The Talbot Hotel, Burnley

A very good and nice looking pub situated just outside the town centre and near to what looked like a park. Two rooms with both rooms housing a bar. The larger room has the real ale handpulls, though there very well could be some in the other bar but as I didn't venture here I can't say. 8 handpulls with beers from Grey Hawk, Bank Top, Moorhouse, Tim Taylor and Hyde's on on my visit. A pool table is available in both rooms apparently. A decent and substantial pub. If you're going to Burnley for a match then this short walk is much better than the pubs nearer the ground.

Situated on the fringes of Burnley Town centre, but very handy for the central station, the Talbot is a large Victorian pub with a series of spacious, interconnected rooms. Entering through the front entrance, you find yourself in a small porch with a great old Talbot pub sign on display, which is actually nicer than the one hung outside. Taking the door to the right, you emerge into a huge room with bare boards, half wall panelling and pleasant stained glass windows with a nice flower motif. There is a small stage in the front right corner, presumably used for the various live music nights promoted around the pub and the walls are accordingly decorated with a number of musical instruments and images of famous musicians. A large pull-down screen behind the stage was being used to show live football to a fairly rapt audience seated on the high stools to the right or stood in the large open space leading towards the bar. The servery is to the left, but turns by degrees further to the left until it faces the rear wall, split midway by a large pillar which suggests a partitioning wall may once have stood here. To the rear right there is a semi partitioned lounge with some comfy looking seating options and a nice fireplace with a TV screen above showing the same football match. Following the bar to the rear left, you find a small games room with a pool table and a high shelf full of trophies. From here, a corridor leads you into the smaller left hand side of the pub, which can also be accessed from the front porch. This angular room is part carpeted and dominated by another pool table to the front, with space for some very basic seating and a small, handpull-free servery. TV screens in both the games room and left hand bar were also showing the live football fixture and there was a decent crowd in prior to a Burnley home match, although I didn't spot any away fans other than myself. A quick tour of the pub before finding the handpulls in the rear bar, led me to conclude that I was unlikely to find much in the way of ale here, so I had a nice surprise when I found a good bank of hand pumps dispensing Reedley Hallows New Laund Dark and Pendleside, Taylor Boltmaker, Copper Dragon Golden Pippin, Small World Twin Falls, Naylor's Blonde, Moorhouse Premiership and Lees MPA. Plenty to choose from then, and my pint of New Laund Dark was very moreish and didn't really last very long. This is a real 'Jack of all trades' pub, catering for a wide variety of pub goers and offering a range of rooms to suit different tastes. I thought this was a great place to enjoy a pre-match beer or two and was delighted to find a football pub with plenty of good beer on. if you're not a fan of football or live music, you'll need to time your visit carefully, but this is an enjoyable pub to explore and well worth taking a look at when in town.

Official site of The Talbot Hotel - www.talbotburnley.co.uk

Substantial former hotel, retaining a twin-bar layout. The small public bar has a server hatchway and the pool table. The other room is much larger and has the main bar counter, a side lounge and a stage. Patio seating area to one side. Good range of ales from five of eight handpumps: Holts, Thwaites Original, MoorhousesPremium, TT Landlord and Copper Dragon Golden Pippin (£2.60). Well worth the walk out from the town centre if you have some time to spare.

Official site of The Talbot Hotel - www.talbotburnley.co.uk

It's a large boozer the Talbot and feels very much the Victorian hotel. On a wet Monday evening the 'lounge' side, where bands are hosted, could have felt atmosphereless, cavernous and empty but the smaller seating area towards the back was cosy enough to avoid this. It's a friendly spot with a decent ale range and the only Gents I've ever seen with a 'urinal wall' to both the left and right as you walk in. Handy if you wish to feel like a gunslinger. Beers on were Moorhouse Premium, TT Golden Best, Thwaites Original, Joseph Holt Bitter, Copper Dragon Golden Pippin and such an exceptionally well kept pint of Landlord that it was the only beer I needed. Definitely one to head for if in Burnley.