Pub flying high after place in UK’s top 16
HISTORIC Rochdale pub The Flying Horse Hotel has been named among the best in the country by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).
The freehouse is listed as one of the top 16 pubs in the UK in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide – and is now in the running for its National Pub of the Year title after being crowned the best in Greater Manchester.
Inspectors said owner Ben Boothman and his team had cultivated ‘a perfect mix of the essential characteristics, which make a great pub – atmosphere, decor, welcome, service, value for money, customer mix, but most importantly – quality real ale.’ Situated in the town hall square on Packer Street, the Edwardian stone building, which dates from 1691 and was rebuilt in 1926, still has plenty of original character inside, including its log fire places. Behind the bar there’s a rotating range of 10 cask ales with many sourced from local breweries such as Pictish, Phoenix and Serious Brewing Co, as well as four real ciders, while the kitchen serves up homemade pies, burgers and other pub grub staples. General manager Jon Hudson told the M.E.N. it was an ‘absolutely massive’ honour to represent Greater Manchester in the national competition after working hard to win and keep the Rochdale, Oldham and Bury branch title for the last two years. “We’re a proper, traditional oldschool English pub. We’ve focused heavily on our cask ales and improving our food offering, which has been one of the biggest areas of growth we’ve seen,” he said. “We’ve seen an increase in customers coming from further afield as a result, particularly CAMRA members.”
We’re a proper, traditional, old-school English pub Jon Hudson, general manager