119 Halfway House - Thornham

First  visited : 30  January  2016

We've  dropped  the  ball  a  bit  here  and  missed  out  perhaps  half  a  dozen  pubs  in  the  centre  of  Royton  but  I  can  see  how  it  happened. I  was  initially  using  the  little  red  notebook  for  two  separate  things, one  to  record  the  pubs  passed  and  second  to  write  up  the  trips. Therefore  the  book  starts  with  the  pubs  noted  on  the  14th  October , then  I  left  the  next  5  pages  blank  for  pub  names  before  starting  an  account  of  the  Stoodley  Pike  walk  that  day. Unfortunately  that  never  got  finished  but  I  was  still  intending  to  complete  it   so  when  the  Tipplers  Inn  filled  up  the  last  line  on  the  pages  I'd  left  blank  for  pub  names,  I  had  to  judge  how  many  pages   I'd  need  to  complete  the  Stoodley  Pike  story  before  resuming  the  pub  list. While  I  was  pondering  that  the  bus  whizzed  on  and  so  a  few  pubs  got  missed. I  hope  that  makes  sense.

The  Halfway  House  is  so  named  because  its  half  way  up  the  slope  on  the  flank  of  Tandle  Hill  as  Rochdale  Road  climbs  out  of  Royton  towards  Thornham  Summit. It's  a  John  Willie  Lees  pub  and  seems  to  be  thriving. It's  quite  large  inside , well-lit and  tidy  , with  a  central  bar  serving  separate  areas  for  games / football  watching   and  dining. We  were  a  bit  too  early  for  eating  so  I  couldn't  tell  you  much  about  the  food  but  they  had  a  fair  few  uniformed  young  staff  waiting  around  so  I'm  guessing  it  does  get  quite  busy. The  drinks  seemed  a  bit  expensive.

118 The Tippler's Inn - Royton

Not  visited

There's  a  mention  of  it  on  a  Royton  messageboard  to  prove  it  wasn't  just  a  figment  of  my  imagination  but  otherwise  I've  drawn  a  complete  blank  on  this  one. Anyone  know  anything  more  about  it ?

117 The Marston Tavern - Royton

Not  visited

This  was  on  the  left  hand  side  of   Rochdale  Road. It  closed  in  2011  and  there  is  now  an  Italian  restaurant  on  the  site. I'm  not  sure  whether  any  of  the  original  building  survives.

116 The White Hart

First  visited :  24  January  2016

The  White  Hart  is  a  little  further  on  towards  Rochdale  on  the  right  hand  side. It  looks  spruce  on  the  outside  and  it's  well  maintained  inside  too . It's  sparsely  decorated  but  clean  and  tidy  with  a  number  of  screens  for  football, a  games  room  and  space  for  live  music  on  Fridays. It  has  a  kids  play  area  at  the  back  but  doesn't  appear  to  do  food  which  is  an  odd  combination.

There  were  few  in  it  this  Sunday  afternoon  with  Everton  v  Swansea  on  the  box  but  there  was  a  tasty  barmaid  called  Kirsty  who  was  quite  pleasant.

In  the  games  room  there  was  a  framed  and  signed  picture  of  Joe  Royle  and  I  suspect  it's  getting  by  on  match  day  business.