Last weekend I took my first trip to Chorley for a few years and enjoyed an excellent beer festival with a difference. Not based in one place, it was spread across 13 venues in the centre of this friendly central Lancashire town. I didn't go to all of them but I had a lovely afternoon in the places I did visit....
It had been almost exactly 6 years since I had last visited Chorley, and so I had a fair bit of catching up to do. When I'd heard about this multi-venue beer festival earlier in the week I thought it would give me the chance to do just that. So on a wet Saturday morning I caught the train from Halifax to Preston, and from there onwards to Chorley, around 12 minutes away. A former mill town, like many in Lancashire, Chorley owed its development to the cotton industry, but today other than the rows of terraced houses which were built for the cotton workers few signs remain. It is now home to a number of varied industries and given its proximity to other Lancashire towns such as Wigan, Preston, and Bolton, with Manchester a little further away, its attractive surroundings have made it popular as a commuter town.
I alighted from the train and it was only a couple of minutes' walk from the station to the first pub I had earmarked, one that I had been in before but not on the last visit. The Malt 'N' Hops is a traditional-looking street corner pub although in actual fact it was a shop until 1989. Both inside and out it certainly looks the part, and when I walked in there were plenty of people already in enjoying the selection of beers on offer. The bar consists of an L-shaped room with the bar in one corner, with wood panelling, glazed partitions, and a slightly raised area creating several different sections. On the bar there were several beers on hand pump from the likes of Blackedge, Goose Eye, Ossett, Thornbridge, and Wily Fox. Not wanting to go for anything too strong too early I went for a Blackedge Session Pale, a 3.5% deliciously light and happy ale with plenty of citrus flavours. It was in great condition (NBSS 4), a great way to start the day. I bought myself a beef and onion sandwich and a festival programme (a pound each), and planned out where to go over the course of the afternoon, getting slightly irritated as I did by a group of middle-aged guys who were exchanging banter and stories which provoked much loud laughter at their adjacent table. I also grabbed a copy of the local CAMRA mag, Ale Cry, and a Chorley Real Ale Trail Map - great work on behalf of us beer drinkers, Central Lancs CAMRA! It was good to re-visit the Malt' N' Hops; with excellent beer and a friendly welcome, it is a proper pub.
 |
| Malt 'N' Hops, Chorley: a proper pub |
It was then a short walk under a railway bridge and over the bypass into the town centre. The loud guys from the next table had left at the same time as me and as I heard them saying they were going to the Shepherds next, I decided to go instead to the Ale Station, although I felt bad about my earlier irritation a moment later when one of the guys hauled me back from inadvertently stepping out in front of a turning car! And, as if to balance things out, the Ale Station was not yet open!
I decided to head down Chapel Street into the compact town centre. The sun was shining now after the wet start and the pink-blossomed trees in the churchyard of St George's Parish Church were a lovely sight. In fact, several of the shops and cafes along the busy street were attractively decorated with hanging baskets and bunting for the upcoming St George's Day. I turned off towards the market, where it was even busier. And then I heard the unmistakable sounds of be-clogged feet, bells, and the clash of wooden staves, accompanied by whistles and a squeeze box. It could only mean one thing - morris dancers! And there were loads of them, and what's more, I had to fight my way through to make it to my second pub of the day! There was nothing about this in the programme!
When I got there I found the Flat Iron to be a smartly done out town pub with 6 hand pumps on the bar and seemingly a flat screen TV on every wall, including a huge one along one end of the bar. It was quite busy, but I got served quickly enough with a pint of Skylark, a 4% pale ale from Wily Fox Brewery of Wigan (NBSS 3), which like everywhere I went over the afternoon was pretty reasonably-priced. I retreated to an alcove across from the bar and depending which way I sat, I could have seen the end of Leeds United's latest defeat at Fulham from one of 4 different TVs! Another decent pub, though I did think that maybe the pub which was previously the Market Tavern and with not an iron in sight should maybe be re-branded as the Flat Screen TV!
 |
| Morris dancers limbering up outside the Flat Iron in Chorley |
The morris was still being danced enthusiastically as I battled my way around the corner to Fazakerley Street, home of the Shed & Garden. Done out in a rustic style with panels of wood lining the walls, the bar expanded from the original Shed in to premises next door, which with picnic tables, pergola, etc, has an outdoor feel despite being most definitely indoors! The place was quite empty, but there were plenty people outside with their drinks watching the dancing. I ordered a half of the 3.9% Rakau from Blackedge. The lad behind the bar was clearly bored by looking at the sight of morris dancing out in the street beyond the bar, and maybe sensed a kindred spirit when I said, no I wouldn't be going outside, I would be staying in. The truth was I just wanted to consult the programme for the next place to go (in actual fact, I tend to view morris dancing with a slightly amused indifference), after all I had work to do! The beer, another pale, was in good condition (NBSS 3), although I don't tend to find the Rakau hop has enough about it to be interesting on its own. Well worth a visit here, though.
