The Black Swan, Warrington

A large roadside village inn that has become somewhat isolated by the by-pass that leaves the village pleasantly quiet. Unlike the nearby Red Lion, however, the Black Swan is thriving by making itself into a destination pub, with a handy bus stop just across the road. There's a milestone set against the front wall, showing that the pub is 428 miles from Land's End and 589 miles from John O'Groats, which seems to me like a very long way from either end (and I'm sure it was only 960 miles when I did it a few years ago). Inside there's a long bar occupying the back of the main room, which was presumably several smaller rooms at one time. The pub is so large that there are still many different areas to explore even though it's basically now open plan. Pride of place on the bar is taken by six hand pumps, of which just four had beers available on my midweek afternoon visit (though more were on the way, I was informed). Thwaites Mucky Duck was said to be a popular beer, but I went for the Privateer Red Duke, a 4.8% malty red beer brewed in Manchester, and when there was still ten minutes until my bus back to Warrington, Dunham Massey Green Hop Beer as well. The other beer, untried on this occasion, was Brains Organ Morgan. Both the beers I drank were in very good condition, and I was made very welcome here by staff and customers alike. The 100 bus from Warrington gets you here in under half an hour, and return buses are at 19 minutes past most hours, 58 in the evenings and 45 on Sundays. Definitely worth making the effort if you're in the area.

Official site of The Black Swan - www.theblackswan.co.uk

Official site of The Black Swan - www.theblackswan.co.uk