The Snap Tin, Poynton

 

The Snap Tin

83 Park Lane, Poynton, Cheshire SK12 1RD

TEL: 01625 630009

Not a traditional pub, it's a bar that looks like it's in former shop premises, and it's a restaurant bar. But it has a good range of drinks. (For those who don't know, a snap tin was what miners used to put their lunch in to take to work. Poynton was historically a coal mining area.)

decor - 3

light brown, tables a but close together

ambience - 3

friendly and relaxed

It wasn't busy when I was there, but I hear it gets lively on weekends.

real ale - 1

It does a lot of foreign ales with fancy foreign names but there's at least one recognisable cask ale

service - 3

Good but a bit distracted

features - 4

serves food

dog friendly

child friendly

music night on the last Saturday of the month

toilets- 4

Score 18 out of 30

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, Castleton, Derbyshire

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese

Howe Lane, Castleton, Derbyshire S33 8WJ

TEL: 01433 620330

Doesn't look it from the outside but this place was built in 1660. It got its first ale licence in 1748 and was named Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese in 1876. It is now a restaurant pub and guest house (check its website for room availability) as well as serving a good pint. 

decor - 3

ambience -4

relaxing

service - 3

bit inattentive but friendly

real ales - 4

features- 5

serves food

dog friendly

muddy booted walkers friendly

quiz night

accommodation

toilet - 4

fully supplied

Car park is opposite, across the road

 

The Old Red Lion, Holmes Chapel, Cheshire

 The Old Red Lion

London Road, Holmes Chapel, Cheshire CW4 7AQ

TEL: 01477 549282

This grade II listed pub dates from at least the 17th century, the first written mention of it is in Thomas Gaudie's will (a local resident) in 1625. John Wesley preached at this pub in 1758  when he was on his way from Oxford to Manchester. It was a coaching inn.  The 15th century parish church is next to it.

decor - 7

ambience - 2

piped music

real ales - 3

Included Doombar when I was there

service - 2

Bit too formal

features - 3

serves food, wide menu

quiz night every week

dog friendly

toilets - 3

Score 17 out of 30 

The George and Dragon, Holmes Chapel, Cheshire

 

The George and Dragon

Middlewich Road, Holmes Chapel, CW4 7EA

TEL: 01477 537785

There was previously a George and Dragon pub near this site from at least the 19th century but the original building was demolished to make space for the Knutsford Road to be widened to accommodate increasing traffic flow. This building dates from 1970. It looks plain and uninteresting on the outside but the inside is nicely designed with the dining area in a conservatory on one side and the other two rooms very spacious. The disabled access is quite good and there is enough space for wheelchairs to move between the tables in the room at the front.

decor - 3

taseful cream and brown colour scheme

Has the dining area in a conservatory

ambience - 1

spoiled by overloud piped musak

real ales - 3

Include Stormtrooper, Amarillo and Unicorn when I was there 

service - 2

Abrupt and not very friendly

features - 3

restaurant pub

very nice outdoor seating area at the front

dog friendly

toilets - 4

pristine and fully supplied

Score 15 out of 30

 

Reasonably good disabled access and has a disabled toilet

The Pack Horse, Affetside, near Bury

 

The Pack Horse

52 Watling Street, Affetside, Bury BL8 3QW

TEL: 01204 884584

It's a restaurant rather than a pub, all the tables are set out for diners and there is no bar space just for drinkers. But it's the kind of restaurant where you might not get a table if you haven't booked. It has an upmarket menu and a very swish setting.

    It is at the highest point, 900 feet above sea level, of the Roman road that ran from Manchester to Ribchester. It was originally built as a manor house and did not become a pub until 1650. It got its name because pack horse trains travelling from Lancashire to Yorkshire frequently stopped there. 

