The Fairway, Stockport

This smart L-shaped pub to the south of the town centre became a freehouse in 2012 when it was purchased from Robinson’s by the current owners. The place has obviously undergone an extensive refurbishment since then, leaving us with a well presented interior with a slightly contemporary feel. You enter into the main bar area with the servery directly opposite on the back wall. Nice modern floorboards, contemporary wallpaper and pastel shaded walls run throughout and create a pleasing effect. To the right upon entering, there is a small seating area with some nice banquettes and boards listing various food options. A dartboard with electronic scoreboard was getting a lot of use from a group of youngsters. Moving left you pass another banquette with scatter cushions under a mixed selection of paintings opposite the servery before reaching long button backed banquettes running down the left hand wall towards the rear of the pub. There is an attractive fireplace on the side wall here and some nice old bits of furniture fill up the gaps, although a large space was left empty in the front left corner, so I presume that is where bands set up on live music nights. The room extends back down this left hand side into an area with a lot more seating, some stylish large paintings and another dartboard. A nice high ceiling has rafters decorated with old jugs, tankards and the like and from here you can find a beer garden which I didn’t explore in detail. Some classic 60’s and 70’s tunes played throughout my stay although they were occasionally drowned out by an annoying customer who was watching rugby on his phone with the sound turned up extremely loud. A long row of handpulls offered a choice of Fernandes Summit, Half Nelson and Barley Promise, Coach House Gunpowder Mild, Thwaites Wainwright, Greene King IPA, Saltaire Blonde and Coastal Fairway Gold, which I presume is a house beer. I tried the Half Nelson for £3.00 a pint and thought it was in excellent condition. The bar staff were really friendly and gave me a very warm welcome when I arrived before helping me decide which beer to try. I really liked this place and thought the owners had done an excellent job in bringing an old Robinson’s house into the 21st Century with their tasteful refurbishment and excellent ale policy. The service was the friendliest I received in a town full of cheery bar staff and the beer was top notch, marking this place out as one of the best around town.