Not already a member?
Join our community and
- Rate & review pubs
- Upload pictures
- Add events
JOIN for free NOW
Chat about:
Disappointment of the week with Tris39
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
Black Bull Inn, Darwen
Livesey
Postal town: Darwen
BB3 0LL
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 9½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Black Bull Inn
This remote pub on the outskirts of Blackburn is the home to the Three B’s brewery, located to the rear of the pub. It’s a good 25-30 minute walk here from Cherry Tree station, mostly uphill, so you’ll work up a good thirst making your way out here. It’s a long way from the city centre, so you might consider taking a bus part way, but I found it made a good pre-match venue, as it was only a 20 minute walk back down the hill to Ewood Park. The location is pretty spectacular, with the hill-top site giving great views down to the city below. Entering through the door on the car park side, you find yourself in a corridor with access to a public bar directly ahead. Strangely, this appeared to be closed and in darkness when I arrived, so I made my way through the door on the left, which takes you into the lounge in the front half of the pub. This is a smart, well fitted room with a contemporary take on the traditional pub format. The servery faces the front door and has a brick counter with a dark wood top and canopy and has been adorned with all manner of local CAMRA awards. There are standard tables and chairs opposite with smart upholstered button backed banquettes to the right which are screened from each other by dark wood panels with stained glass floral inserts. There is a nice brick fireplace here, with a lit stove creating a warm, cosy feel. Meanwhile, on the left hand side, there is a pleasant seating area through a square archway with a tiled fireplace, above which there are framed Three B’s pump clip collections. The whole pub sports a rather dubious floral wallpaper as well as enlarged photos showing various stages of the brewing process. A quiet Fleetwood Mac soundtrack provided background noise until the masses arrived, drowning it out with the buzz of chatter.
The bar has a good number of handpulls, all offering Three B’s brews, which on my visit comprised Bobbins Bitter, Knocked Up, Doff Cocker, Bee Thrifty, Black Bull Bitter, Tacklers Tipple, Bee Blonde, Stokers Slake and one other that I couldn’t quite read. I tried the Doff Cocker and Bee Thrifty, both of which were in near perfect condition, with the latter being particularly enjoyable. The barmaid was very friendly and welcoming and helped me decide which beers to try.
This is a really nice pub that is well worth making the effort to find and had I not had the joy of an away win at Ewood Park to look forward to, I would have happily spent the rest of the evening here working through the handpulls. The pub does keep irregular hours at present, so make sure you consult their website before trekking out here.
On 22nd April 2014
- rating: 9
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Mike Pomfret left this review about Black Bull Inn
Visited the Black Bull near Darwen Lancashire recently. The Three B's Brewery is based here.
Rob and Wendy Bell are the delightful owners. We enjoyed our visit so much we went back for the three nights we were there. The quality and range of beer is fabulous. We sat and chatted to Rob and Wendy all night,Rob's knowledge of brewing and its history was an education.
We cannot recomend a visit here highly enough. The atmosphere, the beer and the people make this a proper English pub. Do not go to Lancashire without a visit to the Black Bull. What a fabulous place.Can't wait to go back.
MIke, Jon & Jimmy
Purestrike Golf
On 7th May 2013
- rating: 10
[User has posted 1 recommendations about 1 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
peter ashworth left this review about Black Bull Inn
After being closed for quite some time,the Black bull has reopened after a refurbishment.The pub has been taken over by the Blackburn based Three B's Brewery,who have installed a Microbrewery at the back of the pub.
On 20th April 2011
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2318 recommendations about 2275 pubs]