    For a long time the skull of a 17th century farmer, George Whewell, was kept behind the bar. He was the man who executed James Stanley, the 7th Earl of Derby, in 1651 during the Civil War. Whewell is said to have volunteered for the job because James Stanley was part of the Royalist Army that overran Bolton and massacred its inhabitants. They included Whewell's family. Nobody knows how his skull came to be kept at the pub but it was there since the late 1800s, when the Butterworth family owned the pub.

    According to an article in the Bolton News it was still there in 2022. The pub apparently had a major refurb in 2023 and the skull was placed in a glass case with an account of its history inscribed on the glass.

ambience - 3

decor - 4

Refurbished only two years ago and has kept the historic features: huge timber beams and open fireplaces.

real ales - 4

service -4

Polite and attentive

features - 2

serves food

weekly quiz night

toilets - 0

The trouble was, they weren't working when I visited. The water supply to the cisterns had failed. Naturally that's an unusual occurrence but I can't review what isn't there.

Score 17 out of 30

Fabulous views over Winter Hill

The Saracens Head, Warburton, Cheshire

The Saracens Head

Paddock Lane, Warburton, Cheshire WA13 9TH

TEL: 01925 753761

A rural pub out in the Cheshire countryside, which was a 17th century coaching inn.. I came across it because it is just 50 yards off the GM Ringway route. It is mainly a restaurant but has a bar area for drinkers. 

ambience - 3

Don't know what it's like when it's busy. I arrived just as it opened on a day early in the week, so it was quiet. I'm guessing it's lively at times. There's a huge, well designed dining room that takes up a lot of space but it's well separated from the bar area if you're only in for a drink.

No canned music and no tellies. (I like that)

decor - 4

Pale walls and lots of huge old wooden beams. A very traditional feel.

service - 4

Fast and attentive

real ale - 2

It's a Greene King pub but has two guest ales.

features - 5

Serves food, classic pub menu

Play barn and play area for children.

big pub garden

dog-friendly

The fifth feature is one you will only see in early November. This is when the Warburton Soulers perform a traditional folk play about death and revival. Their first performance of the year is at the Saracens Head on 1st November, unless that is a Sunday, in which case the first performance is on 2nd November.

Find out more about the Soulers and soul-caking on 

www.larchfieldhouse.co.uk/Souling/WarburtonSoulingPlay.htm

 

toilets- 3

Good, newly decorated and very clean. But no loo roll.

Score 20 out of 30

The Castle, Castleton, Derbyshire

The Castle

Castle Street, Castleton, Hope Valley S33 8WG

TEL: 01433 620578

A 19th century former coaching inn in the picturesque Hope Valley in the Peak District.

Ambience -3

Decor - 3

Huge wooden beams and pale walls

Service - 5

Very welcoming

Ales - 3

Features - 4

dog friendly

Nice beer garden at the back

Serves food

Rooms

Toilets - 3

Score 21 out of 30

 

The Cheshire LIne, Cheadle

 

The Cheshire Line

Manchester Road, Cheadle, SK8 2NZ

A nice restaurant pub in a country setting, even though it's little more than a mile from the urban centre of Cheadle. The building started life as a railway station in 1866; the railway line still runs only yards away. Traffic on the line was reduced to occcasional freight trains in the 1960s and the stattion was closed. The building was left derelict until the 1980s, when it was given a refurb and turned into a restaurant and pub, originally called The Station. It was owned first by Banks Brewery then by Chesters. Now it is a free house.

decor - 3

ambience - 3

service - 3

friendly, a little slow

features - 2

serves food. 

I'm not sure but it is probably child-friendly

It is next door to a garden centre which sells gifts and confectionery as well as plants and garden equipment. There is a car park between the pub and the garden centre, accessed via a U-turning driveway off the main road.

