April 2025. Bolton.
Our intrepid trio decided six (6) pubs in Bolton would do, what with Jane having to catch a train to the wild, untamed lands of Blackpool.
The night might have ended earlier, if the Ukrainian Club had had vodka, or we’d succumbed to the liquor in the Old Man and Scythe.
I sense you could have a very cheap and cheery night out in Bolton*, but our final pub looked the classiest of the half-dozen.
Northern Monkey’s bar had dazzled me with its popcorn stout in 2019, and I was a bit disappointed to see popcorn replaced with sensible beer styles like Macaroon and Lemon Drizzle.
Jane was in her element; ALL the bars in Blackpool look like this. The day before we’d misread the website and confused the Northern Monkey Bar (rarely shut) with the Northern Monkey Tap (rarely open),
and made hay with a flight of the daft ones.
Mrs RM was finished by now, and I could only manage a half of a rare Fierce on cask (NBSS 3), which just shows what a true pro Jane is. That Macaroon Monster was a stunning imperial stout.
And then we escorted Jane to her platform, with a promise we’d survey the Piggy Banks (last Untappd check-in Thatchers Cloudy Lemon) across the road for her.
Jane, we failed.
*Sadly, none of the pubs looked that busy on a Friday night, despite keen pricing and cheery locals. All the more reason to visit.
retiredmartin 