Piggy Banks, Bolton

a pretty basic bar near the Bolton stations with some unwelcoming and questionable characters around the bar. It’s an unusual place with a conservatory at the front, a main bar and pool room behind. The single real ale from Hopstar tasted of apples and I left most of it, very unusual for me. No one else was on it so I really should have given it a swerve. A strange place, I thought - one to avoid.

Now this is a bit of a strange one. It's a narrow fronted bar that goes back a long way. At the rear there's a pool table and a dartboard along with loads of piggy banks and several board games. At the front there's a couple of booths to the right and some barstools around the bar. I was bit surprised to find that the landlord was in drag. He was apparently doing it for charity, but some locals I spoke to later on said that he's always doing it. So I sat at the bar for a chat, like you do. Only one handpump on the bar which was pulling Holts Bitter which was OK. It'll not be a regular stop unless the ale changes, but it was fine for one.

The Piggy Banks opened a couple of months ago and is situated directly opposite Bolton rail station.This had recently been a coffee and sandwich place but now is a cocktail and bottle bar and according to Whatpub has a dartboard,piano and a pool table