Bowland Beer Hall at Holmes Mill — Restaurant in Ribble Valley

My good friend first brought Bowland Beer Hall to my attention. He described a magical place where scores of beers were on offer, and where the home brews from Bowland Brewery were mostly gluten free.

So, after delivering a wedding cake nearby, and with the family all off to the cinema, I carved out a bit of me time and headed over to Clitheroe to see what the fuss was all about.

And any fuss you might hear about this taproom (taphall? tapmill?) is justified. As well as a strong line up of Bowland's own beer at the prow of the 105ft long bar, there is literally something for every taste available. They keep their Untappd beer list bang up to date so if you're ever considering a trip you can even plan ahead.

Now, normally on these visits I keep strictly to the brewery's own beer, but having tried plenty of Bowland's beers elsewhere (and enjoying them, mind) I plumped for just one of theirs (Bowland Best) and one from Two by Two Brewing (Azacca Mosaic) whose beer I will always have when I can get my hands on it.

Enough about beer though. The location itself is worth the visit even if you hate the stuff. Situated in a former cotton mill, the beer hall retains many of the original features and machinery, with all the fixtures and fittings of the bar and restaurant made tastefully in keeping with the surroundings.

Along with the food hall and hotel, the beer hall at Holmes Mill is clearly a huge draw. I was there on Saturday and the place was packed - a little too busy for a solo outing, but I found myself a snug corner and shut myself off from the world well enough. With that in mind, I think next time I'll take my wife and make an...

Fantastic venue for eating and drinking, and a few other delightful things too. A great use of an old facility, in this case an old working mill, brought bang up to date with lots of space and choice, whether it's a choice of dozens of ale options in the beer hall, or the many dining options from the food hall to the cafe, bistro restaurant, gelateria or the one we went for in the beer hall, a pie and pint for a tenner. Tasty pies and a decent pint, bargain. The only downside was the info and signage, or lack of specifically, available. We didn't really know anything other than what was on the website. But then the website and venue itself contradicted each other - my partner and I were specifically going for something to eat and a drink, and had never visited the venue, and the website states that the food hall had this and that, but also that the cafe was now part of the food hall, which it wasn't. We wondered around the food hall looking for it, but actually found it outside, two doors down. Odd. And when we decided on the pub food menu in the beer hall, there are a few separate rooms like the 'engine room', which seemed to have at-seat service, we discovered later (or maybe that was just for the locals?!), but there no signs or info anywhere, and had already decided the website didn't really know what it was talking about. Just a bit frustrating if you didn't know the place at all, it's quite large and could do with better info and specifics. That aside, the food/drink, decor and venue as a whole was really enjoyable, and would definitely go back now I'm a bit more aware of the...

A great place poorly executed.

Beautiful building with great beers - but unfortunately that's where the positives end.

Very mixed bag of staff - many very young, clearly inexperienced in the service industry. Unfortunately this showed with wrong orders, poor drinks, long waits for service, confusion and misunderstandings.

Seemed quite understaffed either way - I can only assume tricky as only reopened a few weeks ago after the most recent lockdown. Few members of staff seemed more experienced and coped better and they saved our evening on a few occasions.

Drinks were generally ok - beers as to be expected were good and wine was acceptable. Made the mistake of ordering "off menu" with an aperol spritz and recieved a very weak drink overfilled with soda (rather than the splash expected) and terribly overpriced at over 8 quid! So not recommended to order off menu.

Food was ok but nothing exceptional - largely brought in and heated up, but warm and not unpleasant so acceptable.

In general a poor experience - with more staff and more experience in hospitality I'm sure things will improve. We'd probably visit again as there's previously been good reviews and we've had good experiences with James places before but wouldn't rush...