By popular demand we will again be visiting every real ale pub in Astley Bridge on this outing (as the only one is the Bank Top Brewery Tap!) With nine handpulls dispensing up to eight Bank Top beers plus often a guest we could count this as three different pubs, hence the extended stay. There can also be six bag-in-box and bottled ciders available of which usually one will meet CAMRA's criteria for being real. The pub is a real community hub with plenty of chatter, the only distractions being limited to quiet background music and the thud of darts, though there is a small, often silent, TV in the bar. The buses back to Bolton are every 15 minutes, so take the departure time as a suggestion rather than cast in stone; half an hour either way can easily be accommodated (as can staying here all day!)

Assuming we don't stay all afternoon, we still have time to fit in two pubs in Bolton itself. To this end, after catching the 534 bus back towards Bolton, we will alight on Deansgate and then we have the second of todays decisions, walk East or West?

Turning East and walking for 5 minutes towards Churchgate and the parish church takes us towards the Olde Man and Scythe then the Northern Monkey Bar.

In the square alongside the parish church (weathervanes maintained by Fred Dibner) is Bolton's medieval pub, þe Olde Man & Scythe, with the name alluding to the crest of the Pilkington family. In 1651, having stayed the night in the pub, the Earl of Derby was beheaded outside the Man & Scythe – owned at the time by his family – for his part in the Bolton Massacre. Outside a cross marks the site of his execution. A market charter of 1251 mentions the pub by name. It has been rebuilt at least once since then according to a 1636 date stone inside. Confusingly its historic architecture is described as timber framed with a slate roof. But in 1636 the cost of transporting slate from either North Wales or the Lake District all the way to Bolton would have been high, especially as excellent Haslingden flags [Yorkstone 'slates' a bit like flagstones] were available nearby. A quick look on Google satellite isn't definitive, the roof looks a different colour to the adjacent Welsh slate roofs, but whether soot blackened Haslingden flag or not isn't clear. Bank Top's Flat Hat is always on the bar, so maybe avoid in the Brewery Tap if you don't want to repeat beers. Oakham Citra is also a permanent beer along with two guests. There is also an impressive cider bar with four handpulls and some bag in box options available, though whether all meet the new stringent CAMRA definition is open to debate.

On the way back to the station we now have the last pub of the day (probably) the Northern Monkey Bar. Converted from a former restaurant but originally part of the Pack Horse Hotel, historically the place where the classiest visitors to the town stayed (now student residences - how the mighty have fallen!) The brewery itself was originally also accommodated here, but that has moved to a nearby industrial estate and incorporates the Northern Monkey Brewery Tap (closed until April and then limited opening times). There are usually two Northern Monkey beers along with two gests on the bar. {Pst! For you skinflints they do a CAMRA discount.}

Walking West for 3 minutes along Deansgate takes us towards the Hen & Chickens (glance right at the wall art on the Greyhound across the road), and thence One For The Road.

Turning West along Deansgate we very soon come upon the Hen and Chickens, found on your left just before the Black Horse Street junction. This is a proper traditional town centre pub, which was much busier when the town's bus station stood across the road. Originally a two roomer, it has been made into a single room, but not barn like, and definite retaining its two sides. The cask ales are only partly tied to Punch Taverns list so you can expect some of the beers to be from a range of mainly small breweries. Taylors and Black Sheep do seem to make frequent appearances.

On leaving turn left and left again along Black Horse Street to reach One For The Road in the Market Hall. Opening hours are limited by the market, but these are still 9:00am to 5:30pm! Like many market hall outlets, seating is shared with neighbouring stalls, so can be busy at times. The advantage is, many of these food stalls are from such places as Malaysia and Cameroon, with more local Wigan pies and Bury Black puddings for the less adventurous. On the bar, one of the handpumps always serves a dark beer. At this late time the market will be winding down, so we may have to share the space with the cleaners going about their business.

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