Swan with Two Necks, Stockport

Stockpot has some fine pubs, so if you're looking to see another splendid interior from the Camra Inventory, you can't miss this one out. Robinsons Unicorn was my choice here.

As Peter Rydings has already said, this is a fantastic pub with well kept beer and a great food offering, and i too noticed a build up of dirt, my visit was the 12th of Feb.I asked if there had been a change in tenant or landlord, and was told by a member of staff that it was the same landlord/landlady as it has been for 6yrs now. I did also ask why it seemed dirtier than on my previous visits and was told that the landlord and landlady had been making many improvements from a brand new kitchen installation to new fire alarm and rear court yard also i was told that the front of the pub has undergone a face lift, as it was newly decorated and they had removed the opaque georgian wired glass windows and replaced them with normal plane glass windows. I must admit at that moment i felt very stupid, but i am very pleased to see many improvements to such a great pub. look forward to seeing more improvements on my next visit.

In the heart of Stockport’s pedestrianised shopping centre is The Swan with Two Necks, a pub with a narrow frontage that is larger inside than it looks from across the road. Noticeable up on high is a typical black and white mock Tudor gabled frontage. Inside the pub, a long wood panelled corridor runs down the right hand side of the pub and quickly widens to form a drinking lobby, but with seats and tables against the wall. There’s 3 rooms in total on the left of the corridor. The first bar on the left at the front of the pub is effectively the public bar. This is a small room, traditionally furnished, with an oak panelled angled screen separating this room from the lobby. Over the fireplace, we see a large Manchester and Stockport Pub Crawl Map. The short narrative description of this pub is “last refurbished in the 1920’s”. Further down the corridor, past the lobby servery, is probably the best room in the pub – a cosy, comfortable and characterful oak panelled Smoke Room ( room 3 ) which features fixed seating and bell pushes. The splendid oak panelled walls are decorated with copper plates and horse brasses, giving off something of a country pub feel. Note also the attractive moulded cornicing at the junction of the wall and ceiling and an unusual rectangular lantern, which provides light. The local CAMRA Pub Guide – “Viaducts and Vaults 3 “ – describes this room as a “strong contender for the finest pub room in Stockport”. Further down the corridor is another room which seems to be used as a family / dining room. At the end of the corridor is a splendid stained glass panel depicting the eponymous swan with two necks. There’s a small smokers yard at the back with the outside toilets. For its unspoilt and unaltered interior, the pub is listed in CAMRA’s National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors. On my recent midweek lunchtime visit, the pub was quite busy with a good mixture of shoppers and locals. Notably, it’s the only pub in this long street, Princes Street, and one might therefore expect it to have something of a transient, impersonal feel. Yet it evidently has a good loyal regular trade with most customers known by name to the friendly and likeable youngish Northern couple who evidently run the show. It’s a Robinsons pub which was serving Dark Hatter, Unicorn and, perhaps surprisingly, the legendary Old Tom. The Dark Hatter - £ 2.60p – was an enjoyable pint and I decided to push the boat out with a half of Old Tom ( ABV – 8.5% , £ 2.60p ), which was drunk in a suitably slow and responsible manner. The pub is listed in the 2012 CAMRA Good Beer Guide. This is a welcoming and likeable pub and, despite the attractions of The Crown Inn, I’d definitely like to do this one again. Finally, do note that, according to the Good Beer Guide, the pub closes early each evening, except for Friday and Saturday