The first home Gill and I owned was in the Ashton Lane Ends area of the city and we lived there from 1996 to 2005. We had a terraced property on a northern cobbled street that resembled a Tardis house as it stretched back a fair way. It was a fine pad and we only eventually moved as we had virtually no outdoor space. If we could have lifted the house to another area, we would have done so!
I was brought up about 10 minutes’ walk away so was very familiar with the area. There were two public parks in bumbling distance, Ashton Park which in the 80’s/90’s used to have a high quality challenging 18-hole pitch and putt course with evil Pebble Beach like rough, my best score there was a round of 76. The other being Haslam Park with the old duck pond and easy access to Lancaster canal.
Also close by was the driving test centre. On my first test attempt I was driving back towards the centre and approaching the Lane Ends traffic lights when I correctly overtook a bus, but it then decided to unexpectedly set off causing me to veer around the junction, but astonishingly in the tester’s view I must have remained in control because he passed me!
It was a handy public transport hub where buses returning from Blackpool passed through alongside the No 35 Tanterton buses and the useful but unreliable No 27 Larches buses that took you directly to the train station for many onward trains to Manchester for gig nights!
The most famous resident was Kenny Baker who lived a couple of streets away. He appeared in many movies including Time Bandits and Mona Lisa, but his most enduring role was playing R2-D2 in all the Star Wars movies.
It was a large shopping area and we supported various local trades by purchasing a pot pourri of items from the shops, namely tumble dryers, carpets, karndean floors, double glazing, and the photographer for our wedding. We still even now obtain car and house insurance from the unit located there.
There was a Booths where they stocked a tidy French white wine called Domaine De Pennehault, posh, moi! Across the road was the habitual Chinese takeaway the New Dragon which produced the finest Chicken Fried Rice and Curry Sauce in the area!
However, the piece de resistance was Deans Bakery located directly opposite our road who sold the best Butter Pies in town. Now, a butter pie is a singular Preston delicacy and is a potato and onion pie with extra butter, hence the name. Food of the heavens, instant heartburn nowadays but so worth it.
A Saturday morning prior to watching PNE on match days was not complete without a butter pie, a teacake (no raisins, only bread) and usually an almond slice though choice of cake did sometimes vary. It is extremely hard to find them in Manchester despite being only 30 miles from Preston though I am told Bury Market may assist in that regard. I once asked for one at the local bakery and they looked at me askance!
On the corner of the main junction was located the Lane Ends, a traditional local boozer. It was one of the many traditional Boddingtons house which were in the spit and sawdust mould. I also sometimes visited a slightly rougher Bodds pub down the road in Ingol called the John O Gaunt.
The Lane Ends was originally one room but at some point, in the 90’s it purchased the unit next door and extended into a spruced up larger pub and began serving some half decent tucker. I can’t say it was ever my favourite haunt due to some shall we say interesting punters but was visited due to its proximity to our house.
I recall the night before our Wedding in 1998 my brother, best man and I had a quick visit. Prior to attending the pub, we watched a new TV quiz show that had launched that week called Who Wants to be a Millionaire and I seem to recall a punter winning £16,000 by answering Nebuchanezzar in relation to a question about large wine bottles. For info, it contains 15 litres which is the equivalent of 20 bottles!
Following the extension, the pub began to have some sporadic bands on, and on 26/10/13 I saw a covers band called Area 51 play there.