TOP LOCK in Chorley

Great location for a canal side walk but the pub itself isn't massively impressive. It didn't feel very clean. Also, the staff said they don't stock red wine, so I guess that makes it the only pub in Britain to not serve one of the most common alcoholic beverages ever? If you have a dog though, it's pretty pet friendly so you'll love that. The views are lovely of the canal too.

Great find. Live music on a Saturday afternoon too 👌

Lovely meal out for our wedding anniversary with the kids in tow!

Lovely friendly pub nice food very friendly staff From Dave & Andy working the locks and soking wet

Walk in whilst walking on the canal. First time and impressed with the welcome and service from the young lady. Nice pint of Neck Oil and my wife enjoyed her Disarrano and ginger ale.

Lovely small canalside pub along the Leeds Liverpool canal. Good choice of beers with a cosy lounge complete with log burner.Very picturesque location

I Used to be a regular in its hay day Great to see it open again 4 well kept cask ales on the bar but £5 for 2 halves is excessive Food smelt really good though Friendly service though and Great location

An unusual, though not unpleasant, place. Despite its small menu and lack of wheat-free (which inevitably means gluten-free) options for my wife, we decided to eat there rather than cook on our boat. My beer (Landlord) was good and they had another two available and our food (fish & chips for her, a vegetarian wellington for me) arrived quite speedily, served, I imagine, by the Landlord. However, the delay before getting cutlery and sauces to accompany our meals led us to suspect that he was also doing the cooking despite our being told that they had got a new chef "a month ago". Strangely, the food and drinks had to be paid for using different 'tap' handsets and the electronic receipts were from different companies. That said, our food was good, as was the ice-cream with which we finished our meals. Other meals that we saw (lasagne and pizzas) also looked good. Overall, I get the impression of a struggling pub but wouldn't let that put me off returning if passing on the canal again - though I wouldn't drive miles to do so either. Ignore a lot of the information about the food elsewhere on this site. particularly the photographs. They are years our of date.

Evening ruined by a man humming a B gees song through a paper hat for about 30 minutes, in the end had to leave

Came in early evening for a few pints with the dog. Dog friendly, great beer and very welcoming staff.

Great little pub , dog friendly, good food and helpful welcoming staff

Great food. Dog friendly. Wide range of craft beers.

Will have to go back to try food

First time here will definitely be back

Good place on a nice sunny day. Good selection of beers and reasonably priced. I would recommend this place. We didn't try the food bit it look nice and was reasonably priced.

Had the steak Canadian and chips today the chips were not skin on which is how they should be the Canadian with onions was very good the landlord apologised for the lack of salad but who wants salad with chips I’ll definitely be going back

Its not a patrons,duty or Job to introduce themselfs or make their presence known. In places like Top lock who are also being facililated,it seems by my very own WATER Lords. CRT..im sorry the carpark was more than enough for me. And i have failed on more than one occasion to identify who actualy holds parking rights.. i feel the dwellings ajacent to the carprk REALLY NEED to know whos in their spaces wich are heavily obscured by overhanging trees and undergrowth. With .poorly maintained baylines...im here to use crt facilities..but NOT TONIGHT. MIUCH TO BE IRONED OUT HERE.

Great beer, good food and far cheaper than I thought it was gonna be. £9.99 for sandwiches and Chips. 👍🏻

Great local pub, lovely location

Went for food only did pizza through week we left Such a shame as it looked a cosy little bar xx

Lovely June day .We rode our bikes from Blackburn to Brindle to Wheelton .A very friendly welcome from Doris the dog and Dave the Lanlord .Guinness excellent .I

Really busy little place and great views of the canal

Wednesday Night is curry night here. Had a great Chicken Penang. Would definitely recommend the food. Thank you.

Met friends had a good day here

Very disappointed with food chiice and quality. Such a shame when the location is so good

Great food. If your a gin lover this is the place for you loads of options. We ordered the fish and chips,salt and pepper fry’s and the chicken burger all the food was great and there is plenty to choose from and reasonable prices.

Terrible hospitality walked in sat down and walked out within minutes. It's a tough industry you need to be nice to people or they will take there money elsewhere. Bad attitude from the second we walked in .

