retiredmartin

April 2025. Bolton.

To save reader Spinko guessing, here’s our Bolton itinerary;

A joint effort with Blackpool Jane drawn from the essential Matthew Curtis Manchester Guide and those curious “locals tip”. I’d done them all before years ago; Jane was a Bolton debutant. Would it end like this;

We all made a bit of a hash of finding Pub No.1.

One For The Road (aka Great Ale at the Market, do keep up) definitely is in the big indoor market station,

(hope that map helps), but it’s not as expected in amongst the food hall, which is a shiny new one at the entrance.

Our GBG pub is right amongst the offal and handbags and phone repair stalls, all of which are long closed at 5pm. The only sign of life is us, and that’s a bit dubious.

Ah, there it is, a simple but quality little bar.

I knew One for the Road closes at 5:30, too, and I’ve warned Jane that I’ll order her beer for her if it looks likes she’s missing last orders.

But young barman Danny assures us he’s not rushing us out despite having an assignation with an oven, and a few minutes after our arrival we get a call from Jane “Where is it ! It’s all closed “.

Mrs RM dispatches me to find Jane by a system of call-and-response amongst the boarded up stalls, and finally stumbles on a row of hand pumps.

If I was being uncharitable I’d say this is the line-up of a “value” Lancastrian micro (£3 a pint, just like the Old Days), you know the type,

but more charitably they’re local and that Empire Moonraker Stout is a rich NBSS 4. Jane follows suit.

Danny had joined us at the trestle tables with a cheery “Aven’t seen you for a while” which is Boltonian for “Where you from ?“.

Young folk don’t know how to talk to Old Codgers (not you, Jane) they say.

Danny could, and impressed us with tales of business ventures, including his fantastic looking cakes available the next morning outside the town hall.

Sorry, Danny, we had to fly off. Next time…