"It's a hard place to find, but once you're here, it's a hard place to forget."
This week's pub is on a mission to attain Michelin-star status and is nestled within one of Lancashire's most picturesque and historic villages.
The Freemasons at Wiswell has been a pub for more than 120 years and initially served as a waypoint for travellers coming over the Pennines from Yorkshire.
We caught up with the general manager to hear about this historic venue.
Introduce yourself
My name is Andrew Thompson, and I'm the general manager at the Freemasons, Wiswell.
Why did you decide to work here?
First of all, it has got a great reputation and great food with three AA rosettes.
I want to help get us a Michelin star, and be the most popular in the area; be the favourite for people to visit.
I've lived in the area for 20 years and used to run the Waddington Arms, and we always had to respect this place as a competitor when I was there, we knew all about the food, so I jumped at the opportunity to work here when it was offered.
What's the best thing about the pub?
We're all things to everyone, you can have a coffee, you can stay in some of the gorgeous rooms, and you can have a whole range of experiences.
Looking around now, some guys are sitting at the bar with a hot chocolate, after coming back from a walk, some others are having the tasting menu which is priced at £80, and another guy is with his sheepdog while browsing the menu, whether he'll eat or not who knows!
Have you got a good set of locals?
Loads of people come in here from the village, we've got carol singing where they all come from around the village, then everyone comes in for mulled wine, pie, and peas.
But also, people come from far and wide, from all over the region and from the Lake District, so we know we need to make it special for everybody and exceed people's expectations.
What's the most popular dish?
The Beef suet pudding with red cabbage, especially on a day like this, it's such a gorgeous, rich dish.
We can be the ultimate gourmet experience, we've got three menus: a la carte, a tasting menu, and the celebration of autumn menu, which is four courses, and complimentary snacks, for £37.50.
What's the draught beer line-up?
-
IPA Complot
-
Aspalls Cyder
-
Peroni
-
Guinness
-
Estrella Damn
-
Inedit - Spanish wheat beer
-
Free dam zero per cent alcohol beer - Andrew said: "It tastes just like an alcoholic one."
What's Wiswell like?
It's a classic honeypot little English village.
It's hard to find, but once you find it, it's hard to forget, back in the day the workers from Whalley Abbey used to live here, and it used to be a poor area, but now it's very affluent.
It was a stopping point for people travelling across the area and the building is more than 400 years old most likely, with all sorts of private dining rooms, deer's heads, fox's heads.
Is there an outside area?
Yes, we've got room for 24 people, and it's lovely because it catches the sun out there!
The Freemasons at Wiswell is located in Vicarage Fold, Wiswell, just outside the villages of Whalley and Barrow.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel