Wigan Central, Wigan

We really enjoyed our visit to this bar which is conveniently situated underneath Wigan's main railway station. We took advantage of the sun and sat outside where there are a dozen tables, and were lucky enough to spot Prospect Brewery's brewster and were able to congratulate her on her excellent beers. Staff behind the counter are enthusiastic and at the time of our visit (early Friday evening) the place was buzzing. We had Prospect Totem and Nutty Slack, and First Chop Stout. All the beers were in excellent condition, and when our train was delayed we came back for more. (Unobserved in the crush at the bar, there is a screen showing the punctuality of trains, so we needn't have left at all. However, the station is so near that we only lost about two minutes drinking time.)

Official site of Wigan Central - www.wigancentral.bar

Official site of Wigan Central - www.wigancentral.bar

This is a fairly new micropub set in a railway arch under Wigan North Western Station. Never having stopped in Wigan before this provided a superb introduction to the town. It is railway themed as described in detail below and I ended up sitting in one corner of the "railway carriage" on the right. It's large for a micropub and there was plenty of seating available on my early evening visit. Unfortunately my time here was limited due to the train being over an hour and a half late but I did note some of the cask offerings, Salopian Midnight Express, Ascot Ales Alligator, Prospect Brewery Totem, Quantum American Light, Cwrw Ial Limestone Cowboy, Big Hand Bad Gorilla and Heavy Industry Electric Mountain. I went for the Salopian Midnight Express (£3.20) which is a strong stout and unlike the most famous stout of all had an excellent hop flavour and went down a treat. I took quite a shine to Wigan and hope to return when this place will be the number one venue on the agenda. Very highly recommended.

Conveniently located in an archway next to Wigan North West station, this is a thoughtfully put-together bar from the local Prospect Brewery. The front door and windows show a large image of a steam train pulling in to a busy station , which sets the scene nicely for the railway themed bar within. The room has a concrete floor and high vaulted ceiling, as you might expect to find in such a location. The left hand side of the room sees a drinking ledge running along the wall with high stools, passing a window marked 'Ticket Office', the function of which was not apparent to me. On the wall here, TV screens display live arrival and departure information for the neighbouring station which will help you time your exit from the pub to perfection. Low stools surrounding small round tables fill most of the room, whilst over to the right there are some fantastic booths that have been styled to look like train cabins, complete with overhead luggage racks, table lamps and views from train windows painted onto the wall. The servery is sited to the rear left and has been constructed from a former buffet carriage, complete with the original 'Refreshments' sign on the counter and a pleasant mirrored bar back with a beer bottle display above. The high space overhead created by the vault has been cleverly filled by building a replica station platform canopy, complete with a couple of fake pigeons, which rounds the train-themed décor off nicely. To the right of the bar there is a huge set of shelves labelled 'Beer Library', with formally ordered bottles of beer arranged on it, presumably available for take-outs. A couple of barrels and high stools in front of the shelves completes the seating options within. The local CAMRA branch describes the place as a micro pub, which is probably a little misleading as it is not particularly small, although I think it would be fair to say that it seems to operate in the same spirit as most micro pubs. The ale range was a real bonus here, with an interesting line-up from predominantly local micros which comprised Rat Red Rat, Summer Wine Zenith and Nectar, Prospect Totem, Toba Track, Deeply Valley DV8 and Privateer Strawberry Wheat. Three cider and perry options were also available and I noticed a few keg taps but couldn't see what was on. The place also has a coffee menu, which suggests it caters for a slightly different crowd in the daytime. I tried the Nectar, which was very good and the Red Rat which was outstanding. This is a great little bar with a real sense of fun about it and a great place for Prospect to showcase some of their beers. The proximity to the train station makes it an ideal place to grab a quick drink before an onward journey, but there is enough going on here to make an extended stay a distinct possibility.