The Old Vic, Preston

Very close to the main entrance to Preston station,this ale house has a tartan carpet ,lots of seating and extends beyond the central bar on both left and right sides.At the front there are exposed old wooden beams ,whitewashed ,while there is a log burner to one side.Flatscreens abound,but on mute early Friday. An obvious place to start or finish a real ale crawl of Preston,the choice on my visit was Black Edge East Coast Session,Moorhouse White Witch and Blonde Witch ,Osset Classic Twist and White Rat (NBSS 4,£3.80) .I was surprised by how many of these ales were similar in style. Functional but lacking historic charm ,a decent start but not the full package.

Solid pub close to the station, as described below.The grey painted beams made this scribe nostalgic for the days of steam. On my hurried visit between trains on an April Sunday afternoon, I enjoyed a pint of Ossett Butterley, the Bowland Mosaic having gone off as I ordered.Busy, with groups of chaps watching the racing on the numerous screens.Good pub.

Official site of The Old Vic - www.theoldvic-preston.foodanddrinksites.co.uk

Official site of The Old Vic - www.theoldvic-preston.foodanddrinksites.co.uk

Near railway station. large early opening pub, large open plan room with central bar and drystone fireplace. The beams are painted grey which has a weird way of making them look more like concrete! Sports TV., 6 real ales of good quality

I have to say for a nearby station pub, this one was better than I had anticipated. The interior was traditional and carpeted throughout. There was also lots of pictures and bric a brac around the walls to give the pub a homely sort of feel to it. Regarding the ceiling beams, it was quite odd to see them painted in a very light grey compared to the traditional black, but it did add more of a brighter appearance for such a low ceiling throughout the pub. The customers on our visit all looked very respectable, so the usual station pub clientele must have gone to drink elsewhere. Seven handpumps on our visit, with good service from a well staffed bar. I also noticed that their range of cobs were flying off the shelf. Beer wise we went for the Mad Crafty Brewer Nipa, which was in excellent condition.