Friendly landlord and 2 lady members of staff. Timothy Taylor beer excellent. Quite quiet as only just opened at noon but a friendly atmosphere with the customers. Dog friendly. Will return. Btw I didn't eat!

Was shut on a Monday when we arrived, but the landlord very nicely opened up for us.

Called into the Top Lock before going a walk. The pub was reasonably busy, but not enough staff working to cope. Visiting the bar, I was only 3rd in the queue, but it took a while to get served, without big drink orders ahead of me. I was hoping to order sandwiches, as well as 2 drinks, but was informed food orders had been suspended, while 'they caught up'. By the time I hot served the queue behind me had swollen to maybe 10 or 12. Tables were not being cleared and/or wiped down. We sat at a table and the table hadn't been tidied.

Having read some reviews on here and Facebook I was a little reluctant but I’m glad we decided to try for ourselves.The staff are a happy,friendly bunch who seem to enjoy being at work. Great selection of lagers,ales and coffee. We had a selection of the small plates and pizzas and the children had homemade chicken goujons and a small fish which wasn’t really small at all and was delicious. Empty plates all round Infact listening to other people after eating everyone was saying the same thing how delicious it was and the price really shocked me it’s really well priced for the portion you get. I strongly recommended the salt and pepper chicken topped fries and the Greek fries both were incredible and really moreish! Don’t go off other people’s reviews give it a try for yourself.

Good set up at the top lock, only had the one beer but it was a good beer at that

Had a fantastic night me and my mum went to the top lock we wanted to go back once it reopened after covid so we waited and to my surprise it had reopened recently so I decided to go with my mum was going to take the girlfriend however she wasn't available do just us yo and I got to say that I read a couple of reviews on TripAdvisor so I was unsure after I read them but however how do you know if you haven't treid it so we did so we had pizza's as the chef was away on holiday so that whete keeping the menu simple the the pizza's where fantastic you could not fault them and it was too for Tuesday but I got to say we will be back when the chef has returned and they have the full menu again service good as well 2 glasses of red wine

What a fantastic little pub! Slowly making my way through the new menu and have not been disappointed yet, very tasty and at very good prices. Called in over the weekend and the place was packed! Warm friendly atmosphere, dog friendly and the staff go above and beyond to cater for everyone. Would highly recommend a visit

We had fish and chips which was from frozen, kids chicken nuggets were also from frozen and cheap, pizza was ok, beer around £6 a pint, toilets had no soap or hand dryer. On the plus side there was good live music and pub was lively.

I was in a few days ago and had the steak canadien which was perfect, very friendly staff excellent food and all round good atmosphere I’ve also had the full English breakfast in the morning which they do at the weekend, again it was excellent

We have been to the Top Lock for decades and always loved the walk and the visits there. The food, the ales, the beer festivals have always been great. This is a little gem of a pub on the canal. Unfortunately, on our first visit back there since it opened it wasn’t a great experience. This is Easter Sunday and they have ran out of most ales and some ciders. So ended up with drinks that we didn’t even like that much. It was busy and the live act was really good. Managed to find a table but we were asked to move to another table with another family which would have been a real squeeze - the table we had wasn’t reserved but because there was less of us than the other group we were asked to sit with another group - it wasn’t really appropriate due to the amount of us now squeezing to another table. And that would have been even maybe ok if we had the beers we wanted and adequate loos. Just not the best for a bank holiday weekend. Maybe make sure there are ales available on a bank holiday weekend and not just bottles and look after the toilets and don’t move your customers to another table where they don’t really fit! Miss the old Top Lock

Lovely catch up with friends but the food was very poor. Fish and chips just tasted like something from Iceland and the children’s chicken nuggets were appalling. This is a great pub for a drink and a catch up but would not return for food.

Very friendly for people and their dogs, staff great. Food expensive and only one vegetarian option, no vegan food whatsoever.

Lovely, newly refurbished pub. Great selection of beers and small selection of food but we didn't eat on this occasion. Food did look nice though, so we will be back!

Just had an early morning coffee during a walk. Really nice pub for a mid walk stop.

