Bennetts Restaurant

There's no point trying to find Orwell's mythical Wigan Pier, but travellers on the M6 might want to tarry a while in the Wrightington Hotel, which sits in tranquil landscaped grounds on the outskirts of town. The shiny contemporary operation is a fine example of luminous modern design, and offers excellent leisure facilities to help work up an appetite for dining in Bennetts Restaurant, a clean-cut, minimalist space with bold artwork, polished tables and fine views over the verdant Lancashire countryside. The straightforward modern cooking fits the surroundings and makes good use of local ingredients in eager-to-please dishes such as home-made game and red onion terrine with toasted grain mustard and Bury black pudding scones, followed by slow-braised shoulder of local lamb served with rosemary and vegetable gravy and hotpot-style potatoes.