91 The Boundary - Audenshaw

First  visited :  29  December  2014

The  Boundary  survives  near  to  the  junction  of  the  A6140  and  the  A6017, not  far  from  Guide  Bridge  station. It's  a  large  pub  with  a  restaurant  in  the  extension  to  its  right.

Inside  it's  nice  and  smart. Simon  and  I  had  lunch  there  - quite  good  value  at  £8.95  for  two  courses  during  the  week - and  were  both  happy  with  the  fare,  although  I'd  knock  a  mark  off  for  the  cold  plate. The  service  was  a  bit  slow  although  I  suppose  they  have  extra  staff  at  busier  times. There  were  a  few  other  diners  there  and  I  would  guess  it  has  a  good  chance  of  surviving  if  they  keep  up  the  food  standard.

89 Mechanics Arms- Audenshaw

Not  visited

This  one  was  further  up  Guide  Lane. It  closed  and  was  converted  to  housing  around  2012.

88 Stamford Arms-Audenshaw

Not  visited

I've  recorded  The  Stamford  Arms  as  being  in  Denton  but  it  was  actually  just  in  Audenshaw. Again  we  seem  to  have  missed  an  intervening  pub, The  White  House  Inn.

It  seems  to  have  closed   down  around  2010  and  is  now  a  funeral  parlour.

87 Silver Springs-Denton

First  visited : 30  November  2014

This  is  our  first  still  open  pub  in  Tameside. I  always  know  when  I've  crossed  this  municipal  boundary  because , having  spent  some  time  in  Tameside  MBC's   Rates  office  at  the  start  of  my  working  life, all  the  street  names  are  vaguely  familiar. Of  the  nine  "towns"  that  make  up Tameside , Denton is  geographically  closest  to  Manchester  and  seems  most  like  a  suburb.

The  Silver  Springs  is  fairly  central , on  the  road  out  to  Ashton.  My  expectations  were  not  high  as  the  adjacent  building  is  derelict  and  the  entrance  is  festooned   with  notices  about  drugs, CCTV  and  low  beer  prices. The  pub  was  also  peripherally  involved  in  the  Dale  Cregan  case  as  one  of  his  co-defendants  was  alleged  to  have  pulled  a  gun  on  the  landlord  in  2004.

Inside  however  it's  actually  quite  nice  with  what  looks  like  a  genuine  Victorian  bar  with  glass  panels   at  its  centre. It's  clean  and  tidy  throughout. It  was  practically  empty  this  afternoon  with  just  a couple  of  locals  who  looked  quite  rough  but  then  one  of  them  invited  Simon  to  play  pool  with  his  son  which  was  quite  nice. I  noted  in  the  games  room  that  they  were  hedging  their  bets  by  having  both  City  and  United  pictures  on  the  walls.

With  no  food  and  actually  a  fairly  restricted  range  of  drinks,  I  can't  see  myself  going  back  there  but  there  was  nothing  unpleasant  about  it.

86 Church Inn- Denton

Not  visited

The  400  proceeded  to  a  T  junction  with  the  A57  and  turned  right  into  Denton.

The  Church  Inn  was  situated  on  Manchester  Road  and  was  demolished  around  1980 apparently  due  to  subsidence   so  it  didn't  have  long  left  when  we  recorded  it.

85 Bull's Head - Reddish

Not  visited

The  Bull's  Head  was  further  up  Gorton  Road. The  lovely  building  is  still  there  but  is  now  owned  and  used   by  a  building  firm.

It  closed  down  around  2010  and  in  2012  there  was  a  planning  application  submitted  to  turn it  into  a  mosque  which  was  quickly  withdrawn.

The  pub  had  a  minor  piece  of  football  history  attached  to  it. It  owned  a  nearby  pitch  and  Gorton  FC , the  forerunners  of  Manchester  City  were  based  there  for  two  years  from  1885  using  the  pub  ( though  a  previous  building )  as  changing  rooms.    

84 The Fir Tree - Reddish

First  visited : 27  October  2014

The  Fir  Tree   is  situated  on  Gorton  Road , not  far  from  a  park  and  Reddish  North  station.  It's  a  large  pub  that  serves  food  and  I  thought  it  would  be  a  cut  above  the  last  couple  of  places. That's  just  about  true  but  I  was  a  little  disappointed.

The  Fir  Tree  sells  its  parking  spaces  to  the  public  during  the  day; you  get  the  fee  back  if  you  go  in  and  buy  something. Inside  it's  cavernous , dark  and  utterly  charmless, set  out  like  a  Witherspoon's  but   without  spending  anything  on  the  fittings. Much  of  the  floor  is  bare  boards  which  is  an  improvement  on  the  atrociously  dirty  carpet  in  the  lounge  area. There's  an  area  set  aside  for  the  weekend  disco  , some  large  TV  screens  and  warning  signs  about  CCTV  and  drugs. There  seemed  to  be  some  transaction  going  on  in  the  car  park  when  we  left.  The  clientele  on  a  Monday  afternoon  was  sad  ageing  men  who  probably  won't  work  again.

Against  all  that,  the  food  Simon  and  I  had  was  actually  quite  good, not  outstanding  VFM  or worth  going  out  of  your  way  for  but  certainly  better  than  the  environs  would  suggest.