A pub just an hour from Manchester has been crowned as the Great British Pub of the Year, following a complete turn-around of its fate.
The Cholmondeley Arms, known to locals as The Chum, was once described as being a ‘lost cause’.
But under its owners Tim Bird and Mary Maclaughlin, it’s undergone an extensive refurbishment and restoration project.
The former Cheshire schoolhouse has now taken the big prize at the Great British Pub Awards, whose judges described it as ‘one of England’s most unique rural pubs’.
It still retains some of the features from its years as a Victorian school, including a blackboard and old desks – no w joined by a menu of premium food and drink and a huge range of gins (more than 300, displayed in an apothecary-style bar).
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The Cholmondeley Arms was a new entry to the awards this year and managed to scoop the top prize in both the Great British Pub of the Year and the Country/Rural Pub categories.
The judges also praised it for its hand-crafted steak and kidney pie and its ‘Cholmondeley Mess’, and noted its six newly refurbished rooms within the ‘Old Headmasters House’.
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The Cholmondeley Arms in Cheshire has a collection of more than 300 gins. Credit; Facebook
Tim Bird, owner of Cholmondeley Arms, said: “After all these years together, it means the world. When we opened, I said we can be a beacon of hope for rural pubs but now we can be an ambassador as the pub of the year for Great Britain.
“For the team, this is just amazing. Helen [the pub’s general manager] has worked at the Cholmondeley for 12 years and she is the epitome of what our pubs should be. I am so proud.”
It wasn’t the only north west success either.
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The Old Abbey Tap House, in Manchester, won the Community Hero award in recognition of its ‘hub-in-a-pub’, where local students can gather for creativity and diversity as well as research and outreach projects.
The Cholmondeley Arms in Cheshire has been named the best pub in Britain. Credit; Facebook
Ed Bedington, chair of judges for the Great British Pub Awards, said: “We’re delighted to be revealing the best pubs in the country. These businesses are pubs to cherish and support and I’d urge anyone to get out and visit these outstanding operations.
“We’ve recognised pubs of all types and characters, from community champions to high end food, entertainment focused through to pubs that embrace all the family, even the dog. These are the businesses that really set the standards for others to follow.
“Our overall winner, the Cholmondeley Arms, represents the pinnacle of all our winners – this is a pub that has a wow factor that impresses anyone that crosses the threshold. Impeccably run, this is a business that will offer a warm welcome to all visitors and give them an experience that will be impossible to beat.”
The winners of the Great British Pub Awards 2023
Best City/Urban Pub- The Turks Head, Twickenham London
Best Country/Rural Pub- Cholmondeley Arms, Cheshire
Best Pub for Food- The Loch and The Tyne, Berkshire
Best Pub for Dogs- The Bellflower, Lancashire
Best Pub for Families- The Plough Normanton on the Wolds, Nottinghamshire
Best Pub for Entertainment- The Kings Arms, Bexleyheath London
Best Pub Garden- Gaggle of Geese, Dorchester
Best Pub to Watch Sport- The Royal Dyche, Lancashire
Best Sustainable Pub- Stroud Brewery Taproom, Gloucester
Community Hero- The Old Abbey Taphouse, Manchester
Admiral Pub of the Year- Boot & Shoe, West Yorkshire
Stonegate Pub of the Year- The Woodman, Greater London
Greene King Pub of the Year- The Stag, Hampshire
Marston’s Pub of the Year- Rose & Crown, Worcestershire
Punch Pub of the Year- The Plough, Prestbury
Great British Pub of the Year- The Cholmondeley Arms, Cheshire
Featured image: Facebook
Eats
The cosy Peak District pub serving a pick’n’mix sausage and mash menu
Daisy Jackson
There’s a Peak District pub that’s turned one of Britain’s most beloved comfort foods into a full-on pick’n’mix.
Tucked away in the postcard-perfect village of Castleton, Ye Olde Nags Head is serving up a fully customisable menu of sausage and mash dishes.
We’re talking near-endless combinations of proper pub grub.
You start by choosing your sausages from a daily rotating selection (not a sentence you hear every day, but we’re into it).
Expect classics like Cumberland alongside more adventurous options like venison and mustard, or even wild boar and orange, plus a veggie sausage daily.
Then it’s onto the mash – you can go for flavours like cheese and onion, wholegrain mustard, or even black pudding mash.
Classic cumberland, mustard mash, and mushroom sauceVeggie sausage with cheese and onion mash and classic gravyTucking in
To finish? A choice of rich, hearty gravies and sauces to bring it all together, whether that’s a classic onion gravy, a peppercorn sauce, or a creamy wild mushroom sauce.
And if that wasn’t enough, you can even upgrade your bangers and mash pick’n’mix by having it all served inside a giant Yorkshire pudding.
Ye Olde Nags Head is a historic 17th-century pub, with a roaring fire in every room and cosy bedrooms upstairs.
Inside Ye Olde Nags Head pub in the Peak DistrictYe Olde Nags Head pub is near Mam Tor
It’s one of those flagstone-floored, beamed-ceilinged, mismatched-furniture type pubs that welcomes everyone in every state, whether you’re caked in mud from a hike or popping in on a coach tour.
Another of the pub’s specialties is the Derbyshire Breakfast, a hearty plate of sausage, smoked bacon, black pudding, free range egg, grilled tomatoes, field mushrooms, baked beans and fried bread.
The pub also offers takeaway breakfast butties, so you can use it for both a pre-hike stop and a post-hike pint.
Given it’s just minutes from the ever-popular Mam Tor hike, this is one pub you’ll definitely want to add to your next Peak District day out itinerary.
The hillside farm in the Peak District making its own ice cream
Daisy Jackson
Did you know there’s a 300-year-old farm in the Peak District serving up some of the freshest ice cream you’ll ever taste? And yes, you can meet the cows that made it while you’re there.
Welcome to Hope Valley Ice Cream, a family-run gem where things are kept refreshingly simple: happy cows, proper farming, and seriously good ice cream.
Set in the heart of the Peak District countryside, this place is about as wholesome as it gets.
The ice cream is made on-site in the farmhouse, literally just metres from where the dairy herd are out grazing.
You can watch the animals, wander around the farm, and then tuck into a scoop or three perched on a milk pail stool, or a picnic bench (or even a decorative tractor).
Hope Valley Ice Cream has some amazing seasonal ice creams, like lemon curd, elderflower, and blackberry, alongside all the classics and a rather delicious tiramisu.
You can grab a cone, sit down with a coffee (again, made with milk from the nearby cows), or go all in with a freshly-made waffle if you’re feeling fancy.
Takeaway tubs from Hope Valley Ice CreamYou can get a mini pail of ice creamMeet the newborn calves at Hope Valley Ice CreamTuck into your ice cream on a milk pail stoolHope Valley Ice Cream
And if you’re the type who really loves ice cream? You can actually order a full pail of it, with four huge scoops plus whipped cream and sauce.
The farm itself is run by the Marsden family, who’ve been working this land for generations. It shows in everything – they’ve created a place that feels genuinely welcoming, not just another tourist stop.
Beyond the ice cream, you’ve got plenty of reasons to stick around. There are calves (including the newest tiny arrivals), plus donkeys and pigs to say hello to.
Whether you’re heading out on a hike or just fancy a drive into the Peaks, this is one pitstop that’s absolutely worth it – and honestly, it’s worth the trip on its own.
Daisy Jackson -
20th September 2023 
