The Cholmondeley Arms listed in Britain’s 25 most dog-friendly pubs

Finish a weekend walk with a trip to one of these hound-welcoming hostelries. Introduced by Kate Humble

No need to leave your canine companion outside: Kate Humble introduces our choice of dog-friendly pubs

If you love having a dog, you probably love doing things that dogs love doing too – and a good walk is top of the list. We are lucky enough to live in a beautiful country, and not only that, a country that is criss-crossed with a network of public footpaths crying out to be explored. This wonderful access we are given to our countryside is one of the greatest privileges of living and holidaying in Britain. As dog owners, we naturally want to share the scenery with the company of a dog or two – or in my case, three. Yet often in the past it has been a challenge to find somewhere equally pleasurable to have a restorative drink – and perhaps a lovely meal as well – at the end of a stroll. I’m sure I’m not the only one of us who has ended up in a poky, lino-clad room tucked away down some dark corridor that describes itself as “dog friendly”. But there are plenty of civilised, dog-friendly pubs out there. The dedicated team at Sawday’s has travelled the length and breadth of Britain to find an enticing collection of places to eat and stay. And if, like me, you are eccentric and dotty enough want to bring your dog along too, you can. I call it the “tail-wagging” guide, and it has never failed me or my dogs yet..

THE CHOLMONDELEY
ARMS, WRENBURY ROAD,
CHOLMONDELEY, CHESHIRE
SY14 8HN
As prim and proper as a Victorian schoolmistress on the outside, this old school house is as stylish as Beau Brummell within. The glorious carved oak bar dominates the main hall and apart from the malted charms of the local ales, there are 200 varieties of ruinously good gin to discover. Fear not, for your faithful friend will not go thirsty, dog beer is available and baskets provided for those that stay over.

Lunch/dinner £7.25-£17.95, Sunday
lunch £14.50. Rooms from £75 per
night, dogs £10 per night. cholmondeleyarms.
co.uk; 01829 720300.

The crowds gathered for our annual bonfire party, our trusty locals made a huge bonfire which started the festivities. We had our outside bar and BBQ running and the live music really got the party rocking!

A big thankyou to our group of regulars that helped us and all of the Cholmondeley team!

See you all next year!!

From left Leanne manager of the Fitzherbert Arms holding the ‘Best Pub in Staffordshire’ certificate with Tom Head chef of the Cholmondeley Arms who has the ‘Best Pub in the Northwest’ plaque next to Lucy, deputy manager of the Fitzherbert Arms and Tom’s partner helping hold the certificate for the Cholmondeley Arms and Cholmondeley Arms manager Tim with yet another certificate for ‘Best Pub in the Northwest!’

Here in London at the BAFTA theatre In Piccadilly on 23rd May 2017 the Cholmondeley Arms was announced as the best pub in the Northwest!

Beating all Northwest county winners to the title! Having won the Cheshire County prize three weeks ago….London called….to see if the Regional award could be won…and the Cholmondeley Arms has won it!!

So officially best Pub in the Northwest meaning Tim Bird and Mary Mclaughlin have now had two pubs win this prestigious award in two years….the Church Inn in Mobberley winning last year!

Well done to Cholmondeley Arms manager Tim and Deputy Fliss, Head Chef Tom and the team! A great win!

Cholmondeley Charity Shoot raises over £3500 for Hope House and Air Ambulance.

The local community puts together an annual charity clay pigeon shoot, where throughout the afternoon, individuals and teams compete.

This year the event raised more than £3500 for the charities. We are proud to sponsor such a brilliant, local event.

Tuesday 25th April saw new champions pick up the Cholmondeley Arms quiz cup plus lots of Cholmondleey Arms vouchers and a free gin tasting!!

The Kelsall Quizzicles were the 2017 champions-well done and congratulations!!

Big thanks as always to Professor Ted our supreme quiz master, we couldn’t do it without you!!

The ‘Ted to Head’ final between the Cholmondeley Arms and The Bulls Head happens at the Three Greyhounds on Wednesday 24th May at 8pm.

A big thankyou to all of the teams that took part in the quizzes over the past 6 months- we will be back in September!

The 2017 Pub and Bar Magazine Awards are back and the judges have chosen the best Pubs and Bars in their respective counties. We are delighted to announce the Cholmondeley Arms has been chosen as the best pub in the county of Cheshire. We are naturally delighted! Our sister Pub the Fitzherbert Arms has also won in Staffordshire! So we have a double to cheer about!

The awards are being presented at BAFTA in Piccadilly on 23rd May. At this event the best in the region will be decided…The Fitzherbert Arms is in the West Midlands final and the Cholmondeley Arms is in the Northwest final. Then one of the regional winners will win best pub in the U.K.!! Last year our sister Pub the Church Inn in Mobberley was voted best pub in the U.K. at the awards so it’s truly amazing to be amongst the best again! We are very excited for the entire team and our customers who have all played a part in us achieving such a great honour! We will keep you posted once the 23rd is over!

