The Drinking Dens Of Darwen...

A first ever visit to a town that is Lancashire to its core, where I discover that there are a number of small bars alongside the more traditional pubs that have become an established part of the local social scene....

It was not a simple brief I had given myself. Where to go that was relatively close, somewhere I'd never visited before, and a place that had enough Good Beer Guide pubs to make the journey worthwhile. Not easy, as the list of places that fit that criteria, has gradually got much shorter. And that is why that in the end I settled on Darwen, situated in heart of the West Pennine hills between Blackburn and Bolton, around an hour and 25 minutes away from Halifax by train, and home to three Good Beer Guide listings.

I booked a ticket for the 11.30 to Blackpool North, which involved getting off at Blackburn and from there catching a connecting train to Darwen. I had thought that the worst of the seaside-bound crowds would have passed by then, but as the train pulled into the station, the seething and writhing mass of humanity visible on board through partly-steamed windows showed my thoughts had been misguided. I did manage to find a seat, but it was hemmed in by those who had to stand. Across the aisle a couple were busily and noisily engrossed with each other for the full journey. Music blared out of a tinny speaker from down the carriage. Laughter and shouting, the hiss of a can, the pop of a bottle. As we stopped at Burnley Manchester Road, security on the platform had to restrict the numbers climbing on board the train. As we approached Blackburn, I had to battle my way through those standing in the carriage to get to the door, and it was with a sigh of relief that I popped out on the platform.

The train to Darwen was by contrast roomy and quiet, which made for serene 7 minute journey. It was the first stop, and from the small station I headed down a quiet street towards the town centre. There were some lovely old buildings, virtually all built from millstone grit rather than the red brick you associate with many parts of Lancashire; the library designed by Andrew Carnegie, a huge chapel converted into the local branch of Wetherspoons, and the town hall with its spectacular clock tower overlooking a number of market stalls out front. On the hill above the Jubilee Tower, built in 1897 to honour Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, keeps a watchful eye on the town and its 28,000 or so inhabitants.

Darwen Library

The grand buildings of the town centre reflect Darwen's historic importance as a cotton town. The area's damp weather conditions in a valley beside the River Darwen made it an ideal location for the manufacture of textiles and for a time Samuel Crompton, the inventor of the Spinning Mule, used for spinning cotton, lived in the town. With the construction of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal and the coming of the railways in the 1900's the town was able to capitalise on these advantages. Much of the town dates from between 1850 and 1900, and stone built terraced houses from that period cling to the slopes of the valley. By 1907, the local trade union, the Darwen Weavers, Winders, and Warpers Association, had more than 8,000 members in the town. As the cotton industry fell into decline and the mills closed, other industries sprung up in the town. Crown Paints are based in the town, Anaglypta wallpaper was invented here, as was Perspex which is still manufactured here today. Other employers in the town include Capita, who run TV licensing amongst other things, and Blackburn with Darwen council (Darwen had been a municipal borough in its own right from 1878 to 1974 before it was absorbed into its larger neighbours).

The Good Beer Guide listed three places, which all seemed from their descriptions to be bars or brewpubs, rather than traditional pubs. I walked down to the bottom of the hill where a police van was stationed opposite a traditional pub with a bouncer on the door. It was only 1pm, but with loud cheers emanating from inside, something was going on. It turned the East Lancashire derby match between recently-relegated Burnley and Blackburn Rovers was on Sky. This is one of the fiercest rivalries in the football calendar and it seemed that the local constabulary wanted to ensure passions didn't run too high. A group of guys, presumably not interested in the football, were sat at a picnic table with pints of lager as I turned the corner on to a quiet street stocked with a mix of shops and eateries. I arrived at a bar with a few tables outside with several people enjoying drinks in the sunshine, a couple puffing on roll-ups. 

I had arrived at Number 39 Hopstar Brewery Tap, to give the bar its full title. This is a continental-style cafe bar which is the tap for the Hopstar Brewery, based in the town, whose wares were present on a couple of the 5 hand pumps on the bar. A couple were shuffling around behind the bar. The lady came to serve me and I went for a pint of Bee Blonde, from the Three B's Brewery in Blackburn, the Hopstar beer I'd ordered wasn't yet on. I went and sat at a table opposite the stage (they apparently host live music a couple of times a week), across from the bar. The beer, a 4% pale ale as you would expect from the name, was a refreshing and easy-drinking beer (NBSS 3). The place was fairly quiet, with the feel of an early morning after the night before. People kept coming in, ordering a drink, and then taking it outside. It seemed to be a place where everyone knew everyone else, but that said I was made to feel welcome. The beer I had gone for from Hopstar, Off t'Mill, a 3.9% pale ale was pulled through and I ordered a half. It was another good beer (NBSS 3). Hopstar started brewing in 2004 and supply more than 100 hundreds in Lancashire and Greater Manchester. 

