Preston
The town of Preston is one of those places – rather like Stockport – which is a fine drinking town with an excellent range of pubs. In short, a great place to go for a few beers. Except when we play them.
Then the town changes. Pubs you can normally rely on suddenly close. Police get restless. Discretion becomes mandatory. To be honest, if I was coming from Burnley, I’d do my drinking elsewhere.
So, take the following with more than the usual dose of disclaimers. I’m not actually recommending any of the pubs mentioned here for football drinking, you understand. You can’t rely on them being open. You can’t depend on getting served. You can't be sure of being safe. But the following are some pubs I know about, largely because many of my visits to Burnley in past years caused me to pass through, and stop off for a beer in, Preston. I'm also grateful to Tony Gorton, a Preston-based Claret and beer drinker, for quite a bit of additional input.
I should offer an additional proviso that, whereas once I used to visit Preston every few weeks, now I’m lucky if I do so once a season. These days Virgin and Network Rail conspire to run nothing like an adequate Saturday service on the West Coast. We take other routes to Burnley, and this guide gets steadily out of date. If things have changed and I don’t know about them, blame the government and blame Richard Branson.
But perhaps a time will come when you find yourself there with an hour or two to spare, and you may then be able to visit these haunts without the aggro that comes with being a Claret in town on a matchday. Or you may be a supporter of some other club playing Preston, in which case you might be alright. Burnley and Preston often play at home on the same Saturdays, and when they're not playing us, these pubs generally seem accessible.
One thing that's clear from past visits is that, even when you find a pub open before the match, they tend not to commit to opening afterwards. You can wander around the town centre and see only closed doors. Partly, it seems, there is a domino effect in operation; if other pubs around are closing, they will too. And partly, it seems, police pressure is to blame; apparently police advise pubs that they are free to open but the force won’t be responsible for the consequences. What annoys is that generally Clarets give the town centre a miss on matchdays anyway. Whilst when Wigan play here away fans tend to come by train - it's convenient - and work their way up to the ground, for Burnley-based fans the motorway is handy, and as it comes close to the ground, most never go anywhere near the town centre, but drink the other side of Deepdale.
That said, it wasn’t the Preston supporters who were the problem last time, in November 2002. The Burnley yobs were out in force that night, and they were disgraceful. That evening we had hostile pitch invasions, attempts to get at opposition players and a stand off with police that resulted in cs gas being used in the away end. It was an awful night, and not because we lost 3-1. I left ashamed to be a Burnley supporter, and contemplating giving up on away games. So if there’s far greater security than before, now you know who to blame. Who can tell what restrictions will be placed on your free movement this time? These Burberry-clad cretins make life harder for the rest of us.
Oh well, there’s a couple of boozers near the station, one by the side exit, next to the Fishergate shopping centre (the Railway), and one across the road on Fishergate (the Vic and Station). If you're arriving by train within a couple of hours of kick off, try not to look like a football supporter. The police may line up outside the station to intercept. I was once handed a compulsory escort to Deepdale. The Railway is crap and free of beer, so that needn’t trouble us here, although I'm told the Guinness they sell is the genuine Irish stuff, if that's what grabs your fancy. The Vic isn't a great pub, but it has occasionally come in handy when there's been ten minutes or so to spare between changing trains. It used to be a gloomy and cavernous place, but a couple of years ago it was thoroughly refurbished, dropping the Station half of its name and becoming more presentable. I've found it welcoming enough on my rare visits, and it has sold a drinkable pint of beer, generally either Theakston’s 'cool cask' stuff or Courage Directors. Not the greatest beer in the world, I concede, but better than nowt. Both these pubs will have blokes on the doors when we play there, so even if you want to, you’ll probably not get in.
Also close to the station, over the road and down a side street on Fox Street, is the Fox and Grapes, a once great pub, now sadly declined beyond rescue. This used to be a brilliant little boozer with a classic wooden interior and some top pints. Now it's like everywhere else. Beers come from Scottish Courage and are at best mediocre.
Alternatively, continue along Fishergate and take the next street off on your left (can't recall the name), past the St George's Centre, for the Angel. I went through a phase of drinking in here en route to home games a couple of years ago. The main reason was that they sold beer from the excellent Hart brewery, and bloody good pints of it too. It kind of called itself a wine bar, looked rather new and bland, and emphasised the food a bit, but the beer made it worth the detour. I'm not sure what it's like now, as I got the impression the landlord was moving on.
