The Orange Tree Inn, Altrincham

An old rambling pub with some genuine character intact … but sparsely populated on a Saturday evening, just Wainwrights on hand pull and a barmaid staring at her phone.. I reversed quickly and headed for the tram back to Manchester. Seemed to me like the kind of place that has been run down by a pubco.

This is a pub (i think originally the horse and jockey) that expanded into the neighbouring (and larger) building next door. It is all knocked through now creating what is effectively a large L-shaped room on differing levels. There wasn't any music as the TV was on showing boxing, so we found a small snug room at the back, the TV wasn't on there and it had a a couple of sofas, a strange mix of art and a fireplace feature. Beer: usual tap stuff with Doombar, Wainwright and Black Sheep Holy Grail, which was fine. This was a nice enough pub, with an uninteresting choice of beer, worth a swifty though.

The Orange Tree is much changed since I regularly frequented the pub back in the late 1980s. It was then a Wilson's house, there remains a kind of shrine behind glass of an old Wilson's beer engine and various bottles of the kin. A split level pub with lots of opportunities to trip up, various rooms and areas, most are plain boarded. Some exposed brickwork and a few oak ceiling beams. The bar has a grey painted distressed front which honestly doesn't suit the place but never mind. A small stage in a corner where there are wall mounted guitars suggests regular live music. Several beers on these days, Otter Bitter and Ale, Ringwood Boondoggle, Copper Dragon Golden Pippin, Thwaites Wainwright plus the fly in the ointment Doom Bar. Food served at decent prices. This pub has had a chequered history recently under a typically difficult pubco. It seems to be thriving at the moment so good luck to all, a long standing historic pub.