99 The Woodman Inn - Ashton-under-Lyne

First  visited : 31 May  2015

The  Woodman  is  about  half  a  mile  outside  of  the  town  centre  where  Wilshaw  Lane  joins  Oldham  Road.

As  it's  in  or  near  to  the  nicer  end  of  Ashton   I  had  some  hopes  this  one  would  be  a  nice  call  but  was  rather  disappointed. The  pub  lives  up  to  its  name  by  having  a  lot  of  wood  panelling  but  it  looks  odd  rather  than  attractive. In  particular  it's  created  a  very  strange  little  lounge  with  just  one  table  in  the  centre  and  any  olde  worlde  charm  cancelled  out  by  a  giant  TV  screen  on  the  wall. Elsewhere  the  seating  looks  a  little  shabby  and  the  walls  are  overdecorated  with  football  and  film  star  posters  without  rhyme  or  reason.

Although  there's  a  handwritten  notice  on  the  wall  warning  that  local  residents  have  got  diary  sheets  ready  to  record  any  disturbance  at  closing  time, the  few  patrons  when  we  called  were  a  handful  of  old  men  checking  out  the  racing. One,  not  noticeably  Scottish,  guy  was  waiting  for  the  Scottish  Cup  Final   on  Sky  which  seemed  particularly  sad. It  was  friendly  enough  but  there  was  no  reason  to  call  again.