But Friargate is where you want to be. Friargate is a wonderful drinker's street, stretching from the centre of the town up towards studentland. It would be possible to spend a whole day on here, drinking in every pub and taking occasional advantage of the plentiful fast food shops.
Round the back of the St George’s Centre on the lower pedestrianised part of the street, close by the bloke selling cheap lighters, you’ll find the Black Horse. This is an immaculately preserved circular pub which has kept its original interior of wood panels and tiles. It has a round bar in the middle, and cosy rooms running off it. According to Tony this was, "Rescued many years ago from 'improvement' by Robinson's, and currently a distinct improvement from the recent past when some clown painted the walls bright (electric) green and the door / window-frames bright red. It's on CAMRA's historic pub list and hopefully will remain so." Of course, the beer's important, and it sells an excellent pint of Robinson's bitter, along with others from the range. My only complaint is the perennially slow service; it is impossible to get a pint quickly in here. On past experience, it's regrettably likely to be closed when Burnley play.
Where Friargate meets the ring road sits the Old Black Bull, a big, long old pub, selling an excellent and varied range of beer. It's a great place for drinking obscure pints, with a never ending supply of guest beer complementing the permanently available Boddington's and fine, dark, drinkable Cain's bitter. It is, however, out of the question for our purposes, as it is a serious haunt of North End supporters. They'll either have doormen on matchdays, or it will be locked. Fortunately, I’ve called in a number of times on the way back from Burnley. One memorable visit was when we played Colchester at home on Easter Monday in 1999. Preston had played host to Man City at noon, so when we arrived at six, four hours after the end of the game, the town was, naturally, shut. We resolved to keep our heads down and press for a pint in here. The doorman took some convincing. We didn’t want him to think we were Man City fans. But then, we didn’t want him to think we were Burnley fans. We told the Colchester lads who were with us that they’d be alright. We beat them on Saturday, they replied, don’t tell them we’re Colchester fans. In the end, the age old standby of pushing to the fore someone with a Southern accent and uttering the soothing phrase "We’re from London" confused them sufficiently to allow us in. We sat in a corner, very quietly. Drop in some other time.
Also close by was the Flax and Firkin in the former Corn Exchange. It had its adherents, but I never dropped in. It’s probably called something different now, with the demise of the Firkin chain.
Approximately opposite the Old Black Bull is Greyfriar, a newish Wetherspoon’s pub in an ugly modern building, the other half of which is oddly occupied by a Job Centre. Handy. I was quite critical when it opened, questioning the need for a Wetherspoon’s in a town like Preston. On the grim streets of North London these places are absolute oases, but Preston already has good pubs a plenty. However, the place came into its own on our September 1999 away match visit. We enterprisingly picked up a cab back to town after the game, but nothing was open, until we got down here. They didn’t even have a man on the door. Even better, the Thwaites Mild was 99p a pint! So we stopped and had several. It started filling up and they got a little nervous later on, but getting in early and keeping quiet seemed to do the trick. Charmingly, they came round shortly before seven and started removing all the stools. Tony says, "The reason they remove the stools is so that they can cram in four people per stool-space." He adds, "You were lucky to get into the Greyfriar. It generally gets trashed when Wigan / Man City / Blackpool arrive, so it is regularly shut. Don't knock Wetherspoon's! I know it's a crowded and loud shed but the beer across the road in the Black Bull can be 25p to 45p a pint dearer and doesn't taste as good. (The Boddington's in the Black Bull is sometimes so bad in there that the hardened Bods, Bods or Bods drinking locals won't drink it, but the guests are usually OK.) Beware of: 1) really slow service, especially if the place is crowded - the barstaff's usually half asleep students; 2) short measures - the barstaff usually wouldn't know a full pint if their Finals depended on it; 3) a duff pint - the landlord might change it for you but with no grace at all." Thwaites Mild of middling quality has been available on subsequent visits. It's certainly miles better than the one in Burnley.
Also up Friargate is the Olde Dog and Partridge. Hate the affectation of that 'Olde'. Been in here once. Didn’t particularly rate it, can’t remember why. Apparently it's a bit of a bikers’ pub.
