The Royal Oak

The Royal Oak flags up everything that traditionalists would hanker for when seeking out the archetypal British country inn.

Daniel Thwaites tenants Eric and Trish Hargreaves pride themselves on keeping things simple at this former coaching inn which dates from 1620 and sits on the old Blackburn-Preston turnpike road, a stone's throw from the Leeds-Liverpool canal.

Cask beers, open fires, exposed stonework, heavy red carpets and settle seats pre-dominate.

Add a simple home-cooked food menu and you have a formula which attracts a loyal clientele.

Favourites such as pies and puddings rub shoulders with more adventurous cooking which is served up via the pub's daily changing specials menu.

"We have no jukeboxes, fruit machines or pool
tables, so we do not get that many teenagers in here,"
explains Eric. "We tend to go for the more mature end
of the market, which means a traditional bill of fare," he says.
The couple have run the pub for 11 years during which time the Royal Oak has found itself featured in most of the leading pub guides.

It's the pub where Thwaites directors inevitably turn to when they want to entertain customers in what has come to be one of the brewery's flagship tenancies.

It's almost a showcase for Thwaites' expanding range of beers and lagers and an area where Eric Hargreaves is never afraid to experiment with new brands emerging from the brewery stable.

Source: Morning Advertiser 31/08/2006.