Great Sunday afternoon entertainment

Called in for a pint on a walk and it was welcoming , warm and a good crowd of people and well behaved friendly dogs

Not open just yet, but checked out through the windows, looking good will pop in and next time we are in the area

Fancied spoiling myself this morning so ordered the big breakfast, 11.30am VERY busy. The staff friendly & unflustered, ordered my food & it was on the table in 20 minutes. Excellent quality no cheap sausages etc Will definitely be back next weekend.

Went out for a walk Friday afternoon and it had been a while since wandering down here. The last time was summer last year and The Top Lock was closed. Was great to see the place open again. Both staff who were working were very pleasent and friendly. I had a large black americano coffee as a pick-me-up ☕, then decided i'd try a large red wine ( rioja )🍷. It was delicious ! Will certainly be back again soon.

Fantastic place, lovely owners, warm welcome and amazing selection of food. The Top Lock is a gem

Fantastic place, lovely owners, each time you come here you receive a warm welcome and there is an amazing selection of food and drinks at a good price Definitely worth The Top Lock is a gem

Brilliant afternoon with live musicians,great atmosphere excellent staff and the landlady very welcoming 🍺🍺well worth a visit on a Saturday afternoon

Lovely pub, nice relaxing vibe and gorgeous log burner. Only criticism is that we are often left standing waiting for a table. It would be great to squeeze in a few more tables as there is plenty of space

A lovely cosy place, very welcoming. Great to listen to lovely music too. Wonderful Sunday afternoon

it might be a dog friendly pub but they aren't vegan friendly very disappointing visit no menu just a few pizza choices up on a specials board no vegan cheese available when I asked.

We found the pub about four weeks ago and we have been twice for breakfast baps and coffee on a Sunday morning which are excellent a very friendly pub very dog-friendly staff are lovely.

Quirky canal side pub. One large room with plenty of tables. Extremely friendly welcome & service. Well kept Cask Ales & various other drinks. Pub games available. The food looked very hearty & was very competitive prices. Good one.

Excellent pub,good to see it back open. Lovely fire roaring away a perfect welcome on a cold winters day. Dogs are welcome so ideal for walkers on the canal with their pooches.

Cracking pub, dog friendly AND Human friendly! Well presented beers and very personable staff/management.

Had a great afternoon here. Live music, not too loud! Really nice atmosphere and friendly helpful staff. Really happy it open again.

What a place! This pub reopened 4 weeks ago. Small, independent and cosy. Not been for ages but went today just for a drink. Manager and staff happy to chat, really friendly little pub. Give it a go ! Support DEFINATELY worth a visit, dog friendly aswell

Lovely, welcoming pub. Great to walk down the canal and stop off for a pit stop beer/wine. Will definitely be coming back over summer, such a nice setting.

So glad to see the pub is back open. Warm (literally, and atmospherically) welcome. Beer was perfect (Managed to get some TT Landlord before it sold out!) - someones looking after the lines and the glasses, and it shows. Refurb pending, so inside still looks the same. However it's so clean, dogs really really welcome, and the little extras in the ladies, including nappies which as mums know, can be a god send! Our walks this way are now a lot more frequent, and we love the cosy vibe, even when it was packed to the rafters on Saturday. Good luck to Hannah & Dave and the rest of the team!

Not sure what the previous review was about. Clearly a lady with personal issues!! I've been a regular to this pub for several years and it is great to see ir re-open. The new team here are absolute profesional in their attitude and always have a warm and friendly armosphere. I can't wait for the food to start. I'm sue that it will be fantastic. The beer is in top form and it's great to see that it is still dog friendly. I think the Top Lock has finally found a landlord and management team that will see it prosper and I well recommend a visit.

Awful new management and staff. The last time I came here (which was the previous proper management, as the last attempt was rather botched), it was a lovely experience, even if the lady seemed quite unhappy (and it came as no surprise when it did close). I had a pot of tea brought out to me in the garden by someone who was intent on making sure I had everything I needed. I thought that sort of service was above and beyond and wasn't what I expected on Saturday. I did, however, expect to not be totally ignored by the bar maid who insisted on only speaking to my partner, even though he wanted a beer and didn't want a non-alcoholic, hot beverage. He doesn't control my thoughts, opinions or wants and given he was getting a glass of beer, it didn't really matter if I had a takeout cup or a mug. She made no effort to clarify there was a pot and just went off and started doing stuff. I tried, about three times, to get her to stop, listen and talk to me but she was steadfastly refusing so I went outside. I came back in to find I had been given a poor quality teabag with about ~150ml of hot water in a much smaller mug than the much bigger takeout pot that provided much better value for money. The tea itself was more expensive than the pot of tea I was able to drink at the Chef and Brewer just after (which provided for two big mugs). They've put absolutely no thought into the reopening and I doubt they'll be around managing it for long. I've been waiting for this pub to reopen for sometime and have researched it quite a bit. I would not be surprised if tenanting these cretins is part of Stars grand plan to rid themselves of the property once-and-for-all by claiming its not viable.

