The Poachers Inn, Macclesfield

The Poachers Inn is an L-shaped pub with seating up the left and a central brick pattern wallpapered wooden topped serving counter on the rear wall. Premium keg is available and the five hand pumps were badged with a passable Titanic Plum Porter, Peakstones Rock Brewing’s Churnet Valley and Nemesis, Bear Town’s Glacier and Storm Brewing’s Desert Storm. There was also a craft cider board advertising Slack Alice and Seacider. Some curved banquettes are found on the front wall opposite the counter, and more seating is found to the right where a flame effect burner sits in an alcove on the right-hand wall. There was some niche background music playing and the television was playing a Halloween screensaver, three weeks before Halloween. The service was polite enough, but the poor-quality pint and the weird atmosphere means that I’ll not be returning.

This is a pub at the far Eastern end of Bollington right next to the Southern Pennine foothills. The building is at the end of a stone terrace and appears to be formed by knocking several of the houses on the corner into one. Inside it is one large carpeted room partially divided into separate areas with an assortment of tables and chairs for dining, sofas and leather armchairs. On the bar there were six hand pumps with a cider, the local Happy Valley Lazy Daze, Weetwood Old Dog, Storm Beaufort's Ale, Magpie Angry Bird and Tatton Blonde. I went for the Happy Valley Lazy Daze and the Magpie Angry Bird both around the £3.00-£3.10 mark and both in good condition. Although this is possibly a nicer place than the Vale the other GBG pub in Bollington, the beers were not as good as those from the Bollington Brewing Company but that may be just the pot luck element of ever changing guests.