Accy Road doesn’t have a reputation for
being the most salubrious part of Burnley. This long stretch, heading west from the
obscure railway station of Burnley Barracks on the edge of the town centre and out towards
that buffer town between Burnley and our East Lancashire rivals, is certainly downmarket.
And that’s reflected in the pubs. Pubs around here are locals' pubs, and might be
described as homely, or basic. Nevertheless, there’s some interesting drinking to be
had for the truly committed in the pubs along the bottom end outlined here. Pubs seem to
be quite quiet on Saturday lunchtimes, but could be rowdy on Friday or Saturday nights.
Accrington Road starts from Trafalgar Street to the west of Burnley
Centre, and continues past the Junction 10 roundabout of the M65. On Coal Clough Lane, off
the bottom end of Accy Road via Burnham Gate and close to Burnley Barracks station, is one
of Burnley’s better pubs for beer of recent years, the Coal Clough. The Angel and the much-improved General Havelock are found at this
lower stretch of Accrington Road, also close to Barracks station, while further up
you’ll find, amongst others, pubs such as the Wood Top and the
Fleece, along with the General Scarlett,
which serves as the tap for the other thing that makes this stretch of interest to the
beer connoisseur: Moorhouses Brewery, the local maker of award-winning beer.
Click here for a map of Burnley centring on the area covered by this crawl.
The Coal Clough
Coal Clough Lane
Over the past few years this backstreet pub has quietly turned itself into a pretty decent
boozer, largely due to being run by enterprising people who understand beer. Above all, this is the pub for Massey's.
The beer comes from the Bass Museum Brewery in Burton-upon-Trent, a
semi-independent part of that once proud empire now owned by Belgian giants Interbrew. The Museum Brewery brews
small amounts of beers based on recipes from the many breweries closed by Bass over the years. Once such brewery was
Massey’s, of Burnley, still missed by a certain generation.
At the instigation of this pub Massey’s Bitter was
revived, brewed (it was said) according to the original recipe, and put on sale here. As it
happened, there was some dispute about the validity of this. Opinion among the beer drinking
cognoscenti seemed to be divided between those who could remember the old Massey’s and
said this was nothing like it, an insult to a grand old name which should be
left to rest in peace, and those who enjoy it, partly because it's an excellent pint
in its own right, and partly because it's nice to be able to ask for a pint of
Massey’s in a Burnley pub. The latter camp seems to have won out, but naturally I’d recommend that it's best to
make your own mind up after sampling.
Being way too young to remember the original, I simply enjoy it because it’s a
good pint, on the bitter side but easy to drink.
Another revived and good beer they’ve sold on previous visits has been
Offilers bitter, ex of Derby. Victoria bitter is also apparently proving popular. The pub now even
carries the famous Massey's name on its sign and inside.
Despite that, it's owned by Punch pubs, which means they inevitably have to stock something uninteresting
like the ultra-bland Worthington's bitter. Don't think I've ever seen anyone drink it, mind. They might also have a guest
beer on as well. Enterprisingly, all that smooth stuff has been banned, so hats off there.
It’s a local’s pub and a community pub, but has always been
welcoming on my visits. It could be visited before a game if you get off the slow train
from Preston at Burnley Barracks, although you’ll be some distance from Turf Moor, or in
an evening as part of an Accrington Road, Padiham Road or Manchester Road area crawl. Be warned, however, that they sometimes have folk nights!
This is
one of four Burnley pubs listed in the 2003 CAMRA Good Beer Guide, and it certainly seems to be the pub that's closest
to the hearts of the local CAMRA branch.
Visit the Coal Clough's website at www.coalcloughpub.co.uk.
The Coal Clough, 41 Coal Clough Lane, Burnley BB11 4PG.
Tel 01282 423226.
Click here for a map.
The Angel
Corner of Accrington Road and Burnham Gate, across from the General Havelock
Close to the Coal Clough and across the road from the General
Havelock, this Thwaites pub is now apparently smooth only. I last visited in 1998 to
celebrate our win over Plymouth in the final game of the season, which kept us up and sent them
down. The only clear memory I have is of standing in a huddle with similarly inebriated
souls while attempting to do the harmonies for ‘Good Vibrations’. Or so we
thought at the time, although I expect in sober reality it was just a load of pissed-up
blokes singing in high voices. Probably just as well that they no longer sell recognisable
beer, as I’m not sure I could show my face in here again.
The Angel, 80 Accrington Road, Burnley BB11 4AU.
Tel 01282 424114.
Click here for a map.