On Heatley Street, just off Friargate, you'll find the New Britannia. I've long liked this pub. They have an enterprising guest beer policy and there’s always something interesting on offer, usually including Bronte Bitter from Keighley. I've had many a good pint in here. However, Tony warns, "If there's a pint of serious ale (5% and above) at about 50p off, don't try it. It'll be like vinegar and should have been poured down a drain three days ago." It used to be a basic and plain kind of place, but then it was unfortunately decorated in extreme bad taste, with lots of flowers. Hardly an improvement. The pub is normally quiet of an early evening. Bar staff are friendly, the jukebox is full of mostly bad rock music and the only other people you get in here at that time are tame rockers in leather. They are ultra-cautious, however, and the pub shuts at the drop of a hat. It would be surprising to see it open when we play there.
Around the corner and up at the top of Friargate is a pub close to any 1990s vintage London Claret’s heart, the Lamb and Packet. We did some serious damage to immaculate pints of Thwaites bitter here in the past. The phrase "Lamb and Packet form" is still used to describe those days when the beer goes down particularly quickly ahead of the evening train. Unfortunately, the place went slowly downhill. I suppose the days when they got an extra barrel of beer on for the away game and took orders for our kebabs couldn’t last forever. The old people moved on, and I understand the beer is rather hit and miss these days. A sad loss, but we will have our memories.
Across the road is another Thwaites' pub, the Sun. I don’t think I’ve ever been in, but Tony says, "It has a really small room on the left and a much bigger room on the right. I wouldn't think there would be any trouble getting in, but it's a while since I've been in there. It used to get terribly smoky." Also here at the top end of Friargate is the imposing large music pub of the Adelphi.
On Fylde Road off here you'll find a Hogshead pub also known as the Moss Cottage. This is rated by many as a true multi-beer den. I called in before our December 2000 visit. Can't say I was impressed overmuch. Big place, obviously aimed at students, poor service, and on our visit, all the beers were too strong.
I much preferred the Limekiln, over and away on Aqueduct Street, by the canal. This pub just about defined the word 'basic'. It was rather like being in a private members' club. As obvious beer monsters, we were welcomed, albeit with some curiosity, but this is not a Sunday lunch with grandmother pub. The beer is from Banks's, rare in these parts, and the mild (Original) was excellent. I recall on our visit we were struggling because our cabs to the ground hadn't turned up, at which point one of the drinkers eased himself away from the bar and decided to be a taxi driver for the afternoon.
Alternatively, if you're walking from Friargate, there are stop-off options on Moor Lane, sort of on the way to the ground, such as the Mitre or the Moorbrook, which sit on opposite sides of the road. Plan one time was to drink in either, but the Moorbrook was closed and the Mitre had a reception committee of ugly young blokes hanging around the door, so we went in neither. Of the Moorbrook, Tony says, "It used to be my local, so I speak with bitterness. This (pre-1975 to 1990-ish) used to have the finest pint of Thwaites anywhere, and used to be a brilliant locals' / drinkers' pub (they once painted all the walls from nicotine blue to pale blue - by the end of the following week you couldn't tell they'd done it - it was nicotine blue again). Then the landlord died, and for some unknown reason Thwaites closed it for 18 months or more. The punters got tired of waiting for the re-opening and sensibly disappeared across the road to the Mitre. The Moorbrook re-opened after an internal 're-organisation' (read plastic 'Victorianisation') which ruined it as a locals' pub. For ages the beer was awful (and I mean AWFUL) and no-one (and I mean no- one) went in it for years, but it is gradually picking up again."
Having given these two a miss, we once probed the pub next door to the Moorbrook, the Unicorn. It was open, empty and shabby, but it sold a drinkable pint of Theakston's. Then from here it was to the ground, without another pub in sight.
The ground itself is some way out, in a rather down at heel residential area. If you can get cabs to and from the centre, do. It's quite a walk. Whatever you do, don’t expect to get a drink around here. Apparently the lack of watering holes around Deepdale can be explained by the fact that the land used to be owned by Quakers. How very inconsiderate of them to impose their extremist views on everyone else. There’s some kind of ghastly ‘Legends’ type club, but you’ll not get in, and you don’t want to, do you? Also, obviously, keep your wits about you.
I’m told there are a couple of pubs the other side of the ground that are handy for the roads, but as I’ve never ventured over there, I can’t really comment.
