In a world where Leigh and its inhabitants move ever closer to the TOWIE mentality, The Ship pub may not be to everyone's taste. It's not decorated like a boudoir, filled with over-stuffed sofas and playing Hed Kandi on the stereo but that's exactly why I like it. The Ship is a boozer's boozer. There's a roaring open fire, where locals' pet dogs snooze away the hours as their owners laugh like drains over a pint. No nonsense Sunday lunches are served at a very reasonable price too.
There's a huge function room upstairs, which plays host to live bands of all persuasions, music events to suit many tastes and also private hire. This is where The Ship gets all my brownie points. This room is great! The private function hire is free, all you have to do is supply a small deposit and a minimum number of guests to guarantee your very own bar person. Apart from that, what you do with the room decorations-wise is up to you. There's no sound or lighting provided, but once you've begged, hired or borrowed those, you'll be laughing. There are tons of seats, a dance floor big enough to boogie and plenty of space to stand and chat by the bar. There is also a small ante-room, which is perfect for food we asked to bring in our own food, and this was no problem at all. The upper floor also has its own toilets for the use of your party.
On returning to tidy up the mess the following day, we found the cleaners had already done most of the hard work for us! The staff here are just lovely in this respect they couldn't do more for you. I'd hire it again for a big event in an instant. read more
