- Details
- Written by Mel James-Henry
- Category: POTY 2019
The Bell Inn in Aldworth, Berkshire has won CAMRA’s prestigious Pub of the Year award
A perennial gem of a pub that has been in the family for 250 years has been named the best in the country in CAMRA’s Pub of the Year competition.
The Bell Inn in Aldworth, Berkshire scooped the top prize after judges praised its strong community focus, relaxed ambience and great beer. The only pub in Berkshire with a Grade-II listed interior, it last won the coveted Pub of the Year title nearly 30 years ago to the day.
CAMRA’s Pub of the Year organiser Ben Wilkinson said: “The judges were impressed with how a stranger entering the pub was treated like a regular straight away. It’s clear that the local customers use the pub as a community centre as well as a place to drink, and the warm welcome and knowledgeable staff made us feel right at home. Nothing can beat the combination of good beer, great food and warm heritage pub.”
The Bell Inn last scooped the award three decades ago, when it was run by the current owner’s parents, Heather and Ian Macaulay. Her son, Hugh, was delighted to see the award come home again after so many years.
Manager Hugh Macaulay said: “The Bell Inn has been in my family for 250 years and my mother and father were running it when we last won the award. It’s a wonderful thing to be recognised for driving quality year after year. Not much has changed because we have kept our interior unspoilt all this time, and intend to keep it that way for years to come.”
Pubs in the competition are selected by CAMRA volunteers and judged on their atmosphere, decor, welcome, service, community focus and the quality of the beer.
Runners-up in the competition include the Swan With Two Necks in Pendleton, the George & Dragon in Hudswell and the Red Lion in Preston, Hertfordshire.
CAMRA
- Details
- Written by Mel James-Henry
- Category: POTY 2019
The race is on for the national Pub of the Year competition, with three of the final four pubs having previously scooped the title.
The Swan with Two Necks in Pendleton, the George & Dragon in Hudswell and The Bell in Aldworth have all claimed the prestigious award in previous years. Newcomer to the scene is the Red Lion in Preston, which became the first community-owned pub in Great Britain in the 1980s.
All four of the pubs will now go on to the final competition to win the ultimate Pub of the Year title, to be announced in February 2020. The competing pubs include:
- The Swan With Two Necks in Pendleton (2014 winner)– an outstanding and recently renovated traditional pub set in a pretty Pendleside village that’s deservedly popular with locals and visitors alike. Five constantly changing ales and one real cider are served along with delicious home-cooked food, and there’s plenty of outdoor seating and lovely open fires when the weather grows colder.
- The George & Dragon in Hudswell (2016 winner)– a pleasant walk from Richmond (if you don’t mind the 300+ steps!) brings you to the pub’s large beer terrace with fantastic panoramic views over the Swale valley. Rescued by the community in 2010 and refurbished, it boasts its own library, shop, allotments and other community facilities as well as food and drink.
- Bell, Aldworth, Berkshire (1990 winner)– this perennial gem is the only pub with a heritage interior in Berkshire. Its name refers to bells which were part of the coat of arms of the traditional landowners. It’s large open garden and excellent beer attract walkers and drinkers from far and wide.
- Red Lion, Preston, Hertfordshire (new finalist!)– This attractive free house dating back to 1844 stands on the village green and is the first community-owned pub in Great Britain. There is an ever-changing list of beers including many from small breweries and Ray and Jo prepare the fresh home-made food, sourcing their ingredients locally. The pub also hosts the village cricket teams and fundraises for charity.
National Pub of the Year Coordinator Andrea Briers said: “It is amazing to see so many well-respected pubs return to this prestigious competition to compete for the ultimate title of the best pub in Britain. We wish them – and our newcomer – the very best of luck. It is a huge honour to come this far in the competition and be named one of the best four pubs in the country, and all four finalists should be very proud.”
All of the pubs in the competition are selected by CAMRA volunteers and judged on their atmosphere, decor, welcome, service, value for money, customer mix and quality of beer.
Each of the four finalists will be presented with their super regional award at local events over the coming weeks. The four finalists will then have a chance to win the National Pub of the Year title for 2019, which will be announced in February 2020.
- Details
- Written by Mel James-Henry
- Category: POTY 2019
It’s doesn’t seem like 12 months ago when we announced Cask as our Pub of the Year 2018 but in that time, we have changed our pub of the year nomination process. This time the top ten scoring pubs in What Pub formed a list from which members nominated their favourite pub to go forward to the judging process. Sadly, yet again we had very few nominations from branch members something we hope to improve on next year. We then asked for volunteers to judge the top five pubs, the response to this part of the process was good and 12 people put their names forward, of which 4 of them where female. In accordance with CAMRA guidelines judges were asked to visit each pub on the list twice, at different times of the day. Anonymised details of the scores submitted by each judge can be found on our website.
As a result of this process we are pleased to announce that the winner of this year’s competition is:-
Peter Kavanaghs
Congratulations to Rita and everyone at the pub.
Pubs of excellence, in no particular, order are:-
All pubs will be presented with a Pub of Excellence certificate at our awards evening in June.
Our pub of the year presentation will be held on Wednesday 27th March at 8pm. A further article on the event will appear in the next addition of MerseyAle.
- Details
- Written by Mel James-Henry
- Category: POTY 2019
Following the announcement in the Spring edition of MerseyAle of Peter Kavanaghs winning Liverpool and Districts Pub of the Year, on the 27th March the Rita and the team were presented with the shield and certificate.
Mel James-Henry, the pub of the year coordinator, gave a short speech. He thanked the judges and members who got involved in this years competition. Judging is no easy task.
Some of the comments from the judges were:
‘Great traditional pub with loyal customer base’
‘Real Community pub, good beer selection’
‘Real community atmosphere’.
Peter Kavanaghs has now gone forward to the Merseyside Pub of the year competition along with Cricketers from St Helens, Sparrowhawk from Southport and the Lazy Landlord from Wirral.
Sonia, the branch chair, then presented the award
Peter Kavanaghs is a worthy winner and is a pub we all should visit more often.
Peter Kavanagh's is located in Egerton Street, L8 7LY, near the Anglican Cathedral and has 5 real ales, often from Merseyside breweries.