   

real ale - 5

It's a free house

toilets - 4

Score 19 out of 30

The Grape and Grain, Littleborough

 

The Grape and Grain

25-27 Church Street

Littleborough OL15 8DA

TEL: 01706 614961

This used to be called Toppo's Bar, was renamed fairly recently I think. I prefer the new name! It's as much a restaurant as a bar and is in what looks like former shop premises so not a traditional pub. It's at the end of Littleborough high street just before you turn off towards Todmorden.

ambience - 3

piped music

decor - 3

minimalist in shades of grey with leather-look seats

ales - 0

mass produced stuff only

service - 4

features - 2

serves food

DJ at weekends

toilets - 3

Score 15 out of 30

 

The Moorcock Inn, LIttleborough

The Moorcock Inn

Halifax Road

Littleborough OL15 0LD

TEL: 01706 378156

This pub is also a B&B and a restaurant. It has been serving customers since 1641, according to a sign on the premises. I can't find out anything independently about its history - so far - but the bar area looks seventeenth century, it has thick stone walls, thick timber roof beams supporting a low ceiling and a stone floor. The restaurant section next to it is less solid in design and looks like it was a later addition, perhaps 19th century. This pub is only two miles out of LIttleborough town centre but it is in the middle of moorland and about a  mile below Blackstone Edge on the Pennine Way.

   In 2022 there was a report that it planned to close due to having lost a lot of business during Lockdown Year but in June 2023 it's still there. Check out its facebook page for its live music nights.

ambience - 2

The bar area is cosy and would be worth a 4 on its own but the restaurant section is a bit characterless.

decor - 2

Unoriginal white painted walls in the restaurant section. Makes the place bright but looks boring, no  pictures or decoration. The bar area has more character.

Ales - 3

In the bar 

Service - 5

Can't fault it

Features - 5

serves food

dog friendly

child friendly

accommodation

live music in the evening

toilets - 4

Nothing to dry your hands on

Score 21 out of 30

It's on the edge of spectacular countryside, the Pennine Bridleway passes half a mile from it.

 

The Turks Head, Royton, Oldham

 

The Turks Head

119 Castleton Road, Royton, Oldham  OL2 6JP

TEL: 0161 624 9895

Large red brick pub with four or five outside tables, looks 1930s, it was perhaps built to serve the housing estate it is on the edge of. It is now definitely a restaurant. I have come across restaurant pubs that have so little space for drinkers that you can barely call them pubs, like the Olde Hall in Haworth but this pub had almost none. There are only three small tables available for people who have just come in for a drink and a few, inevitably uncomfortable, high stools at the bar. The just-drinkers seem to prefer the outside tables. Too bad if it rains since none of them are under a canopy or marquee.

ambience - 3

Good if you've come to dine, no piped music so conversation is possible and there's a convivial atmosphere

decor - 4

The whole pub is done in tasteful shades of green and has comfortable seating

service - 2

The trouble was, as soon as I stepped in a waitress strode up and wanted to know if I'd booked a table. Since I was at the time in muddy boots (I had just done a walk along local footpaths and across fields), carrying a rucksack and my hair was plastered to my head with sweat, I could hardly have looked like I'd booked in as a diner. The approach was a bit too peremptory and I felt unwelcome. When I said I'd only dropped in for a drink the waitress immediately lost interest and vaguely waved in the direction of the eastern end of the bar. But let's be generous, she was very young, maybe she doesn't have the experience yet to appreciate how she might come across in the wrong way.. 

features - 1

serves food

I couldn't tell if it's also child and dog friendly. I didn't see any children or dogs when I was there. There's no room for pub games and there were no TV screens. Though some people might appreciate a pub where football is absent!

real ale - 2

Usually two guest ales. They had Wainwright when I was there.

toilets - 5

Pristine and fully supplied

Score 17 out of 30

The Pace Egg pubs

 There are only two places I know of in the country that still do the ancient Pace Egg plays during Easter. One is Heptonstall in Yorkshire. The other is Middleton in Greater Manchester. The Middleton Pace Egg players perform their short play seven times in seven of the local pubs and collect money for charity. Middleton has been lucky in that all of its town centre pubs are still open, none have been closed down. I didn't get round all six of them, only three but I've named all seven pubs and expect to get round the rest and review them sometime soon.

