HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 29 – GREATER MANCHESTER

The toughest GBG “county” so far. I was tempted to go with 10 and get you to name another two. As it is, my choices seem to cruelly ignore Saddleworth, Bolton, Leigh and Rochdale.

As all great things must, we start in Stockport.

Right next to that view of the Underbanks, which helps give it the nod, is a modern classic.

Stockport – Petersgate Tap

NO ! Not Winters, silly. It’s the micro you can enjoy between Proper Pub, the one with lovely people, live music and a choice between flat and tight head Bass.

Sometimes beer quality is enough, but those pies are good, too.

Up the A6 and left to Pub No. 2, long my favourite in the UK’s greatest city.

Manchester – City Arms

I could sit here all day and watch the comings and goings and never get bored.

Never have dared sit at the regulars table.

My lad Matt, who’s 22, reckons this is the best pub in Manchester. It’s certainly the best Plum Porter.

Matt joined me on a Rochdale/Oldham excursion in 2021, and his view on Oldham certainly changed a bit.

Oldham – Fox & Pine

Here he is, drinking some German lout, while I’m mildly disappointed by the absence of Bass.

“No Bass that night. Supply problems, again. No problem, the Raven Cherry Dark is quite wonderful (NBSS 4), and Matt chooses a Pilsner from a local craft brewery, probably somewhere in Royton. Matt is genuinely astonished that two top pints cost only £6.50. You’re not in Manchester anymore, Tonto etc.”

“It’s a wonderful beer in what feels like someone’s front room, with folk enjoying potato hash and dumplings and chatting nonsense. “She’s a woman of property; got herself a caravan” a particular gem.“

And the Cob & Coal in the market is just as great.

By complete coincidence, our 4th pub is another Bass outlet.

Wigan – Swan & Railway

And another resurrected boozer, the Swan & Railway joining at least half a dozen other top reasons to visit Wigan.

I’m surprised it hasn’t had more plaudits (Blackpool Jane excused); it’s gorgeous, and cosy, and boisterous, and cheap.

“The Bass is absolutely marvellous. Cool, crisp and with real bite. CAMRA should stop squandering money on beer festivals that kill pubs and send people here to taste the pinnacle of the brewers craft.“

Which brings us to another classic much-derided pint from a much derided protector of our heritage;

Burnage – Sun in September

Sadly, with this being Sam Smiths,

I can’t give you photos. So I asked AI to give me a shot of two lads from Saddleworth contemplating an NBSS 4 pint of proper beer.

Anyway, over to you for a 6th, but if it ISN’T

Stockport – Swan With Two Necks

there’s no point responding.

Hang on; is that Mudgie dancing ?

Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

19 thoughts on “HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY. No. 29 – GREATER MANCHESTER”

  2. There’s an embarrassment of riches in Greater Manchester – you could pick several more quintets that are just as good.

    In central Manchester, I’d probably go for the Hare & Hounds, or possibly the Circus Tavern – the City Arms is a bit too self-consciously crafty.

    The Sun in September is an excellent left-field pick – a really well-run pub with a strong group of regulars and consistently good OBB. I’d also put a shout in for the Vine at Dunham Woodhouses, which you may not have visited as it’s never been in the GBG in recent years.

    In central Stockport I’m torn between the Arden Arms and Swan With Two Necks amongst the Robbies’ heritage pubs. The Arden has an amazing interior and excellent beer, but is it just a bit too foody?

    Time was when the Nursery would have been a shoo-in for this list, but it’s not quite up to that standard nowadays, although the local CAMRA branch did have a very good Anniversary Meal there last Saturday night.

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    1. For everyone who thinks the City Arms is a bit too crafty there’ll be one who thinks it isn’t crafty enough and thinks there should be a brewery tap under the arches to represent Manchester and they might be right !

      One mate on Twitter tells me after every one of these postings I’ve missed out a micro or craft bar “with 8 ever changing hand pumps” that would never get the appeal of the Hare & Hounds or Grey Horse !

      Timing is everything, pubs like the Circus could be too empty or much too busy depending on time of day, and the age of customers varies wildly in the City Arms.

      I’d be very happy to spend lunch time in the Arden with fish and chips and 3 pints of Unicorn to be honest !

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  3. Another vote for the Marble Arch from me.
    The Northern Quarter in its entirety if it was just one enormous pub (maybe it is)?
    Also the Secret SIP in Royton.
    The Church Inn, Uppermill, is also good if a bit crowded, noisy and foody.

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  4. Mudgie dancing, yours truly, half asleep, whilst at the same time, slouched in a rather uncomfortable looking position.

    Not good for my image as a cutting edge beer writer, although probably nearer the truth, if I’m brutally honest!! 😁

    On a more serious note, has any research been carried out on the effect that beer festivals (CAMRA or otherwise), on the pub trade in the vicinity?

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    1. Most CAMRA folk say that a beer festival brings extra trade to the towns pubs (e.g. Sheffield or Cambridge) but of course that will only be the CAMRA recommended pubs, and that trade will leave their home towns. Each to their own. I was very disappointed by the national fest in 2019, particularly with beer quality.

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  6. To be honest, I think that if you are going for a Sam’s pub then the Blue Bell in Levenshulme is a far better pub all round.
    The Petersgate Tap on sells Bass intermittentley (hoorah!) and the pies are now served warm (hoorah!). A slightly more regular outlet for Bass at the moment is Heaton Hops.

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    1. I loved the cat in the Blue Bell but to be honest the OBB in Burnage was so good I had to include it.

      Part of the rationale behind the picks is location, and I’d have liked a pub in Levi, shame Fred’s is no more.

      I need to revisit Heaton Hops, beer was superb on visit a while back.

      To be fair you could pick six great just from the Heatons.

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    1. The long-service licensee Yvonne Hallworth left in September last year, and it’s planned to carry out a major refurbishment to convert it into an eaterie in 2025. I don’t think they ever fully recovered from the effects of lockdown.

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  8. I love your idea of holding this year’s (apparently abandoned) GBBF at the Swan & Railway in Wigan. A pub so few yards from both (not just one, but two) of Wigan’s railway stations, with regular trains from London, Aberystwyth and Dundee (I may have exaggerated – it’s rhetoric, learn to live with it), that it’s astonishing no one has suggested it before. Plenty of room, and if it gets too crowded there are other pubs and even – a revolutionary idea, this – other towns each with their own pubs.

    Almost like a pub crawl. Or a proper day out.

    I look forward to your proposal being discussed at Camra’s AGM in April. (Please ask Paul to report back, as I am unable to make it to Dundee.)

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