The Quarrymans Arms, Corporation Park, Blackburn

Up a very long, steep hill from the city centre and close to East Lancashire Cricket Club and the pleasant Corporation Park, this is a small stone-built locals pub with a compact single room interior. The entrance porch bisects the interior, creating two slightly obscured front seating areas to either side. On the left hand side, there is a short, L shaped sofa-style banquette serving a couple of tables, with low stools, random, unrelated pictures on the walls and a large TV screen showing At the Races with the commentary on quite loud. The right hand side is a little cosier, with similar seating around a lit fireplace, whilst further back there is just about enough room for a pool table which had attracted the attention of most of the customers. The servery is tucked away in the rear left corner with a simple wood panelled counter and a colourful blackboard above detailing a few of the drink options. The room is carpeted throughout and has some basic half panelled walls with the top half painted in rather bland neutral shades. Live sports were promoted and seemed to be the pub's main draw, with food limited to some unappealing 'Rollover' hotdogs. The place was very quiet on my Monday evening visit, with just a few pool players and a couple of old boys studying the Cheltenham Races form guide. The barman afforded me with a very cautious welcome, eyeing my suspiciously for the first few minutes of my stay, but I must have eventually met his approval as I got a warm farewell on my way out. There were a couple of active hand pumps on the bar, which were offering a choice between the ubiquitous Thwaites Wainwright and Holts Bitter. I decided to try the latter, which turned out to be in pretty good condition and much tastier than I previously remember it being. This is a fairly basic pub hanging onto survival in a part of town that has seen a remarkable number of pubs go to the wall through the years. If you're feeling thirsty after a walk around Corporation Park, this is worth consideration, if only because you're likely to get hold of some decent ale.

Change of name from Duck & Puddle to Quarrymans Arms

No nonsense down to earth 2 bar local selling up to 3 real ales,some local and some far and wide.10 mins walk from the railway station.

The Duck and Puddle has now reverted back to it's original name The Quarreymans Arms.(20-9-09) Admin note:- Changed name back to the Quarrymans Arms (28/09/09)

Small, tidy, local pub. Usual national brand beers plus a cask ale if you're lucky. Three small rooms, largest of which contains a pool table.