Tavern is tops

Real ale adds up to a winner for Michelle

CHEERS rang out again for an award-winning Royton pub picked as the perfect place to sup a pint.

The Tandle Hill Tavern, in Thornham Old Road, was named the best pub in Oldham, Rochdale and Bury by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).

And the hostelry was also voted the second best in the Greater Manchester region.

It is not the first time landlady Michelle Fenton has won awards for her work.

She scooped the Manchester Food and Drink Pub of the Year in 2007, as well as the JW Lees Cask Ale Pub of the Year.

Not bad for a former accountant who swopped balancing books for pulling pints only two years ago.

Ms Fenton (37) said: “I was very surprised to win the award because I would have expected somewhere that offered a wider range of ales to win.

“But CAMRA was looking for other criteria such as good atmosphere and knowledge about ales.”

The pub, a haven for real ale, faced a range of different tests such as mystery shoppers, before Ms Fenton scooped the award.

She said: “Traditional cask ales are very important because 82 per cent of our sales are cask ales, there is a definite demand.

“The customers are over the moon about the award and I aim to maintain standards for next year.

“It’s onwards and upwards.”