AS AN east-Lancashire export I am familiar with the delights of The Clog and Billycock in Pleasington, owned by Nigel Haworth’s Northcote group.

When I heard the Highwayman Inn at Nether Burrow was part of the same stable, I was keen to find out if it would match up.

A former 18th Century coaching inn, the pub has a long history of welcoming weary travellers and, after an exhausting day shopping, my partner and I were ready to kick back and enjoy a hearty meal.

We were presented with an extensive menu, jam-packed with locally inspired dishes.

We started with a basket of Highwayman home-made bread, which was served with an assortment of Cumbrian butter, rapeseed oil, treacle vinegar, and black pea houmous.

There were a couple of hiccups with the ordering as by the time I had washed down half a pint of Kingstone press cider half an hour later, there was still no sign of the starter. Then our mains appeared and when we said we didn’t have the bread, they had to bring them out for us to eat at once – a shame as it meant some of the food was going cold.

We plumped for the Wester Ross salmon burger from the seasonal menu, which came with chilli mayonnaise, red onion, tomato, and a new potato salad, and the classic fish and chips with mushy peas, home-made tartar sauce, and chips cooked in dripping.

Particular highlights were the marrowfat peas, which Aaron declared the best he’d ever had, and the delicious chilli sauce.

All the food was good enough to forgive any blunders – and in good portion sizes, though we managed to squeeze in a shared pudding of jam roly poly with white custard. It was the perfect end to the meal.

 * The cost for a starter, two mains and a dessert, excluding drinks, was £29.