Although I’ve been to Deepdale a number of times, one result of their incomplete redevelopment is that we always seemed to get stuck in a different bit of the ground. I've watched Burnley from three or four different areas in a handful of years. It's an odd ground as well, semi-developed on recent visits, with the shambolic charm of old gradually being replaced by a ground that tries too hard to make an impression, with its over-elaborate floodlight pylons and stands with fuzzy pictures of people's faces on them. These days we get to sit on Bill Shankly's face (you know, that figure synonymous with, err, Preston), which is nice. At least in the steep, single tier stands you get a decent view of the match, unlike the old paddock we graced with our presence in the past, where any view of the match was only ever occasional. One consequence of the perennial relocation of the away end is that I never quite know what direction I'm facing in when I leave the ground (although there seems to be one constant factor: I always, without fail, end up having to walk across a patch of mud).
So it was that, having invoked the Three Goal Rule during our 4-1 defeat in November 1998, we shot out of the ground in thirst and fury, and found ourselves completely disoriented. Heading in not necessarily the best direction, and resolved to seek solace in the first pub we found, we ended up drinking in the Deepdale. A less than smart move. If I say it was like one of those wild west films when music and card games stop as you walk through the door, I exaggerate, but not by much. As Sky’s results service chattered away, one bloke, in this pub which, as the name suggests, isn’t far from the ground, turned to us and declared, "The Burnley Bastards are getting beat 4-1." We attempted to feign disinterest. "Oh, who by?" I swear there were people in there wearing Preston shirts, following the match on this glorified Ceefax service, looking for trouble, while the game went on without them yards away. Perhaps they'd been banned. "You’re not Burnley fans are you?" asked another bloke. We pushed forward the one bloke between us with a southern accent, his larynx our passport to freedom. "Nah, we’re from London. We’re ‘ere on a pub crawl." Once again, it sounded odd enough to floor them. We let him get the drinks in. Then ordered cabs to get the hell out of there. Somehow I wasn't that surprised when, last summer, this pub made local headlines, as the centre of white anti-ethnic violence. Avoid at all costs.
And with that, it's over to my Preston source Tony for some further suggestions:
"The Deepdale sounds similar to the Olde England (a basic Bod's pub, now for sale, up past the prison on the road to Longridge). There, they did the same. If you had the bottle and stayed, they were fine. If you didn't and turned and legged it (as me and a mate did - it's very intimidating at 6:45 in the evening to be growled at!), they have a laugh together, class you as tossers and go back to drinking their Bods and watching the horseracing.
For Chinese and Indian takeaways, stay on Fishergate (same road as the Vic and Station) and go right through the town centre onto Church Street (past the Yates's Wine Lodge).
Down Lancaster Road (opposite Yates's), there's a Robinson's pub (the Cross Keys?). You should be able to get a pint in there at night, because I never see anyone in it at night!
Ignore Wall Street on Fishergate. It's a Greenall's yoof emporium without any decent beer.
There's also a Banks's pub (looks like a chemical plant behind the glass, but can be OK) on the right; a Theakston's house whose name escapes me on the left (usually has gorillas on the door weekends); another Theakston's pub, Ye Olde Dog (sound for a punch up on a Saturday night, even if you're not a Claret...) on the right; a large Vaux pub on the left (name escapes me because I never go in it); a good Sam Smith's, the only one for miles, called the Blue Bell on the right (go in by the side door on the right to avoid the crowd at the bar); and a Mitchell's pub (the Shepherd Arms) on the right. This used to have a great selection of beer, but when the landlady objected to Mitchell's restricting her range she told them where to stuff their pub, and left. Rumour had it that she was going to move next door but two to the (currently closed) Lamb (a boarded-up 'to be sold at Auction' ex-Greenall's dump in February 2000).”
The only one of those I’ve been in is the Blue Bell. This is a decent, oldish pub. Service was a bit slow and Smith’s isn’t the beer it was, but it was still worth a visit.
“Carry on down Church Street, cross the dual-carriageway (Ring Road) and bear left at the lights near the prison (ignore the Whitbread pub on the corner - it's the absolute pits), and it's straight up Deepdale Road to the ground on your right.
I also had a quick look down Meadow Street (December 2000). Although several pubs on Meadow Street look okay, and there are several others around there, they're almost all believed to be all keg and thus to be avoided at all costs.