The General Havelock
Corner of Accrington Road and Barracks Road, across from the Angel
I recommend this pub highly. It was taken over a couple of years ago by Cumbrian brewer
Jennings,
and seems to have gained a new lease of life. Not everyone likes Jennings, but I enjoy a pint of their rather dark and
quite robust bitter. Better still, the last time I called in here, on the Saturday night before the final game of the
2001/02 season, Jennings Dark Mild was available, and that's a splendid pint. We got talking to the landlord, an ever
so friendly
chap, and a real beer enthusiast. He explained that he'd taken the mild on the basis that if no one else drunk it,
he would! However, it seems he didn't have to, and it had been selling well. The extra pump looked like it was there
to stay. Here's hoping.
I like the pub too. It's a largeish place on a corner, and it's usually full of life. It's undoubtedly a down to
earth pub, but friendly. Local CAMRA types tell me they don't always have the beer on, but I can only go off what I
know, and I've been in a few times now, when it's always been available. It's always been decent, too.
One of my occasional researchers writes, "It's only five minutes from Burnley Barracks, and therefore the
nearest pub to a station in Burnley that I know of. Great old pictures of the Clarets and newspaper cuttings
in the pool room. Nice pint of Jennings Bitter, too. Make sure you get Jennings and not Worthington." I don't
think they bother with the Worthington any more.
Be sure to take a look at the Burnley stuff, if you can get into the usually busy pool room. Last time we were
in there there'd been some re-decoration, but we were reassured that the Burnley memorabilia would be going back up. There
are some real treasures there too, including rare and signed photographs and autographed shirts. Quite unusually for a
pub in Burnley, the landlord actually supports the team. This pub is worth your custom.
The General Havelock, 101 Accrington Road, Burnley BB11 4AX.
Tel 01282 423034.
Click here for a map.
Becko's Burnley boozer of the month, June 2002
Accrington Road
If I was trying not to use the word 'basic' in this guide, here I
would fail. This is a no nonsense, stripped down local boozer. But it sells
Robinson's,
which is good beer, and it was a fine pint of it on my visit. It was quiet on a Saturday
lunchtime, but it might be seriously earthy on a Friday night. A useful staging post
between the Scarlett and the Havelock, particularly as there aren't enough Robinson's pubs in these parts.
Another local pub where you can get Robinson's is the Coach and Horses on
Church Street.
The Wood Top, 197 Accrington Road, Burnley BB11 5ES.
Tel 01282 421389.
Click here for a map.
The Fleece
Accrington Road
I only went in here once, on a weekend night, and I can vividly recall
the flocks of pancake make-upped old women and gladragged young girls which equally
besieged the bar. A night here was a hardcore spectacle. That was years ago and I
haven’t been back.
The Fleece, 213 Accrington Road, Burnley BB11 5ES.
Tel 01282 423116.
Click here for a map.
The General Scarlett
Accrington Road
This is one of four Moorhouses pubs in Burnley, and it is therefore
worth a visit on the strength of that alone. The brewery is across the road, so the Scarlett acts as the brewery tap, and
provides the hospitality for brewery visits. Visits are for groups and can be arranged by
phoning the brewery. For more information, visit the Moorhouses website at www.moorhouses.co.uk.
We took a London Clarets
group there on a Saturday morning before a home match in February 2001. It was nice of them to let us do it
then, as they normally do the tours in the evenings. We were made to feel very welcome. The tour was good,
the guide was
excellent and it was nice to see the brewery, but if I'm being honest the best thing was
that the £5 charge bought three pints of beer and pie and peas in the Scarlett
afterwards. This gave me an opportunity to stay for a decent length of time. It's a comfortable
pub, with some interesting Burnley pictures on the wall. The story of General Scarlett
himself (he led the Charge of the Heavy Brigade) is extraordinary. Originally sent to the town to quell mill riots,
he fell in
love with a local woman and ended up living there, oddly paralleling the subsequent
experience of many of the club's players.
As it's the brewery tap, they sell the three
main beers in the Moorhouses range: Black Cat mild, Premier bitter and Pendle Witches
Brew, and those on the tour get a pint of each. It has to be said that on my visit the Black Cat was good,
the Premier disappointing and the Pendle Witches poor. There is a local school of thought
that, since their many award-winning successes with the Black Cat, which won Champion Beer of Britain in 2000,
Moorhouses have tended to
concentrate on that, perhaps to the detriment of their other beers. I don't know if that's
true, but some of the beer was a bit disappointing for a brewery tap, which you always
hope will do their best to showcase the product. It should be added that the pie and peas
were excellent.
As for the pub, it was quiet on a Saturday lunchtime, but does have an
enduring reputation for weekend night roughness. Regardless of this, I definitely rate it as worth an occasional trip
out if you visit Burnley frequently. It really is impossible to drink enough Moorhouses.
The Scarlett is one of four Burnley pubs listed in the 2003 CAMRA Good Beer Guide.
