No Humble Pie In Wigan....

A return to the famous Lancashire town of Wigan for the first time since I visited the town's beer festival in that strange period when Covid cases were increasing and rumours of an impending lockdown started to swirl around. And so with no festival on this time (or so I thought) my plan was to take in a number of pubs in the town centre that I'd not visited last time....

Last time I visited Wigan I had introduced the town as follows: "Home of the so-called Pie-Eaters. Home of Uncle Joe's Mint Balls. The location of the former Empress Ballroom, which in the 1970's morphed into Wigan Casino, the spiritual home of Northern Soul. A town whose famous people include George Formby, Stuart Maconie, Andy Gregory, Kay Burley, and Georgie Fame. A traditional rugby league town. A former mining and mill town. The inspiration for George Orwell's The Road to Wigan Pier, in which he highlighted the poor living conditions of Britain's working class. A historic town, with many old buildings, incorporated as a borough following the issue of a Royal Charter by King Henry III in 1246. There are a lot of different sides to Wigan." And I couldn't really add to what I wrote back then in 2020. 

It had been a fairly quick decision to go to there, maybe it had been subconsciously influenced by having seen Stuart Maconie the other week. Whatever it was, the day saw me leaving home and going for the 1116 from Halifax to Manchester Victoria. It was though running late, which put my connection to Wigan in jeopardy, so instead I bailed out at Rochdale where, after a short wait, there was a train heading to the curiously-named Headbolt Lane in Kirkby which went via Wigan Wallgate. In the end I arrived in to Wigan about half an hour later than planned, and once there, I set off on my tour of the town.

Just down from the station was the imposing redbrick edifice of the Swan & Railway (opening image), which I hadn't gone in last time as it was in a rare year when it wasn't in the Good Beer Guide. Its subsequent restoration and a number of enthusiastic reviews from the likes of Matthew Curtis in Manchester's Best Beer, Pubs, and Bars had made it a priority to visit today, although I was heading somewhere else first.

Just around the corner, occupying a couple of arches in the railway bridge on which sits part of Wigan's other railway station, North Western, is the suitably railway-themed Wigan Central. I had called in here last time before getting the train home and remembered a good bar with a good atmosphere, then run by the former Prospect Brewery who were based in the town and a number of their beers had been available alongside a few guest ales. This time, with the house beer now brewed by Bank Top, several guests on hand pump on tap were augmented by several more as this current Wigan CAMRA Pub of the Year was hosting an Autumn Beer Festival! A second bar featuring hand pumps with a wall of keg beers was set up in the far room, I ordered a pint of the 3.4% It Belongs In A Museum on hand pump, a predictably very good pale ale from Sureshot (NBSS 3.5). I surveyed the festival beer list; there were some very good beers included on both cask and keg. This was not what I needed when I was planning a tour of the town's pubs! So I decided to limit myself to another a couple of halves here before moving on. So I went for a half of Shenanigans, a 4.5% pale ale from a local brewery I'd not seen for a while, Problem Child, who brew at the back of the Wayfarer pub in the Lancashire village of Parbold. It was pleasant enough without being astonishing ( NBSS 3). And finally, I had a half of the 3.4% Dinner Party from Knutsford brewers Weekend Project, which was likewise pleasant but a little thin and short on character (NBSS 3). I could quite happily have stayed here all day, but it was time to move on!

I could have stayed all day at Wigan Central!

It was then back around the corner to the afore-mentioned Swan & Railway. You enter into an attractive tiled drinking lobby with a room off to the left, there is a servery on the right which is at the back of the bar which faces out into a narrow room. Head down the corridor and there is a larger room which is known as the Syd Abram Suite, named after the Wigan player who scored the first try in a Wembley rugby league cup final. The pub is a Grade ll-listed building which was built in 1898, and won the 2021 Historic England Award for Conservation after a stunning restoration of the pub to its former Victorian glory. There is much tiling and wood-panelling, a marble top bar, stained glass, with banquette seating as well as lots of little historic touches and flourishes to add to the sense of history as you walk around the building. Old sepia photos of the town in bygone days and famous inhabitants are displayed on the walls. 