The Pace Egg play: Saint George the champion of England is challenged to a fight by the Turkish champion. The plot involves a couple of his men (this year played by two six year old boys) and Captain Slasher having a go at the Turkish champion and losing.  St George gets wounded and has to be cured by the doctor. The doctor has a horse though nobody seems to know why. St George wins in the end. Then the players collect money from the audience. Back in the day the players would have collected money (and beer) for themselves, now they collect for charity. This year (2023) they were collecting for the Stroke Association.

The Dusty MIller

34 Middleton Way

Middleton M24 4DF

This pub was renamed the Edgar Wood in 2018. It was closed temporarily while its licence was reviewed. According to articles in The Rochdale Observer the police asked for its licence to be reviewed after there had been a few fights on the premises. One of the conditions for getting its licence back was that it had a name change. Not all the regulars were happy with that. The name Dusty Miller is historic. there has been a pub on the site since the 1770s and it was so named because it was near the local flour mill. A lot of people still call it The Dusty Miller.

The Roebuck

18 Middleton Way

Middleton M24 4DF

TEL: 0161 643 7066

Ambience - 3

decor - 4

tasteful greys and greens

service - 4

fast and friendly

real ale - 0

But serves the full range of other drinks

features - 3

pool table at the back

child friendly

dog friendly

toilets - 4

Score 18 out of 30

Britannia Inn

6 Middleton Way

Middleton M25 4DF

ambience - 3

decor - 4

comfortable seating

service - 4

real ale - 0

But serves the full range of other drinks

features - 3

quiz night

child friendly

dog friendly

toilets - 4

Score 18 out of 30

Harbord Harbord

17-21 Long Street

Middleton M24 6TE

TEL: 0161 654 6226

A Wetherspoons pub so it serves food and has a range of real ales and ciders

New Inn

34 Long Street

Middleton M24 6UE

The Olde Boar's Head

111 Long Street

Middleton M24 6UE

I should have got a picture of the inside of this (I've just got photos of the yard when the Pace Egg players were performing.) because it's very old. This pub dates from the 16th century and has most of the original interior layout and features. The session room at the back, which is now used for functions, is where the local magistrates once held their court hearings. It is now mainly a restaurant pub with a space at the back just foir drinkers though as pub restaurants go it's friendly .and not offputtingly posh.

ambience - 5

decor -4

plain wood beams and tasteful cream and brown colour scheme

service - 5

real ales - 3

features - 1

serves food

toilets - 4

Score 22 out of 30

The Ring O Bells

St Leonards Square

Middleton M24 6DJ

I have in fact been into this pub before, five years ago, and reviewed it (I'd forgotten, only realised when I reviewed this blog this week.) Here's the link to that review:

https://ups-and-downs-pubs.blogspot.com/2018/04/ring-o-bells.html

The Old Boathouse, Astley Green, near Worsley, Lancashire

 

Old Boathouse Inn, Higher Green Lane, Astley Green, Greater Manchester M29 7JB

TEL: 01942 581689

It seems rural, even though it is only half a mile from the (massive dual carriageway) East Lancs Road, and is a canalside pub, being next to the Bridgewater canal. 

decor - 3

neutral quiet colours, unfussy decoration

ambience - 3

relaxed

real ales - 4

service - 3

features - 4

serves food

dog friendly

live music once a month

beer garden

toilets - 3

Score 20 out of 30

The Strawberry Duck, Entwistle, Lancashire

 

The Strawberry Duck, Overshores Road, Turton, Bolton BL7 0LU

01204 852013

Out in the hills and woods north of Bolton, near Edgeworth village and across the road from Entwistle station, a combination of pub, restaurant and guesthouse.

decor - 4

tasteful, comfortable, relaxing

ambience - 1

Loud bland piped music, small children allowed to run about the bar area and barge into patrons carrying drinks.

real ale - 5

service - 1

very very slow

features - 3

serves food

accommodation

dog-friendly

toilets - 4

Score 18 out of 30