From Buscough Junction we had a little time to kill until our booked passage down into Liverpool so we headed east to Wigan. It is quite a nice trip to Wigan, a few locks and bridges dotted with a few villages to venture ashore for milk etc. and a few walks along the valley floor. I like Wigan; a good Northern town, not pretentious, nice and compact and with everything you could want at hand. On the other hand Helen has a downer on Wigan. In fact at one time it was every place on the canal beginning with 'W' at one time. I'm sure she is softening these days but the first time we arrived she still wasn't 'driving' the boat and so was doing all the locks and she wasn't battle hardened either. She was dead on her feet when we got there I think.
We seem to moor by the side of Trencherfield Mill, just through the bridge and on the left. The towpath is a bit high but easy enough to get on and off, and handy for all the shops.
We had had a long day when we arrived so it was decided that we would just go up into town to the Weatherspoon's for a bite to eat, and drink. There are plenty of pubs and places to eat in the area but Weatherspoon's provides quick and easy food that is just enough and is always at a decent standard. When they first appeared on the High Streets they had a dozen different beers, but as they expanded further I'm not sure if the staff were developed as quickly as the standard of the beer went down. Draft beer doesn't keep that long so if it isn't popular it can go over before it is finished. Wisely I think they have reduced the number of Real Ales they have on to ensure that they get drunk and the standard keeps up.
The pub is called 'The Moon Under Water'. George Orwell is famous for writing 'Road to Wigan Pier' but in 1946 he also wrote a piece about his favourite pub. It was fictional, but had everything that Orwell would want in a tavern. When Weatherspoon's Chairman Tim Martin had a few pubs only one was reviewed by a journalist who said he liked it as it reminded him of the Orwell quote. In essence, a good location, fine beer, tasty food and no music. He liked that notion and as the number of houses grew he has called several the same name.
With our meal I fancied a pint and was taken with a nice looking milk stout. Stog, at 4.1%. It poured nice and dark with a great thick head so looked almost like a meal in itself. It is brewed by the Big Bog Brewing Co. Ltd.
The company says it is brewed using chocolate and brown malt and the sweetness is enhanced with milk sugars. I loved it, the sweetness comes first and then a lovely bitterness follows that makes you realise that you are drinking beer and not a bed time drink! I really enjoyed it, so I had another one!
The Big Bog Breweing Co. was started in 2011 in Waunfawr, near Caernarfon. The brewer is a master of his trade and up until a year or so ago worked full time at Hydes Brewery in Salford, just brewing on his own account at weekends and evenings. By 2015 they had outgrown their premises in North Wales and decided to move to a brand new brewery, made to measure at Speke, close to John Lennon Airport, Liverpool. This was the area where their target market was to be and they have now styled the beers 'made in Speke'.
At the time the beer cost £2-29, another distinct advantage of drinking at a 'Spoons pub. If you join CAMRA you also get a fist full of vouchers to use in Weatherspoons pubs, knocking off another 50p from the price. If you use all the vouchers, the membership is just about free. Another good reason to join.
I was going to call into the Wigan Central pub in an arch under the railway under the Wigan Northwestern Station, but that will have to wait until our next visit.
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