143 The Belle Vue - Halliwell Road

Not  visited

The  Belle  Vue  was  on  the  opposite  side  of  Halliwell  Road. It  closed  around  2011  and  is  now  a  bedroom  showroom.

142 Lamb Hotel - Halliwell Road

First  visited : 10  August  2017

The  Lamb's  name  was  changed,  around  2010,  to  The  Claremont  Arms. possibly  due  to  confusion  with The  Lamb Inn  at  Astley  Bridge  which  is  barely  a  mile  away. It's  divided  into  two  rooms  Best  Room  to  the  right  and  Vault  to  the  left. "Vault"  is  a  bare  games  room  , "Best  Room" is a  large  open  room  with  a  stage  in  the  corner, nice  enough  and  clean  but  not  not  enough  to  warrant  a  recommendation. The  pub  proclaims  a "25  and  Over"  policy  ( perhaps  due  to  an  incident  with  an  imitation  shot  gun  a  few  years  ago )  but  I  can't  really  understand  why. The  pub's  not  in  a  nice  enough  area  to  attract  a  more  gentil  clientele  and,  judging  from  my  visit  today,  they  can  ill  afford  to  shut  anyone  out.

141 Robin Hood - Halliwell Road ( Bolton )

Not  visited

The  Robin  Hood  was  further  down  towards  Bolton. It  closed  about  6  years  ago  and  is  now  a  boxing  gym  owned  by  Tyson  Fury.

140 The Peels Arms - Halliwell Road ( Bolton )

First  visited  : 1  June  2017

This  one's  a  bit  further  down  Halliwell  Road  and  was  once , I'm  reliably  informed, Bolton's  gay  pub.  I'd  only  just  have  known  what  that  meant  ( c/o  Tom  Robinson ) back  in  1978.

There's  little  sign  of  that  history  now  in   the  re-christened  pub. It's  now  a  Wanderers  supporters  pub , designed  for  Sky-watching  with  a  screen  in  every  corner. It's  open, charmless  and  unfriendly  and  I  won't  be  re-visiting.

139 The Crofters' Arms - Smithills

First  visited  : 16  October  2016

This  large  pub  is  a  bit  further  down  Halliwell  Road  near  to  the  large  Falcon  Mill. It has  a
triangular  layout  with  a  large  two-sided  bar  but  little  to  warrant  a  further  visit. The  walls  are whitewashed  and  randomly  decorated, there's  a  small  stage  area  and  a  few  TV  screens ( though  it  looks  like  they  don't  have  Sky ). It  was  practically  empty  when  I  went  in  on  a Sunday  teatime.

138 The Stork Tavern - Smithills

First  visited :  2  September  2016

This  is  an  odd  one. It  didn't  look  very  promising   and  the  clientele  on  a  Friday  evening  looked  a  bit  grimy  but  it  had  a  certain  appeal  inside. It's  a  real  ale  pub  and  quirkily  decorated with  a  mixture  of  papered  walls  and  blue-grey  wooden  panelling. There  are  four  separate  lounges  and  a  back  yard  optimistically  advertised  as  a  beer  garden. The  best  feature  is  a  huge  wall  mural  by  local  artist  Lenny  Stevens  based  on  old  photographs  of  the  area.

137 The Coaching House - Smithills

First  visited : Spring  1998

Well  we  put  it  in  the  book  but  this  was  always  a  restaurant  rather  than  a  pub.

I  don't  think  you  can  count  sitting  in  the  porch  as  a  visit  so  I  didn't  enter  the  place  until  nearly  twenty  years  later  for  a  meal  with  Manchester  Christian  Social  Group. I  can't  find  it  on  the  printed  programmes  so  it  must  have  been  a  replacement  for  something  else.

It  wasn't  a  happy  occasion. Although  Julie  and  I  were  now  married  she  still  felt  that  the  MCSG  occupied  too  much  of  my  attention  and  the  focus  of  her  ire  was  generally  my  friend  Aamir  the  co-ordinator. He  said  something  that  she  took  exception  to  - almost  certainly  something  very  trivial - and  she  tipped  her  glass  onto  his  food  and  walked  out  into  the  night . I  assumed  she'd  gone  to  the  toilet  and  it  was  some  time  before  I  realised  she  was  no  longer  in  the  building. You'd  have  to  ask  her  why   a  four  mile  walk  back  home  in  high  heels   on  a  cold  dark  night   seemed  preferable  to  our  society.

I  have  a  feeling  we  went  back  there  a  few  years  later  for  a  meal  with  Bolton  Outdoor  Group  but  I  can't  be  bothered  rooting  around  for  the  exact  date.

It  closed in  August  2012 when  the  owners  sold  out  to  property developers.