Number 39 Hopstar Brewery Tap, Darwen

I retraced my steps. The guys on the table outside the pub on the corner of Bridge Street had seemingly replenished their glasses. I crossed over and then carried straight on down Duckworth Street. Presently I came to the Bird in th'hand, which also had tables to the front but which at this point were unoccupied. Above the door was a striking mural depicting the theme of the bar's name, which is taken from a former pub that once stood on the site. I walked in to a tidy glass-fronted room with the bar to the left and floor to ceiling wooden shelves to the right crammed with bottles of UK, Belgian, and other international beers as well as ciders and other bits and pieces. The bar is also home to the 12 Steps brewery, which is based in the cellar below, although there were none of the beers on today. There are 4 hand pumps on the bar with 10 keg lines. There are a further couple of rooms and a covered back yard. I ordered a pint of Pike Pale from the Blackedge Brewery in nearby Horwich. This 4% pale beer features Cascade, Simcoe, and Pioneer hops which gives it plenty of citrus flavour with a lasting bitter finish. It was in great condition, which I felt was worth a 3.5 rating based on the National Beer Scoring System. I got talking to the guy behind the bar and asked him about the brewery. The name of the brewery is based on the number of steps down to the cellar, but he isn't currently brewing as he hasn't enough time, but would start again if he could find a suitable lad to give him a hand. The place started to get busier as a broad mix of people - guys wearing football shirts, blokes with dogs, families with kids in tow - came and ordered drinks, most taking them outside into the sun so that by the time I left most of the outside space was taken. The Bird in t'hand was the most pubby of the places I went to in Darwen, and I enjoyed both the beer and the friendly ambience.

Bird in th'hand, Darwen

I left, and carried on down Duckworth Street until just by where it meets the busy A666 I came across the last of Darwen's GBG-listed pubs, the Loom & Shuttle, the name harking back to the old cotton days. This modern single-roomed bar was busy outside at the front, but with plenty of people also enjoying a drink inside too. There was a bit of a bottleneck around the bar, and with it taking a little time my eyes to adjust to the dark interior from the bright sunshine outside, it was a few minutes before I could decide what beer to go for. I ended up with a pint of Equinox, a 4% blonde ale from Mayflower, the Wigan-based brewery who run this somewhat incongruous bar. The guys behind the bar, one with a top knot, the other with a reverse baseball cap, were just the kind of person you find working in a typical craft bar, but whilst they were pouring pints in and amongst, a lot of their time behind the bar was taken up with making cocktails featuring some of the large selection of spirits on the shelves at the back of the bar. I certainly couldn't complain about my beer, though; it was well-balanced and refreshing on this warm afternoon (NBSS 3.5).

Loom & Shuttle, Darwen

I had allowed myself plenty of time in Darwen as I wasn't sure how long it would take to get around, and so with a bit of time left before I needed to get back to the station I decided to visit one more place. According to WhatPub?, there was "a hidden gem of a micro pub on the main road from Blackburn to Darwen", which was half a mile away from the Loom & Shuttle. And so I set off along the main road away from the town centre and after a few minutes I arrived at the Darwen Tap. As with everywhere I had visited over the afternoon there were tables outside with the occupants enjoying the late August sunshine. Inside was an attractive single-room bar with exposed brick walls, light wood shelving, comfortable furnishings which included high stools and comfortable sofas, and with black and white pictures of old Darwen on the walls. Several tables were occupied by couples and a couple of groups of a certain age, whilst on the bar there were 4 hand pumps. I ordered a pint of the 4.5% New Zealand Pale Ale from Reedley Hallows which had plenty of refreshing citrus flavours (NBSS 3). I was glad I made a detour here; this was the best of the bars I had visited in Darwen, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it making the Good Beer Guide at some point.

The Darwen Tap

I made my way back to the station which took about 15 minutes going back the way I'd come, although there would no doubt have been plenty of short cuts via the terraced streets that climb up the hill from the main road. When I got there I didn't have too long to wait for the train back to Blackburn, where I had around half an hour to wait for the train back to Halifax. There is a single CAMRA-listed pub around half a mile from Blackburn station, but it would have been a rush to have been able to enjoy the experience, although it wouldn't deter certain bloggers who can easily cram a pub visit into a couple of minutes! For a place of its size, and with the amount of good beer and pubs in neighbouring Lancashire towns and cities, it is a shame that Blackburn is such a real ale desert, particularly when you consider the town has a proud brewing heritage from the days when Thwaites, Matthew Brown, and Duttons dominated the local scene. Now the last two are long gone, and whilst Thwaites, having sold on their Wainwright brand to Marstons, are still brewing, it is on a much smaller scale and they are no longer based in the town. And so, unless things change significantly when the new Good Beer Guide comes out, I am unlikely to be visiting Blackburn on a beer-related trip anytime soon!

It had been a good afternoon earlier though enjoying a drink in some of the little dens in Darwen, and when my train back to Yorkshire pulled in to the station, it was a relief to discover that it was much quieter and more civilised than the outgoing journey had been....

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