So glad the pub has reopened. Dog friendly, super atmosphere .. will definitely visit again.

Great, family friendly pub in a perfect location next to the canal. Really nice selection of ales and lager on draught, great atmosphere.

Looking forward to the grand reopening I was somewhat disappointed (after passing an encouraging sign saying ‘ Large choice of cask ales’) to be offered either Theakstons old peculiar which only a very few people would choose or freezing cold Theakstons Summit which was so cold I’ve really little idea as to what it tasted like. The landlady was very friendly though but the place was full of dogs (yapping dogs at that) Suppose it’s fine if you’re a dog obsessed lager drinker. The decor looked exactly the same so I’m not sure what work has been done in the interim but decor aside they will have to offer a better choice of real ales than the mediocrity I witnessed. They’ve had enough time to prepare you’d have thought they would get it right. Lastly, please ask the owners of noisy yapping dogs politely to take the offending mutt outside. Someone else muttered “It’s like crufts in there” on the way to the car park so it’s not just me winging.

Great to see this gem of a pub open again.

Very nice place to sit and have a pint or 2

Great service from the bar man We left the Malthouse because of bad service and came to the Top Lock after an 9 mile Trek

Very friendly pub with excellent beer.

Great pub and great location next to the canal were you can sit and drink

It's a lovely place to visit for a quiet canal side stroll,the weather was very kind to us,we were going to have a drink at the Top Lock pub,but it wasn't open,don't know if they are still doing refurbishments,but the lights were on inside,perhaps we just landed at the wrong time....but an enjoyable afternoon non the less

Glad to see that it open again, looking forward to the improvements that are going to be made.

Good selection of beers and ciders. Friendly barman. Right next to the canal, peaceful location.

Great place for a pint, sitting watching the boats pass is brilliant, shame it isn't doing food ....but covid hurt this great bar.

Very happily surprised to find the pub reopened bought a pint immediately, prices are below average, suntrap still working and still a good people watching area. Food available in a couple of months. Ace

Recently reopened, it's a nice stop off in a picturesque situation on the banks of the canal. A reasonable selection of drinks with a few cask beers on. Currently no food available and closed Mondays. Well worth a visit and hope it does well.

Just re-opened. Friendly staff. Food available in a few months - just bar snacks atm.Dog Friendly Quiz Thursday 8PM.

Very good pub fast service nice location by the canal and very dog friendly.

Not open when we arrived at 4.15pm even though the website says open 11am to 11pm. Not a great start

Great beer and friendly service. Lovely location.

Closed...once one of most characterful pub's for miles...had a superb selection of cask ales, new owners/pubco's knew what people wanted so removed the cask ales and increased the price of a pint by about 80 pence, can't understand why all the customers disappeared.

Top Lock public house is shut temporarily pending renovation & new tenants. Unsure when this will take place.

Permanently closed. Such a shame. Was worth all its previously good eviews No doubt the canal boat users will miss it. It is a long way to the Golden Lion further east. Even that is precarious only open as a bar so far as I could see.

The risotto far too dry and when asked to provide some extra sauce to loosen it by the time they brought it the meal was cold 😒 the pie my husband had was far too watery, the flavour was good but it was like a soup. The manager of the bar also agreed. When she asked for feedback we politely told her what we thought, she apologised and said she would feed it back to the chef. That’s great for the next customers if they fix it but not for us, we were left very disappointed. Not a offer of an other other dish/dessert/drink to make up for the poor meal so we will definitely not return for food again.

