The Great Northern, Luton

A great old style 'boozer' - a real gem.
No juke box, no pool table, no loud muzak.
As a northerner I found the locals to be welcoming and friendly.

19 Jun 2012 12:04

The Queens Hotel, Hyde

Best pub in Hyde town centre. Holts draught bitter always in good nick.

9 Apr 2012 15:22

Vale Cottage, Gorton

Pasted this from Telegraph Web Page - Vale Cottage in Gorton, Manchester By Arthur Taylor in Manchester
4:10PM BST 07 May 2010
Comment
This pristine pub was a beer house in the 17th century, when Gorton was a pretty village an hour by horse and cart from Manchester. During the Industrial Revolution, the village was submerged in a tide of sooty brick and became a manufacturing area, notably heavy engineering and locomotive building. That prosperity vanished, leaving... not much. Vale Cottage, however, not only survived but retained its country feel. It is surrounded by trees, bedecked with flowers in pots and whitewashed.

The bar still has the old black beams � taller patrons instinctively duck their heads and walk about hunched over � and there is a comfy cottage �best room� feel. Everything that can be polished is buffed, and its decor comprises gradually accreted bric-a-brac and old photos of the pub.

I ask John Smith, the landlord, how this has happened. �Care and attention,� he replies. �The place has only had four landlords in a hundred years.�

Vale Cottage was the Greater Manchester Camra pub of the year in 2006. It was also home territory for the Gorton Morris Men, who have recently hung up their clogs. There are many photos of their exploits over the years. �We were past it and there were no young lads interested,� says one of them when I ask why they gave up.

The regular beers are Timothy Taylor�s Landlord and Theakston�s Black Bull Bitter (a rarity in this part of the world), plus a guest. Smith organises regular beer festivals, which are enthusiastically supported.

24 Sep 2011 17:44