By The MA, 16-Mar-2017

Pioneering food couple Tim Bird and Mary McLaughlin have used their vast experience in the foodservice sector to build their growing fleet of seven food-led pubs. Read More

Ramblers met up at The Cholmondeley Arms to support Countryfile’s ramble for Children in Need. People from all over Cheshire took part in the event, bringing dogs and children on a two-hour walk through the Cholmondeley Estate. With special permission ramblers got to see the delights of the Cholmondeley estate including the Castle and private chapel whilst on their walk.

Local residents helped to put the event together, escorting visitors through their farm land to gain access to the park.

All in all a great day, the sun was shining throughout the day, and the walk was finished in the best possible way…the pub!

Over the entirety of the weekend, the British countryside filled with CountryFile viewers as thousands headed into the great outdoors to raise money for Children in Need. This is the second year the BBC programme has run the event and it has proven to be a great success. The programme will air on BBC’s CountryFile on November 6^th highlighting all the rambles that took place over the weekend.

Cheshire Cat Pub and Bars, has been named as ‘Pub Group of the Year 2016/17’ by the prestigious Good Pub Guide. The award follows a string of successes for the company over the year including being chosen as the Best Drinks Act in the UK at the Publican Awards in London.

The Good Pub Guide is the number one selling guide book for pubs in the UK. This award is given from the guide to pub groups that are first rate in every way and run by people who really care about both their pubs and their customers. The 2017 Good Pub Guide will feature over 5,000 pubs demonstrating just how stiff the competition is.

Owner Tim Bird comments: “This is a true accolade and we are very, very proud indeed. This award will mean the world to our entire team and our customers, as it recognises our teams huge efforts in helping us run wonderfully individual pubs well. It also recognises our collective efforts in rescuing pubs that were previously closed down or lost causes. Our pubs and Inns now shine brightly for our many loyal customers to enjoy for many years to come”.

The pub group was chosen by Fiona Stapeley, editor of the Good Pub Guide, and were marked on a range of criteria from the quality of service to product range, aesthetic design and the pub’s hospitality.

“The pubs have a great deal of individuality both in their décor, their choice of drinks, their food and their atmosphere,” says Fiona. “These pubs have consistently good feedback from all our readers. As I edit the book it becomes obvious which group of pubs really stand out head and shoulders above the others. Of course competition is stiff, but this year it was a straight-forward choice for me.”

Cheshire Cats Pubs & Bars is owned and operated by Tim Bird and Mary McLaughlin, who have a collection of award winning pubs across Cheshire, Staffordshire and Dorset. Earlier this year the group were voted the Best Drinks Act in the UK at the prestigious Publican Awards ceremony in London. Their Church Inn won the coveted award of ‘UK’s Best Pub’ this summer, as well as their Fitzherbert Arms in Staffordshire scooping Sawday’s ‘Best Newcomer’.

A recent article by Marie-Elise Worswick in the national student paper, The Tab gives us the following accolade….

Best for monster portions: The Cholmondeley Arms, Cholmondeley

A rural location and modern deco makes this an ultra insta-friendly environment. Their fish and chips are to die for if you like massive portions, Cholmondeley is the place to be. Even their mushy peas are delicious.

To read the entire article click here

At the end of May teams from the Bulls Head and the Cholmondeley Arms went ‘Ted to Head’ in the grand final of Lord and Professors Ted’s great pub quiz.

Held at the The Three Greyhounds Inn, teams from the two pubs rubbed shoulders with regulars of the The Three Greyhounds Inn who also joined in.

The overall Champs on the night were the two year champs from the Bulls Head…..Ted’s Tarts! Well done ladies

They have already won a wine tasting at our Church Inn for the team as well our pub vouchers.

For winning the grand final there is a table for the team waiting for them to enjoy a supper on us. At a pub of their choice.

Thanks to Ted for all the great quizzes of the season and we look forward to welcoming him back at the end of September.

Tuesday 26th saw new champions pick up the Cholmondeley Arms Quiz Cup plus lots of Cholmondeley Arms vouchers and a free Gin Tasting!

Appropriately named Gin+42 (pictured) were true champs picking up a massive 66 pints overall. Well done and congratulations!

2nd place fell to Nelsons Pickle on 46 points, third were Kelsall Kwizzicals with 38 points and last years champs, Four Candles, were 4th with 16 points.

Tim was on hand to take the snaps and congratulate the winners as team captain of the Four Candles handed the trophy over to Team Gin+42!

Big thanks as always to Professor Ted our supreme quiz master! We couldn’t do it without you! The ‘Ted to Head’ final between the Cholmondeley Arms and Bulls Head happens at the Three Greyhounds Inn on Wednesday 25th May from 8pm.

Thanks to all the teams that took part in the quizzes over the last 6 months we will be back in September!