Like on our Ramsbottom trip, our journey from Bolton to Horwich will pass through places with 'rude' names, Doffcocker and Bottom O' The Moor! Is this how people of the West Pennine Moor amused themselves in days gone by – making up village names which were double entendres? Ooh err missus!

Between the two we will also be passing the site of The Battle of Grundy Fold Farm. "Is that a Civil War skirmish?" I hear you asking. In a way — Yes, but a civil battle between Bolton Council and a developer. Back in 2014 a planning application to build five luxury houses was (controversially) granted. Because of the prominent position overlooking Bolton there were several restrictions imposed. These were ignored and the houses built, both bigger than designed and in different positions. The council took exception to this and, because this was green belt land, insisted all five were demolished. The view to the left from the bus just after Bob's Smithy Inn was as below in 2021. Keep an eye out and the answer to the question, 'Who won?' will be obvious. For those who don't want to know the answer don’t follow these links to the Bolton News and BBC coverage.

Arriving in Horwich keep an eye out for the Parish Church as that is our alighting bus stop. Surprisingly the name on the bus stop sign isn't Parish Church but Bank Top Brewery Ale House – I think we have arrived. Inside the pub, previous the Brown Cow, has been tastefully modernised and an outside drinking area added to the back. Like in the Bank Top Brewery Tap visited in January there is a large range of Bank Top beers on offer. All tastes are catered for, from light hoppy beers, through mild to a dark beer (Leprechaun Stout at a challenging 6% on a recent visit of mine!) Because of the range, extra time has been allowed here so a half of everything can be imbibed before we move on.

The journey to our next outlet will involve around an 11 minute walk (courtesy Google), but the good news is its all downhill. [Of interest to geeks – Google Maps still uses Brown Cow as the name of the starting point!]

JR's Ale House resides in a former shop, so the two large shop-windows mean everyone inside is very visible, so if you are hiding from the other half this isn't a good place to be seen – Ho ho! If however you are an ale drinker the five handpulls offer a range of styles, usually including a dark beer (an excellent porter when your author called). Because of its small size, it is almost obligatory to join in the conversation. Of note is the location of the cellar – upstairs! To reach our next destination we have an 8 minute walk, unfortunately a (slight) uphill. As we approach our destination, take note of the bus stop – this is where the 575/576 departs from.

Often a Holt's outlet would be bypassed as having nothing other than the house beers available, the Crown however is an exception. Apart from the Holts beers offered (Bitter, Mild, IPA and Two Hoots) there can be four 'outside' beers available, occasionally including Bank Top and Blackedge. The Crown also does a good range of food, though it will be a little late for [using the local vernacular] dinner and too early for tea (unfortunately Afternoon Tea doesn't appear on the menu).

As we leave glance to the left across the road, this is the bus stop to use for the 125 route.

Our final destination wasn't available to us earlier in the year, but experimental opening midweek is proving successful, so off to the Brewery Bar. Located above the Blackedge (and Hophurst) brewery the food miles of the beer are exceedingly low (as long as you discount the hops from New Zealand and the USA!) There are usually half a dozen real ales available (obviously from Blackedge), plus a wall full of fonts across the back. Being an industrial unit the dećor is a little stark, but it is the (our?) company which makes the atmosphere.

Travel back to Bolton can be a battle. There are three bus routes back, but they split on to two different routes at the Crown. Going to the stop before (7 minutes walk) doesn't solve the problem as they also approach from two different directions! Standing on the corner and peering down the road will give only half a minutes notice due to the layout. The solution is to use a real time bus locations app to check which is the next bus to arrive (or plump for one and gnash your teeth when the other bus turns up).

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