For generations of Blackburn drinkers, the Revidge Run was a rite of passage: a steady amble across Revidge Road and Pleckgate Road, faces changing with the years but the rhythm staying the same—meet a mate, share a story, move on to the next door. The Hare & Hounds sat just a short walk from that line, a warm corner where the lights always seemed a little softer and the welcome a little longer. In early October, that door closes for good. Although the Hare and Hounds is just off the main route, for many who lived in the area, this was the meeting point before heading off on the climb from Brownhill right through to Preston New Road.
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The pub’s modern era was shaped by Ian Robertson MBE, who repurchased the freehold in 2013 and set about keeping a proper local alive. It worked. By 2015, the Hare & Hounds was riding a wave of popularity—busy afternoons, steady evenings, and the kind of mixed crowd that makes a pub feel like a living room for the neighbourhood. Community raffles drew smiles, sing-alongs filled the gaps between conversations, and the Lammack Association’s free lunchtime get-togethers gave people a reason to step out and be with others. It was never just about a pint.
But time moves, and so do pub doors. The Royal Oak has already closed; the Knowles Arms continues mainly as a restaurant. With the Hare & Hounds now closing because Ian is hanging up the keys, the last working link to the old Revidge Run finally fades. Buildings may remain, but it’s the habits that make a circuit—and Blackburn’s habits have changed. Fewer stopping points, fewer spontaneous hellos, fewer “one more, then home.”
If the loss feels bigger than bricks and beer pumps, that’s because it is. Pubs like the Hare & Hounds hold the everyday stuff that binds a place together: a stool someone always claimed, a birthday quietly marked, the raffle win that paid for the taxi, a face you didn’t know you’d missed until it walked in. In Lammack, this was where the kettle boiled as often as the taps poured—tea, coffee, sandwiches, and time for a chat. A small thing, maybe, but in a town like ours, small things keep the lights on.
So, as the Hare & Hounds reaches its final weekend, we’d love to hear your stories. Did you start—or end—your Revidge Run here? Do you remember a favourite landlord, a match day, a song that always got the room going? Perhaps a charity night, a first date, or the quiet comfort of a familiar corner. Share your memories of the Revidge Run and the Hare & Hounds in the comments or by messaging our page. We’ll publish a selection next week to mark the end properly—because a pub closes once, but the stories last.
I believe the new owners are a business owned by the Issa Bros. If so will they continue to keep the pub open? Or will they deliver yet another slap in the face to Blackburn’s indigenous citizens by turning it into another Islamic facility?