Moving on to the beer, the bar offers a range of 7 hand-pulled beers, of which Bank Top Mild and Draught Bass are regulars, with the other 5 as guests. From this group I selected a pint of Loweswater Gold, the flagship beer from Cumbrian Ales, which I hadn't seen outside the Lake District before, and with the room featuring the bar pretty full, I went to the room across the corridor to drink it. There were a few guys sat quietly watching Newcastle and Arsenal on one of several flat-screen TVs around the pub (presumably not dating back to Victorian times!) as I took a seat in a corner by the window. The beer was another good one, and as at Wigan Central had come in below the £4 mark. Loweswater Gold, with an ABV of 4.3%, is a well-balanced beer, quite fruity at first but then has a slightly bitter, dry finish which means it is quite refreshing and moreish, which I rated as a 3.5 on the NBSS scale. Despite that, I went back to the bar and got myself a half of the Draught Bass which was similarly in fine form (NBSS 3.5). Whilst I was enjoying it, a guy from behind the bar came in, said nothing, changed the TV from the football to rugby league featuring England and Samoa, and then left without saying anything. Nobody batted an eyelid. I shouldn't have been surprised, of course, I was in Wigan. I finished my beer and headed on my way; the Swan & Railway is a classic pub, and you should make a point of calling in if you get chance. And you can even stay over, with the pub having a number of rooms to let.

The Swan & Railway, Wigan

It was a few minutes walk to the next pub. I headed back up Wallgate, past the station entrance, fast food places, and shops advertising news & vapes. I turned off on to a quieter street with some attractive buildings. I had a view of All Saints Church, whose bells were ringing merrily out over the grey afternoon streets. I turned up Dorning Street and having walked past a disused half-timbered building, which looked like it could have once been a pub, I came to a large redbrick affair which housed the next pub on my list.

I had arrived at the Anvil, another imposing building situated on a corner close to Wigan Bus Station. I walked in to a very busy pub, great friendly atmosphere, the rugby league on a number of screens watched by an enthralled crowd. Whilst I was acknowledged by the bar staff as soon as I approached the bar, it was a couple of minutes before I could get close enough to it due to a wall of bodies so I could see what was on, and then place my order. One of the wall lifted the glass in front of them, and through a tiny gap twixt chubby arm and ample body I spotted a handpump clip for Salopian Hoptwister, so I ordered a pint as the guys behind the bar had continued to keep me in their eye. The beer was handed over and, struggling to find anywhere to sit or even lean, I found a quiet section of the pub where there was a knot of guys quietly following the football scores online and murmuring the scores between them. I am happy to report that the Hoptwister was very good indeed (NBSS 3.5), the pub was friendly, and welcoming, although the bar blockers were irritating, and had I not visited both Wigan Central and the Swan & Railway earlier the Anvil could possibly have made more of an impression.

The Anvil, Wigan

A few minutes walk away and, like the Anvil, close to the bus station, situated on a corner down an alley in Wigan's Victorian Quarter I came across the Tap n' Barrel which is a more modern and attractively decorated bar with 6 handpumps, which had 3 selling beer and 3 dedicated to cider. From the cask beers on offer I ordered a half of Hawkshead Windermere Pale, which its usual pleasant self (NBSS 3). The bar was quite busy with several dogs and their owners sat in the area close to the doorway. Overall though, whilst it was another friendly spot, it couldn't match the character of the earlier pubs I had visited.

The Tap 'n' Barrel. Wigan

It was a few minutes walk to my next stop. On the way I passed a fantastic example of signage and ceramic tiling advertising the long-lost Barker's Huyton Ales on the side of a former pub, staring out over a row of wooden hoardings, an old solid-looking redbrick mill now operating as a centre for technical studies, and a few other references to Wigan's past as I headed into a residential area on the edge of the town centre.

I soon arrived at Real Crafty, which has a striking black and white exterior with a low-walled yard to the front. As the name implies, it offers a range of craft beers along with up to 5 cask ales on handpump. It was from the keg selection that I chose my beer, a half of this year's release of Steady Rolling Strata, which is a limited edition version of Deya's flagship NEIPA but with the regular hop bill replaced by freshly-harvested Strata hops. The beer, which had only just become available, was full of tropical fruit aromas and a delicious citrus flavour. I was tempted to get another half but instead I decided to get a pork pie, something I had to do as I was in Wigan. And go on, why are Wiganers often called pie-eaters? Well, this all came about apparently because during the 1926 General Strike the local miners were starved back to work before neighbouring areas and thus had to eat humble pie. And the name has stuck ever since. I liked Real Crafty, it had a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere with cheerful staff, friendly customers, and a great beer selection.

Real Crafty, Wigan

I headed back down into town along Standishgate, and then up the hill and back down Wallgate to the station, where I discovered I had mixed up the time of my train. So with an extra 20 minutes on hand it was back down to the Swan & Railway for a half of California, a clean drinking 3.8% golden ale from the local Wigan Brewhouse (NBSS 3). The pub was busier than when I'd left earlier as the shifts crossed over between the daytime drinkers and the early-evening revellers. As I walked back up to the station for the train home I reflected on a great afternoon in a friendly town with some great beer and outstanding pubs. Wiganers have definitely no reason to eat humble pie based on this showing....

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