Waters Green Tavern, Macclesfield

GBG listed pub in brewers Tudor and older brick, L shaped interior with the counter inside the front left corner of the building. The interior is part traditional with off white anaglypta and traditional furniture but semi stripped to a worn look. The counter is in a sort of short plank finish but it has eight hand pumps, half in use during my early evening visit, Townhouse, Storm, Titanic and Mallinsons being on parade plus some possibly craft kegs on a low T-Bar, there was one from Salt. Good quality as expected given its GBG status. Banquette seating throughout with stools or wheelback chairs at wooden tables, proper carpet, mainly beery and old photo decor and an open fire in a deco fireplace add to the pleasant semi traditional ambience. Music from local radio.

This lively community local had been recommended to me by a punter in another pub I'd visited earlier in the evening, and it was absolutely packed when I rolled in late on a Tuesday night, in stark contrast to almost everywhere else I'd been to around town. You enter into a carpeted main bar area with the servery to the left and a good seating area to the right. The bar has an unimpressive timber fronted counter and white shelf, mirrored bar back, which has been given some character by a great Toby jub collection as well as a few other ceramic knick knacks. An amazing display of framed pump clip collections covers the canopy and some ancient looking CAMRA certificates are hung from the opposing beam. Pew and chair seating fills the area to the right, with a tiled fireplace on the end wall under a large, plain mirror. More seating can be found to the rear, including lots of low stools, but this part of the pub is dominated by the dartboard on the back wall, which renders the right-hand side banquette useless when a game is being played, and is flanked by some trophies. From here you can move through to a rear right room, dominated by a pool table with very limited seating around the perimeter. Pop tunes were fighting a losing battle to be heard over the general cacophony of a full house. Such a crowd needs a good draw, and the ale range seemed to be a plausible contender, with Fyne Ales Jarl, Oakham JHB (£4.00 a pint), Bass, Abbeydale Deception and Ossett Superdelic all on handpull. The bar staff were very nice and seemed to have a great rapport with the locals as well, which would also help bring punters through the door, and my JHB was pretty much faultless, so they clearly know how to look after their ale. Whilst this probably isn't the sort of pub I'd normally be drawn to, the cracking atmosphere and great beer made this a very pleasant visit. I think there were more people in here than in the five previous pubs I'd visited combined, so they must be doing something right, and with a location opposite the station, it would be daft not to pop in and give it a try. Date of visit - 16th January 2024

The Waters Green Tavern has a bar counter to the left of the entrance and L-shaped seating up the right. On a recent Monday evening Greatest Hits Radio was being piped through some very low quality speakers. Three of the eight hand pumps were in operation drawing Fyne Ales Jarl, Abbeydale’s Serenity and Acorn’s Barnsley Bitter. The landlord wasn’t there when I walked in so one of the regulars served me. Made me feel like a bit of a criminal to be honest, wouldn’t put my half on the bar until I had handed over the money. I think he thought I was going to down it and run out of the door without paying. I’ll not be returning.