Leigh Arms & Station

It was Hannah's graduation ceremony, today, and this evening I went into Manchester to meet up with her and two of her sisters for a celebratory drink and a meal in the Northern Quarter.

Trains from Chorley to Manchester are a bit variable at the moment due to the electrification of the line. Sometimes you can get through to Piccadilly and sometimes you have to get off at Bolton and take a bus the rest of the way. The last time I did that, I arrived into Manchester about half an hour later than advertised. 

The lady at Chorley Station was very helpful, though, suggesting that I hang on for half an hour as there would be a direct train to Victoria, which is not too far from the Northern Quarter. This seemed like an excellent plan; I would not only be very likely to beat the bus, I could also tell the girls exactly when I'd arrive.

So it was, then, that I had half an hour on my hands. I had a book with me, of course, and there was, therefore, the option of sitting in the waiting room on the surprisingly uncomfortable seats or, as an alternative, it occurred to me that there was a pub just across the road. I was confident that in return for buying a bottle of beer they'd be only too happy for me to sit on their almost certainly more comfortable seats and read my book.

The Leigh Arms and Station used to be two separate pubs, both situated on the adjacent sides of the same corner, but they've been knocked into one establishment and combined their names. It isn't quite my cup of tea but there was nothing wrong with the beer and the seat was just as comfy as I'd hoped.