The Prince Consort (basic Bods) is open. Recently re-decorated (at least outside - into plastic Victorian renovation, including hanging baskets) and put up for auction. Last heard of going to be converted to flats, but it was open for business on my visit. However, I understand it's keg only.
The Army and Navy (ex-Mathew Brown / Scottish and Newcastle). Currently open and "Under New Management." Never been in - I'm always alone around there and it doesn't look that inviting, and it's Mathew Brown...
New Fleece (Whitbread), also open. Never been in it as it's Whitbread. Looks OK, though.
Mr Pickwick's (Yes, THAT Mr Pickwick's, complete with jolly figure on pub name-board...) (Vaux). Boarded up and closed. Can't remember what it was called before they ruined it by re-naming it, removing the internal walls, and the pool room, and moving the bar to the back of the room and removing the hand-pumps. Went in early one night with my mate to find all the above. "Where are the handpumps?" I asked. "Taken them out," was the reply. "We'll be back when they are," was the riposte. We've not been back since.
The Clover (Tetley). Boarded up, closed and for sale. Only went in it once that I can remember - with a mate on a drunken crawl in South Meadow Street area. It was Warrington Tetley, and even allowing for the fact that we were hammered, you could tell that the beer was awful.
You might get in the Prince Consort and the New Fleece (they both look like reasonably friendly pubs), but avoid the Army and Navy.
Another pub you might want to check out, if you go to Friargate, is the Market Tavern, up the road that goes up the side of the Black Horse. Go to the top where the open-air market is and turn left at the charity shop on the corner.
(On the other corner is a Tapas Bar - I kid you not! There will be no-one in it, however...)
The Market Tavern is the local CAMRA Pub of the Year, or month, or something. In its previous incarnation it was a seriously basic Mathew Brown / Scottish and Newcastle rough boozer. It's had a quite good plastic Victorian renovation, but sells Jennings (usually the Bitter, but occasionally the Cumberland) or similar, plus usually another guest from farther afield (Black Sheep quite often).
Just in case you see it, just off the Market Tavern, at the top of the open-air market is what used to be called in pre-politically- correct days the Black-a-Moor's Arms (can't remember what it is called now, but Black-a-Moor's Arms it ain't). It used to sell Barnsley Bitter and other guests, but it's all keg now, so don't bother going that way - go back to the Black Horse and turn right onto Friargate and you'll know where you are.
At the end of Friargate, go to the right of the Adelphi (a hideously bright yellow "It's a Scream" (not) pub) onto Moor Lane; there's a Whitbread pub on the left that sometimes has guests (minimum Bod's is also available).
Just past there is the University. All keg so don't waste valuable drinking time checking!
Then it's the Mitre, Moorbrook etc., as above.
The Burnley FC official site has instructions for car drivers on where to park - Ribbleton WMC - which even has beer, but is the other side of the ground."
Cheers, Tony.
Another town centre pub rated by others is the Varsity on Church Street, by the Guildhall. Can't see it myself. These Varsity places tend to be youth sheds where everyone shouts at each other and the beer's too cold. Given the attractions outlined above, I've never found this sufficiently tempting.
For those who don't fancy a drink, I suppose the National Football Museum, at Deepdale, is an obvious possibility. It's supposed to be open until five on Saturdays, although I don't know what happens when matches coincide. For more information, visit their website. The Preston tourism website, Visit Preston, isn't particularly helpful on other possibilities, but Preston also apparently boasts the Museum of Lancashire, while the Harris Museum and Art Gallery occupies a fine Greek revival building, but I'm not sure what's inside.
Those seeking food will also find plentiful fast outlets on Friargate, and I can personally recommend a chicken kebab with no salad and double chilli sauce (with garlic bread with cheese if you’re feeling particularly peckish) from the almost legendary Zagros. Many's the time we ended up munching these in the solitude of the buffet bar waiting for the inevitably late Virgin train. Ah, perhaps one day the trains will work and we’ll start hitting Preston again on a regular basis. Oh, and this being Preston, even the buffet bar sold real beer in those days, even though it was only Bass and too cold.
Come back when we're not playing here, won't you?
Firmo (with big thanks to Tony Gorton)
Last visited: November 2003
Last updated: December 2003
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