar that serve nothing but cask ales

features - 2

Does gift cards to give to family and friends

TV in downstairs bar

toilets - 3

Disabled access is almost non existent. Narrow entrance. The toilets are up a steep flight of stairs and there are none on the ground floor.

Score 14 out of 30

The White Lion, Clitheroe

The White Lion, 11 Market Place, Clitheroe BB7 2BZ

TEL: 01200 426995

decor - 3

muted greens and browns

ambience - 2

underventilated and muggy

service - 2

slow

real ale - 0

features - 4

dog friendly

pool

darts

TV

toilets - 3

Score 14 out of 30

 

The Railway, Bromley Cross

 

The Railway

37 Chapeltown Road, Bromley Cross, BL7 9LY

TEL: 01204 324601

This reopened in 2018 after being closed and derelict for some time. It closed again in 2022 but reopened late in 2023. It is directly across the road from the railway station and an easy walk from Jumbles Reservoir..

decor - 3

ambience - 3

service - 3

real ales - 1

features - 3

serves food

TV screens

big pub garden

toilets - 3

Score 16 out of 30

Unusual feature: in the pub garden at the back it has an ancient horse chestnut tree with a massive trunk that I estimate at 12 feet in diameter. There are a few younger ones which might be the offspring of this ancient tree.

The Garsdale, Bury

 

The Garsdale

Woodhill Road, Bury BL8 1BT

TEL: 0161 764 1968

Country pub just outside Bury, near Burrs Country Park.It was refurbed and given a dining room back in 2003. It is close to the ruins of Higher Woodhill Mill and used to be the mill manager's house, so must date from the mid-19th century, though it doesn't look that old.

Disabled access isn't bad.

ambience - 2

Another occasion when I was in a pub early lunchtime early in the week, when it was bound to be quiet. Except it wasn't all that quiet, there was piped music playing, including out in the big beer garden.

decor - 3

Brown. 

real ale -2

Two guest ales

Service - 1

I don't think all the staff are the same but I got the bar person who was blank faced and offhand and dead slow at serving.

features - 4

Serves food

dog friendly

Nice big beer garden out back that looks on to a field but I'm not a bit impressed by the plastic lawn. 

monthly open mic night

weekly quiz night

toilets - 4

Pristine

Score 16 out of 30

The Forester's Arms, Prestwich, Bury

 The Forester's Ams

444 Bury New Road

Prestwich M25 1AZ

TEL: 0161 511 5866

No photographs of this one because I didn't have my camera with me when I passed by. It's a newish pub, dates from the 1960s, and like many buildings from that decade has an unprepossessing look. It blends in with the buildings on either side of it and is hard to spot until you get close to it. It has a recessed entrance in the middle, the door on one side leading to the public bar, the one in the other side to the lounge.

decor -2

ambience - 3

Average high street pub with nondescript interior.

service - 4

friendly

real ales - 0

It's a Holts pub

Features - 4

pool table

darts board

quiz nights

TV

toilet - 3

Score 16 out of 30

The Swan, Whalley

 

The Swan Hotel

62 King Street, Whalley BB7 9SN

TEL: 01254 916685

An 18th century coaching inn that used to be a staging post for the mail to and from Manchester. A grade II listed building.

Decor - 2

A bit bland in cream, light brown and grey

Ambience - 2

Noisy. Piped music too loud for conversation.

Service - 2

Inattentive and the staff seem not too well trained. The person who served me had trouble using the till.

Real ale - 0

A Timothy Taylor pub

Features - 2

small food menu

TV screens on every wall

Toilets - 4

Floor a bit grubby but fully supplied

Score 12 out of 30

 

The Dog Inn, Whalley

 

The Dog Inn

55 King Street, Whalley BB7 9SP

TEL: 01254 823009

A seventeenth century pub, with the date 1641 over the door, this is Whalley's oldest pub. It was originally called the Spotted Dog and was a farmhouse up to the 19th century and sold only beer. At some point it expanded into the shop premises next door. You can see on the inside that it was once two different premises.

decor - 2

shabby

ambience - 3

Inviting

Service - 2

A bit off hand

Real ales - 4

Included Portmadog dark ale and Golden Salamander when I was there (May 2024)

Features - 4

TV 

pool table

dog friendly

Serves food

Toilets - 3

Score 18 out of 30

 

The Railway, Marple

The Railway

223 Stockport Road, Rose Hill, Marple SK6 6EN

0161 427 2146

This was the pub in Marple that I left out when I did the pubs there a few years ago. It is a little way out of the town centre next to Marple Rose Hill train station. This is the last station left of the line that used to run from Marple to Macclesfield and which is now a 10 mile footpath, cycle path and bridle path that runs between the two towns called the Middlewood Way.

Ambience - 3

Relaxed

decor - 3

brown and cream colour scheme, comfortable seating. Seats on the balcony at the back.

Service - 4

Friendly

Real ale - 3

 It's a Robinsons pub. When I visited it had Citra and Dizy Blonde pale ale and Wizzard bitter.

Features - 5

Serves food between 12 and 2

dog friendly

TV sport

Regular quiz, karaoke and other events

Right next to the Middlewood Way

Toilets - 3

Dryer didn't work

Score 20 out of 30

 

The Railway and Naturalist, Prestwich

 

The Railway and Naturalist, 464 Bury New Road, Prestwich M25 1AX

0161 773 9909

I had to try and find out why this pub has such an unusual name. Internet searches are generally shallow and are not primary evidence of the history of anything, but of two possible theories this is the most plausible: The pub was built in 1850 and was originally called just The Naturalist. Three famous botanists, Richard Buxton, James Percival and John Horsfield used to meet there. All three are buried in St Mary's graveyard in Prestwich. When the railway line began to be built through Prestwich the pub came to be frequented by labourers on the railway and from 1870 the name was changed to the Railway and Naturalist (the railway line was completed in 1879.)

Decor - 3

Ambience - 4

Real ale - 0

It's a Timothy Taylor pub, no guest ales when I was there

Service - 5

Very prompt and welcoming

Features - 2

TV screens all over the lounge

Karaoke

Toilets - 4

Score 18 out of 30

The White Horse, Prestwich

 

The White Horse, 466 Bury New Road, Prestwich, M25 1AX

0161 798 9172

A high street pub with a big open space in front of the bar and two side rooms.

It's in the centre of Prestwich village.

Decor - 5

mostly new

ambience - 4

friendly atmosphere

real ale - 2

It's a Joseph Holt pub and had two guest ales when I was there

service - 3

features - 1

TV sport

Toilets - 4

Score 19 out of 30

The Goyt Inn, Whaley Bridge

The Goyt Inn, 8 Bridge Street, Whalley Bridge, High Peak SK23 7LR

Smallish pub down a side street off the main road. It no longer serves food, despite what it says on the sign outside.

decor - 2

Dark. Single room, filled with small tables and stools, cramped. Beer garden has only two tables in a narrow backyard.

ambience - 3

lively

service - 4

friendly

real ale - 5

features - 2

dog friendly 

TV 

toilet - 3

Score 19 out of 30