Shepherds' Hall Ale House, Chorley

sprawling oddball Victorian themed bar with two bars and several different areas. The idea is good and the beer is fine over 9 hand pulls. Not convinced it totally works and it needs a bit more attention to detail - feels disjointed and the toilets are pretty basic for such a large venue. Service is a mixed bag, friendly but lethargic. Could be great, as it is it feels like a tearoom converted to a pub on the cheap.

Now called The Shepherds Hall Ale House And Victoria Rooms. This is no longer a micropub. It has been extended into the next door building and has been swallowed up to be part of a music venue. Real ale still available.

Corner bar with one small bar labelled “The Taproom” and a larger dining/eating area next door separated by a spine wall although with a hatch affair and rear corridor between them. Five pulls and the usual pub accoutrements in the taproom with a mix of beers from smaller breweries such as Tiny Rebel, Front Row etc. There are some kegs taps in the dining area. A fair bit of Victorian interior remains but there was a bit of an agricultural smell in parts of the taproom.

Chorley's first micropub is situated conveniently for the town's bus and rail stations. It's also very close to the market place at the centre. It is quite a large single room, with a variety of seating. 5 real ales and 2 real ciders are served. These were Theakston Old Peculier, Dancing Duck Dark Drake, Vocation Heart & Soul, Bass, Martland Mill Knocker Upper, Thistly Cross Whisky Cask & SeaCider Strawberry Cider. Toilets were clean and service was friendly and knowledgeable.

Old-school (if one's horizons are short) micro-pub, with a compact bar area featuring as much furniture as they can fit in during these coronavirus restriction times. The compact bar counter in one corner is home to five handpumps, with a fair selection of beers from smaller breweries, and I went for the Seen Red (£3.40) - one of a pair from Front Row.