IT is a 35-minute hilly walk from my house to the Blundell Arms but it's worth it.

On a clear night as you walk along the stretch of Chorley Old Road from the top of Old Kiln Lane to the Blundell Arms you can take in the whole of Bolton and the hills beyond, picking out landmarks such as the town hall and the Reebok Stadium, and, if you're lucky, you might even see Blackpool Tower.

On arrival, the feel of the pub should tell you that it is steeped in history. If it doesn't, then the back of the menu informs you that the building used to be a court house and the cellar was a mortuary.

For those there simply for the food and drink, there is plenty to attract you.

In the summer you can quench your thirst and peruse the menu in the large beer garden, while taking in the hilly views. In the colder months, there are three cosy real coal and log fires to warm you up.

If you don't feel like or are unable to walk to the pub, there are 70 car parking spaces and wheelchair access and disabled toilets. Children are welcome and 70 per cent of the Blundell Arms is non-smoking.

Beers regularly include guests and feature selections from the local Bank Top Brewery, as well as lagers including Stella and Kronenbourg. There is also a large wine list to choose from.

After our hike, we felt as if we deserved a decent drink, so I ordered a pint of Port O'Call and my partner a thirst-quenching orange drink, and we decided on a bottle of Moondarra white to accompany our meal.

If you are eating indoors it is worthwhile attempting to grab a table next to one of the windows, which will enable you to look out over the hills. There, you can cast your eye over the menu, before ordering from the bar.

The choice of food is extensive as there is a main menu, a lunchtime and snack menu, a specials board, which changes on a daily basis, and traditional Sunday lunches.

There is also a children's menu and a selection of jacket potatoes, as well as sandwiches and hot and cold baguettes, which come with salad and a generous portion of chips, all for less than £5.

The starters range from the traditional soup of the day or the usual garlic bread to the more adventurous lamb kofta with tzatziki (two spicy minced lamb skewers served with a cucumber, mint and yoghurt relish and toasted pitta bread); pork and apricot pt (wrapped in bacon served with apple and onion chutney and toast) and Bantry Bay mussels in a cream and white wine sauce served with crusty baguette. Alternatively, you could try a bowl of olives with a portion of crusty bread, or maybe a Welsh rarebit.

Main courses include duck with braised red cabbage (grilled duck breast served on cabbage and green beans with bacon and onion sauted potatoes); salmon hollandaise (fillet topped with Hollandaise sauce, chives and sliced tomatoes); lamb fore shank; chicken forestiere and, for the exceptionally hungry, a massive mixed grill (featuring rib eye steak, chicken breast, gammon, lamb cutlet, sausage and black pudding, served with chips, onion rings, mushrooms, grilled tomato and a free-range egg).

After some deliberation I chose the special vegetable curry with naan bead, which just won out over the pasta parcels filled with Gorgonzola, which I have enjoyed before. The curry was lovely, packed with fresh vegetables, and not too spicy.

My partner was tempted by the extremely good value sausage and mash or the chicken forestiere, but eventually went for the pasta with chicken, peppers and chilli in a cream sauce, which she said was "absolutely divine".

We also ordered a portion of chips to share, but, to be honest, our mains were enough.

Most of the main dishes, except for some of the steak and fish specials, are under £10, with starters less than £5 and, with a bottle of wine and two drinks, our total bill came to around £35.

As the night was, by now, drawing in and the regular Thursday night quiz, which raises money for Bolton Hospice, was under way, we decided to order a couple more glasses of wine, before making the downhill journey home after a thoroughly enjoyable night.