 |
| The Shed & Garden, Chorley |
I finished my beer, stepped outside, and leaving the morris dancers in my wake, walked the short distance to my next stop. I had been looking forward to this since I'd picked up the programme. It was the taproom of Ben's Brewery, which is a family-run brewery set up in 2021 in part of the warehouse of an office furniture business in the town. Ben's Tap & Bottle Shop is situated close by, opposite the indoor market, and was busy with most of the tables taken. From the array of handpumps, I ordered a pint of Wellington, a 3.8% New Zealand pale ale which I found lightly hopped, quite dry, and well-balanced, all-in-all a very good beer (NBSS 3.5). The brewery does a range of cask and keg beers, with some of the beer names referencing events and characters from British history. The bar was busy, with several customers watching a live stream of Bolton Wanderers v Shrewsbury Town, there was a friendly atmosphere, and as I left a cheerful middle-aged guy who I assumed was one the family members asked me if I'd enjoyed the beer and the visit, which I had.
 |
| Ben's Tap & Bottle Shop, Chorley |
I could see the next place from inside Ben's. I had called there on my last visit to Chorley, and I had to walk into the market to get served. The Bob Inn is a tiny micro pub housed in a market stall, with a lounge in a neighbouring stall, and there is additional seating inside and outside. It was busy, and it was impossible to get close enough to the bar to be absolutely certain what I was drinking, but I believe it was a 3.9% Pale from Howzat, the brewery set up at the award-winning Cricketers Arms in St Helens. Whatever it was, it was very good, a well-balanced refreshing beer which I rated NBSS 4 and was one of the best beers I had all day. It was another friendly place, the small size making it impossible not to talk to your neighbour at the bar or in the lounge where I got a seat, and where I got chatting to Steve, an ex army-man who'd done his training at the former Wellesley Barracks in Halifax.
 |
| The tiny Bob Inn, Chorley Market |
I headed out of the market and back out towards Chapel Street. Opposite the church was the next place I had earmarked, another that hadn't been open on my last visit to the town. In fact, the unusually-named Nelipots Bar only opened in 2019, in a former weaver's cottage which you enter via steps from the street. Inside there is a room with seating at the front, the bar beyond with a few stools and shelving opposite. There is additional seating upstairs, with another bar in the garden room out the back. It was quirkily decorated throughout. The beer choice here was somewhat more adventurous, with beers from the likes of Beer Ink, Big Bog, Pentrich, Verdant, and Pollys featuring in the programme. That said, it was Day 3 of the Pub Festival, and I don't think any of the above were on, but I was more than happy with a pint of cask Dog Days, a 4.2% hazy pale from Bang The Elephant Brewing, which was excellent (NBSS 4), and probably the best pint I had all day. There was a really friendly atmosphere here as well, and I would recommend a stop here if you are in Chorley.
 |
| Nelipot's Bar, Chorley |
And from there it was only a short walk to the now open Ale Station, which looks like it was built in an old railway arch. It was all ok, but not the most interesting place I had been to over the afternoon in terms of beer choice, but I have to say that when I walked in I was struck by the warm, friendly atmosphere, with plenty of couples with kids and/or dogs in tow sat around. Now whether they had come to check out the departure times from the nearby railway station on the live screen, I don't know, but they all seemed pretty chilled. I ordered a half of Abbeydale Deception from a fairly conservative beer selection, but I quite enjoyed this 4.1% pale from a bastion of the Sheffield beer scene (NBSS 3).
And from there it was across the road to the grandly-monikered Shepherds Hall Ale House & Victoria Rooms, situated in a striking corner building (opening image). This was my 3rd visit here, my previous visits had been to the original micro pub - the town's first - on Chapel Street before they'd taken on the adjacent Victoria Rooms, changing their business massively. There are two entrances, one into the original micro which retains more of a bar feel, whilst the Victoria Rooms is more like a lounge, with plenty of additional seating. I couldn't see what beers were on when I went in via the new bit, so I wandered through into the original bar, where there were plenty of beers on both cask and tap on the board. Despite there being 5 beers on hand pump, I decided I would finish with a pint from the taps, and went for an old favourite, Never Known Fog Like It from Rivington, based a few miles down the road. I enjoyed this 5.2% murky pale which is hopped with Citra, Mosaic, Simcoe, and Chinook which gives the beer a delicious juicy fruitiness. A great beer on which to finish, in a bar which has never disappointed, which had a great vibe and very friendly staff.
It had been seeing a post from the Shepherd's Facebook feed during the week mentioning the Chorley Pub Festival which had prompted me to make the trip over the Pennines, and I hadn't been disappointed. It made a change from a regular beer festival and got me to try several different places in what I have to say is a splendid pub town. And as there are several other places that were also participating in the festival that I didn't get to try through a combination of time and a wish to retain a degree of sobriety, I have enough reason to make a return trip over some time....
Follow me on twitter: @realalemusic
Comments
Post a Comment