Three Pubs In Wigan

Swan and Railway Hotel

Yesterday I caught the train to Wigan and went to three of the town’s 2026 Good Beer Guide pubs. On the day I was not impressed with them or the town for that matter. But as I write this (on Sunday 21st) I’ve mellowed a bit. I must have been in a grumpy mood last Tuesday, or maybe there was a full moon.

Looking at my beer guide I see there are two brewery taps there. They must have been closed, otherwise I would have paid them a visit. So, I’m going to have to go back to visit them (I love a good brewery tap, me) and the steam engine at Trencherfield MIll (if it’s open). So I may be back in Wigan sooner than I thought.

One of the pubs I really did not like, but I had to have a pint as I needed to use the toilet. It is called Real Crafty. The beer was excellent, I just didn’t like the pub at all.

Swan and Railway Hotel

The first pub was the Swan and Railway Hotel. It’s right opposite Wigan Northwestern station and a couple of hundred yards from Wigan Wallgate station. A good place to wait for a train if it’s open. It opens at noon.

It’s rated one star in Camra’s National Inventory of Pub Interiors. In 2021 it won a Historic England Conservation Award. The building is grade II listed. It has several-stained glass windows, and a collection of historical photos of the town. It’s a lovely pub, with a lot of history. A must go to pub.

The bar is best; it’s on the right as you enter the pub. There are seven handpumps offering a variety of real ales, including Draught Bass (which is always on). I had a pint of mild from the Banktop Brewery, which cost me less than £4. Another good reason to visit. It was excellent.

Food is mainly pies, on their own or with any combination of mash, peas and gravy.

At the back of the pub there’s an interesting juke box with a large selection of CDs. Apparently, it has a lot of Northern Soul to listen to. It’s a Rocket, made in Leeds by the only traditional juke box manufacturer in the world.

You can stay at the pub (though not me, it’s a bit too close to the main railway line to Scotland), it has seven bedrooms. You can book rooms directly through their website.

I should not have visited the other pubs, just this one! I don’t understand why I was not impressed with it.

Tap ‘n’ Barrel micropub

Tap ‘n’ Barrel

Next up was the Tap ‘n’ Barrel, a micropub, which is very close to the bus station.

They sell three real ales and three real ciders. I had a pint of Hawks Head Pale (£4.20, excellent) and a pint of Salopian Oracle (£4.50, also excellent). No food.

It’s a nice, pleasant place, with stools in the main bar, an upstairs seating area and an outside undercover area. But for some unknown reason, I didn’t really take to it. Maybe I should check it out again. As I said earlier, there must have been a full moon yesterday.

Wigan Central micropub

Wigan Central

The last pub was Wigan Central. I visited it November last year with my sister and John and was not too impressed with it back then. I’m still not too impressed with it (and I don’t really know why, these things just happen). Even though it’s won the local Camra branch pub of the year four times, Greater Manchester pub of the year the once, and was a runner up in a Camra national pub of the year competition.

Given that the Swan and Railway is about a hundred yards away, I’ll probably never visit it again.

There were several real ales and ciders, I had a pint of cider which was excellent.

A memory: when we visited the pub last year, a quiz started while we were there. One of the teams was cheating with a mobile phone!

Pubs Not Visited

As I said earlier, Wigan has two brewery taps.

The Wigan Brewhouse Tap is close to Wallgate station. It’s closed Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, which is why I didn’t visit it. The brewery is in the heart of Wigan, in a fully restored 19th century grade II listed tower brewery. It looks like this is another must visit bar.

The Wily Fox Brewery Tap was also closed, but I doubt I would have gone there even if it were open. It’s on an industrial estate on the edge of town. Difficult to get to.

I’d also like to try the John Bull Chophouse and maybe Sherrington’s, it’s a bit out of town, but it is the local Camra branches pub of the year this year.

So I will be back, may be meeting my sister and John there.