The Hare & Hounds, Manchester

A classic inner city Manchester pub that needs no further description, historic if slightly plain interior with paler wood and leaded glass. Very much an old man’s pub and none the worse for than. Excellent Holts Bitter and an untried Robinson’s Dizzy Blonde which seemed odd in a Holt’s house.

Heritage pub opposite the Shudehill Interchange, with a fine-looking interior of three service areas around the gantried bar set halfway along one side. The main part of the counter is in the central lobby (featuring some fine tilework but limited seating), with the ends serving the front 'vaults' and rear lounge. Holt's Bitter (£3.20) and Robinson's Dizzy Blonde available from two of the four dispersed handpumps.

One of two pubs right opposite Shudehill interchange and very handy if using the Megabus. I had a swift half as my bus was due but it was a decent drink. I'll spend a little more time here when i call again!

Oddball. Multi-roomed place with what felt like a refurb had happened sometime in the last few years, something didn’t sit quite right with me – but I see no mention of it elsewhere so maybe I was imagining things, it was the final pub at the end of a long day’s crawling. It’s CAMRA Inventory listed, anyway. Some bits of tiling, a nice-looking bar with impressive canopy with leaded glasswork and some dull elephant grey banquette seating with a few areas to explore. A codger’s pub, I must have been the youngest customer by a good 10 years. Three cask options spread out all over the bar; my Robinsons Blonde was in good shape (NBSS 3.5). It was fine, but didn’t quite strike me as essential. GBG ’22 entry and one of the few listed pubs in the current edition that justified its place on my trip. Handy for a quick snifter as it’s opposite Shudehill interchange.

I called in here a few weeks ago on a Thursday afternoon to find the pub reasonably well attended to the extent I had to find a spare table in the rear room, It's a classic trad boozer (old mans pub) and yes I was one of the youngest in attendance being the right side of 65, but not by that many years. There were a couple of Cask beers on , Holts Bitter and Robinsons Dizzy Blonde, I'm not particularly fond of the later so had a pint of the bitter and although thats not really my thing either I was struck by how well it was kept. The pub itself is a great reminder of a dying breed and would certainly call in from time to time if I lived locally.

I called in here as my sixth and last Holt's pub of the day, after two in Patricroft, the Eagle just across the river from here and two in Manchester city centre. Not my first visit by any means, and I was somewhat surprised to see no one at all (of about a dozen) drinking Holts Bitter in the front room apart from me; in the drinking corridor three men drinking lager; in the back room (phew!) three men on the bitter. I've been here in the afternoon when it seemed like 90% of customers were drinking the bitter - perhaps it's different in the evenings, or on Sundays. As usual, everyone except the bar staff seemed to be the wrong side of 65. When this generation of drinkers dies out, someone will come in and gut this pub and turn it into a sports bar. For now, it's my favourite in Manchester.