The Bird In Hand, Patricroft, Salford

Another Holts Pub, nicely presented and quite busy on my Sunday afternoon visit. The woman who was serving seemed to be coping quite well on her own, but she had an act of being useless, dashing hither and yon, collecting glasses when there was no need and with people waiting at the bar to be served. Some of the customers were teasing her a bit, which was a discordant note in an otherwise pleasant pub. My pint of Holts Bitter was in very good condition, but I didn't enjoy my visit as much as I would if she had just calmed down!

The Bird in Hand darts team was playing a grudge match at home when I visited on Monday so the pub was very busy. The dartboard is located in the front bar to the right of the entrance and there is seating in the rear bar in the right rear of the pub. In the front of the pub to the left of the entrance is a seating room. Televisions throughout show live sports. This is a Holts pub so their usual keg was available alongside two handpumps that were both drawing Bitter. Out the back is a nice paved beer garden full of picnic tables. I found the service to be very friendly and enjoyed my visit.

A good old traditional pub. 5 handpumps on the bar dispensed just Holts Bitter and Mild on this visit. As noted its a multi-roomed pub with a beer yard to the rear and some benches out front. Quiet on this afternoon and there seemed to be a Frankie Goes To Hollywood fan in judging by the background music.

A very smart Holts's pub built in 1839, but bought by Holts in 1885 which is why the interior is very different from other Holts's pubs from the same era. It's effectively 4 rooms. One has a pool table and another has 2 dartboards. There's a small lounge to the left as you enter and a large bar area. All have good looking seating and the whole pub is very clean and tidy. Holts Bitter & Mild available with Sharps Doom Bar & Tribute both with clips turned round, so there's probably guest ale here sometimes. My pint was £2.24 which is the same price as the nearby Bridgewater, but the pint was miles better. Which explains why this pub is in the CAMRA GBG2015. Friendly barmaid and locals make this a very good pub.