Category: Preston

Preston Venues 57 to 59 – Garstang

Throughout the blog lifecycle I have had to create lines of definition in relation to regional areas and I have undertaken this via the utilisation of postcodes. Therefore, applying that principle, the town of Garstang falls under the jurisdiction of Preston postcode venues!

Garstang is a small market town that lies equidistant between Preston and Lancaster and was recorded in the Domesday book under the name Cherestanc. Situated on the Great Northwest Highway it was an integral staging post for coaches between London and Edinburgh in the 18th century and was also famous for its cattle and cheese fairs. In 2001 it had the distinction of becoming the World’s first Fairtrade Town.  Famous residents include Rugby World Cup winner Jason Robinson and 6 music DJ Mary Anne Hobbs.

Garstang town centre. Image Credit lancashirecaravanparks.co.uk

My first memories of Garstang were making a visit every May bank holiday to an Aunty who lived there, and this always coincided for when the fair was in town, and I recall we were well fed as there was always a reet good spread!

My first job after leaving college was at a car components shop on North Road in Preston called Partco. I was employed on the old YTS scheme and the weekly ‘pay’ in 1985 was from memory £27.20 for a 40-hour shift. This was 13 years before the national minimum wage was introduced so I was paid a princely £0.68 per hour!

In December of that year, I attended the Christmas works do on a Friday which was at the Vineyard restaurant and then onto Snootys nightclub. In the club I ran into Uncle George who was also on his works shindig, and we got to chatting about having a night out in Garstang the following evening.

Thus, after attending the PNE match on the Saturday afternoon, I headed out to the bus stop at Withytrees to catch the No 41 bus and we had a fine sally around the numerous hostelries in Garstang.

At the end of the evening the last bus coming through from Lancaster simply did not turn up. A discussion ensued and despite George having enough funds to pay for a cab we somewhat inexplicably decided to walk the 11 miles back in the pouring rain! Most of the route is via the busy A6 with a portion of road at that stage with no clear pavement, which in our merry state made it a tad perilous.

Picture of a No 41 bus in Garstang, one of which decided not to keep to the schedule! Image Credit dreamstime.com

We eventually arrived at Broughton traffic lights on the outskirts of Preston where a cab pulled up alongside and offered us a free journey home but being stubborn buffoons, we wanted to finish what we had started, so politely declined. I landed home about 3am and slept like Marty McFly in Back to the Future! I was awoken by my brother to attend the gym on the Sunday morning but understandably had an ineffective session, before going to the Exchange pub for a lunchtime ‘hair of the dog’, and then back to work on the Monday for a rest!      

Garstang town centre has a large Booths supermarket which embraces local produce and has plentiful stocks of the Preston staple of Butter Pies and also has bottles of the high-quality Lancaster brewery beer. They also until recently had a large branch of M and Co where I had obtained many bargains.

Located adjacent to the River Wyre you will find the Garstang Th’Owd Tithebarn. It dates to 1710 and its original purpose was a post-medieval grain storage tithebarn, hence the name. In April 2018 we visited some friends in the town and had a meander into the centre and grabbed a seat overlooking the marina. It so happened this coincided (honestly unplanned) with an outdoor performance by The Lune Valley Jazz band.   

Th’Owd Tithebarn pub. Image Credit tithebarn.pub

We then progressed onto the High Street and another old boozer called Garstang Kings Arms and there was a blues band called Whistle Test playing in the corner. Finally on the music front we visited Garstang Wheatsheaf. The pub first opened its doors in 1717 originally named the Wheat Cake before morphing into the Dog Inn in 1820. On the night we visited a band called The Section were playing who were a rhythm and blues combo hailing from down the road in Lancaster.   

Preston Venues 54 to 56

When I first started visiting pubs in Preston at the tender age of sixteen, I targeted establishments where we were more likely to be served. One such venue was Lou’s Longbar down Main Sprit Weind off Church Street, the name could be rendered down to Cockpit Lane as Cock fighting was a regular event in the area in the 17th century. They had two pool tables and a fine jukebox with Cyndi Lauper receiving regular airplay, and it was 70p a pint in those days and I remember being perched on the bar in 1985 watching the boxer Barry McGuigan win the World title.  

The other pub of choice was Yates Wine Lounge where occasionally you did run the risk of police raids when they decided to have exercises where they clamped down on underage drinking. Between these two pubs was the old Odeon cinema and Clouds nightclub which recently sadly burnt down.  

Also located round there is Preston Hopwoods Tap House which opened in March 2022, the owners made a conscious effort to retain the historic design of the building. They also incorporated a commemoration to artefacts found pertaining to the Victorian tobacco business WH & J Woods which employed 200 staff at its peak and originally resided on the same site.  It is a long thin bar, and they have over 100 different beers available and also stock products from Preston’s local breweries.

Hopwoods Tap House. Image Credit goodbeerguide.co.uk

A group of us visited the venue for the first time in April 22 and I was also recently there celebrating the attendance of my 1000th PNE game, which has only taken the small matter of 46 years to achieve that milestone! On the original visit there was a singer/songwriter called Mick playing away on a stage by the front door.

Near Preston North End’s football ground there used to be Legends nightclub where remarkably PJ Harvey once played, prior to that it was PNE Supporters Club where Matt Monro graced the stage in the 1960’s. On that site in more recent years there has been located the Preston North End Fan Zone where fans could gather pre and post-match. I attended there once prior to a league Cup tie versus Liverpool in October 21.

Matt Monro. Image Credit blogspot.com

They had some fine Moorhouses brewery beer on tap, and I had a cheeky flier just before the match and there was a noisy band called Magic Club playing in the corner of the marquee.  At the end of last season for whatever reason they then decided to discard the Fan Zone area and it no longer exists.

Back in the city, off Lune Street lies the roomy 1842 restaurant and bar which resides on the site of the foyer of the old Public Hall, and it has many incarnations since, Flax and Firkin, Assembly and Corn Exchange to name a few. I have watched a few PNE and England matches in there but never seen a band, though I did see one setting up but left before they struck a chord!  

Diagonally across from there on the corner of Georges Road you will find Preston The Angel, now known as Angel 39. It was established in 1838 and not a pub I have regularly frequented as I always thought it struggled to find its own identity. When we visited there in December 2017, we witnessed a solo artist called Renee.  

Preston Angel. Image Credit flickr.com