Excellent lunch here washed down with a glass or two of 61 deep, a reward for a 3 mile along the canal in beautiful sunshine. It’s years since I’ve been here but will certainly return, lovely food and a great selection of beers. Staff are friendly and the pub itself, apparently due for some refurbishment in the new year, is a relaxing & welcoming place

Good selection of beers and food is excellent. Steak perfectly cooked and gammon delicious - bar staff attentive - great customer service. Will definitely return. Thanks for a lovely evening.

Awesome afternoon, Food was Top Notch & a wide range of Desserts. Staff & Manageress very friendly. Definitely be going back. 😁😁👍

A bit like Fawlty Towers! Stopped serving lunch at 1pm. Ovens went down. Tried gammon bit burnt underside.

After months of not eating out it was lovely to visit Top Lock for some lunch. We chose from the lunch menu and both had a ciabatta with firs - I had the Mariner which was various pieces of fish, and the husband had steak. It was delicious. The only thing I could 'finf fault' with was the quiet - there was music playing in the background but it was so faint we couldn't hear it. And as there weren't lots of people eating, I felt awkward as the two people at the table next to us could hear every word we said, as we could them. It just made the whole experience 'awkward' on what would otherwise have been a much better lunch!

We popped in while out on a walk. We ordered two drinks and shared a garlic bread. It was very dry and didn’t have a lot of flavour, also small for the price and it was a “sharer” but more fitting for one person. Probably wouldn’t return

I had a garlic bread and loaded chips. Bread was 6 inch accross, burned base and like cardboard. Horrid. Chips had bits of various meats beneath cheese. Chips under done and meat was old! Later on that evening i was violently sick. Won't eat here again.

Called in for food today while out on a walk. We were hungry so asked how much for an extra patty on our burgers. The waitress said she would check, but didn’t come back and confirm, and then our double burgers arrived. When we got the bill I found that the extra patty’s were charged at £6 each!!! So £16 in total for burger and tiny bowl of chips. I challenged the waiter as I thought it had been overcharged but he confirmed it was correct. Also my wife’s gin glass was filthy so I asked for a fresh drink and they simply poured the original drink into a new glass. I had to ask them again for a fresh drink. Won’t be going back. There are so many other nicer options around there is no need for poor service, just go somewhere else.

Spent a nice relaxing couple of hours, at the side of this country pub. The staff were strict with Covid rules ( table service only) which is good to see. They were kind enough to come and take orders, along the canal side, much appreciated. We will be sure to back and try the menu next time

Went here for a light lunch. Not sure what kind of menu they serve on an evening. It’s in a beautiful spot. We had a couple of hours on the canal way. Lovely views etc. We had pizza which had a great base and had a portion of well cooked tasty chips. I would recommend and would go back!!

Went here for lunch with my daughter, Lisa. Really nice pub in a very scenic situation. Really nice food. Main courses £10-£11. Would go back again.

Stopped off for lunch ordered Beef & Horse Raddish , Ham & Mustard sandwiches. The Beef was under cooked & fatty . Ham was greasey . Waitresses ask if we enjoyed our food we told her it was terrible & she said sorry & walked away - still had pay full price . Won’t be coming back .

Pro’s:- Good selection of drinks at the bar.- Dogs very much welcome.- Cheapish- Good range on the menu.Cons:- Food was rather disappointing, bland and tasteless. Had better from a school canteen was my wife’s take on her Curry.- Lack of waiting staff lead to a lot of waiting and poor service.- Tables somewhat dirty (likely due to point above).- People just loiter with the door open, making it freezing cold whilst your sat at your table.- Very tightly packed seating arrangements just made it all feel cramped and stressful and hectic.- Felt like you were involved in other tables conversations you were that close to them.Not great overall, wouldn’t eat here again, but would drop in for a drink whilst passing on a summer dog walk.

Disappointed meal here tonight ,my meal was cold and not very appetizing, I sent my fish and chips back ,they were reheated in the deep fat fryer,I have been a chef manager for 40 years plus and I would not of served that,on a positive not I was not charged for my meal,

Had a lovely meal tonight on the pizza and pasta Tuesday deal. Food was great and the service from the waitress Kate was absolutely fantastic. Really nice evening to relax midweek.

Love this place. Our local treat !!! Something on the menu for everyone ... including our dog Frank (he loves the dogs menu and we hate going out and leaving him) Sticky toffee pudding is to die for. Friendly staff. Highly recommended