Firstly a very big thank you to all our customers that have braved the diversions and in some cases rather misleading diversion signs and made a visit to see us since our re-opening following our major investment in to the great Cholmondeley Arms.

We have all been delighted with the response even with the A49 closed!!

Anyway the road has finally opened…!!

As everyone knows Mary and Soph acquired 50 pumpkins for the Bulls Head and Cholmondeley Arms of which some became salad, some became soup and some were carved really well by members of both teams. The winner overall for pumpkin carving was The ‘Chum’ with Rob our industrious Kitchen Porter as individual Champ and Steve our second chef at the Bulls Head in second place overall!!

Thank you to all the Ghouls that supported us over Halloween never sold so many spirits!!!

Sophie and Mary (pictured) had a great night out shopping last Thursday!!!

Now all you girls(and guys for that matter) may have thought they were off to Manchester city centre or to the Trafford Centre!!

But no they went to Chelford Market to get a supply of pumpkins for both the Bulls Head and the Cholmondeley Arms ready for Halloween.

Fifty (yes 50) pumpkins were bought and already adorn the two pubs ready for certain members of the team to start carving them into various funny and spooky faces for this coming weekend.

How the two of them loaded up the car with all the pumpkins???……….hilarious to see them pull in outside the Bulls Head with a bright orange interior to the car!!!

Pumpkin also features on both menus and may well be doing for some time to come!!

Anyway happy half term and here’s to a great Halloween weekend where there will be more treats than tricks here at the pub.

The National Institute of Economic & Social Research (NIESR) has warned that the economic recovery will be “the weakest of any since the First World War”, after its first estimate for GDP growth in September suggested that the economy grew by 0.5% in the third quarter.

The NIESR warned that GDP is still 4% below its pre-recession peak, which means the recovery will be the weakest of any since the First World War and said that although the UK is likely to have departed the recession, we are in a ‘depression’.

So that should change the conversation here at the pub….the good news? We aren’t in a recession anymore!!! Yippee!!……The bad news?? We are now in a depression!!!

Well for us there is no need for depression of any kind when here at your favourite pub a great pint of cask ale, a glass of warming red wine, home cooked wholesome comfort food and a lit fire await you but most importantly all with a smile!! They say the best tonic has a large gin in it!!

So if your recession has just become a depression pop in a cheer yourself up!!

You read it here (second) folks, The Telegraph has reported that it will be ‘hotter than Hawaii’ this week! Click here to read the article.

Just after I took in the ‘Summer Drinks board’ and started to plan our winter drinks, low and behold look what happens!!?? I am about to slip into a grass skirt and a coconut bikini for the remainder of the week!!! Girls run for the high ground!!!

Make the most of our Indian summer and join us at the Cholmondeley Arms this week and bask in the warmth of the rarely-seen English sunshine.

We will make sure there is plenty of ice-cold tonic for your G&T, fruity jugs of Pimms & Rose chilled to perfection.

Hope to see you here soon!

When we opened the ‘Chum’ we planted our half barrel planter boxes with baby cabbages, lettuces, beetroots etc. and thanks to the weather they are growing like crazy.

Christian and his kitchen team have already been using them in salads and winter greens. These photos taken today in 25 degrees centigrade tell the story.

The apple tree in the porch as you enter the ‘Chum’ is to be planted in the land to the rear of the pub and will mark the start of our orchard which over the years will grow and grow so the Chum can be self-supporting in terms of certain fruits and vegetables.

LORD CHOLMONDELEY SERVES A HALF OF CHOLMONDELEY BEST TO CELEBRATE THE RE-OPENING OF HIS FAVOURITE PUB!!

It was with great pleasure that the team at the newly refurbished Cholmondeley Arms welcomed The Marquess and Marchioness of Cholmondeley to the Cholmondeley Arms to raise a glass at the ‘official’ opening, after the completion of its major refurbishment.

As part of the opening celebrations Lord Cholmondeley took his position behind the bar and removed the ceremonial ‘old school tie’ from the real ale pumps and served a half of Cholmondeley Best, brewed exclusively for the pub by Weetwood Brewery in Tarporley.

The Cholmondeley Arms has won many accolades over the years, building a great reputation for freshly cooked food.  Its menu is quintessentially English and includes such flavoursome favourites as ‘the Traditional Pub sharing plate’, the ‘Hand crafted Stalkers Venison pie’ or indeed ‘Devilled Kidneys on toast’.

The famous pub has been wonderfully restored by Cheshire Pub entrepreneurs Tim Bird and Mary Mclaughlin who also operate the award winning Bulls Head in Mobberley.

Set in beautiful Cheshire countryside adjacent to Cholmondeley Castle, the Cholmondeley Arms is probably one of England’s most unique pubs.  It sits inside a former Victorian village schoolhouse on Lord Cholmondeley’s estate.  Dating back to 1862 the school was converted in 1988 and it was the first public house for over a century!

The character of the new Cholmondeley Arms is warm and inviting with large mirrors and church candles, fresh flowers, open fire places and interesting ‘old school’ furniture such as the blackboards featuring lunchtime specials.  The pub also has six en-suite bedrooms situated in the ‘Headmaster’s House’ opposite.

Famous too for offering over forty different gins, local ales brewed within a thirty mile radius of the pub and its malts and ports, the ‘new’ Cholmondeley Arms is truly a real pub – ‘Local and Proud’.

“It is very exciting to see the Cholmondeley Arms begin a new era”, said Lord Cholmondeley “and we are thrilled with the refurbishment carried out by Tim, Mary and their excellent team”.

STRU' NEVER MISSES A PHOTO OPPORTUNITY!!

Sundays are a special day at the Cholmondeley Arms mainly because of Christians Roast Rib of Beef with all the trimmings!!

This Sunday was no exception and who should ‘rock up’ to enjoy the occasion….none other than Ainsley Harriott himself!!

Ainsley enjoyed his beef and spent time swapping foodie anecdotes with the chefs and the rest of our team as well as enjoying the new Cholmondeley Arms with his family.

CHRISTIAN AND HIS TEAM WELCOME AINSLEY IN TO THE 'CHUM' KITCHEN WITH OUR MANAGER STEVE

Judging by the large amounts of people already coming through the doors of the new Cholmondeley Arms many of you know are open and accessible!!!

We have been on the Council website to get an update  on the A49 closure and how long it will last. Apparently they have hit some ‘snags’!! For more details click here.

Just to reassure our ‘would be’ customers that if you are travelling south on the A49 from Warrington, Tarporley, Bunbury etc. all is completely normal road/journey wise as the road is closed well beyond the Cholmondeley Arms.

If you are travelling from Wrenbury/Malpas all is fine too.

However if you are travelling from Whitchurch then you must follow the diversion signs.

We would like to say a big thank you to an already loyal customer, for posting the only comments about the road closure on the council website, boasting they have the Cholmondeley Arms to themselves (see here). Well you can all come along and share the experience of the new Cholmondeley Arms with our new fan!! We look forward to seeing you.

We are exceptionally proud to say one of the biggest parts of our investment in the ‘new’ Cholmondeley Arms has been the kitchen. As you can see from the photos the floors, the walls, the ceilings, all the equipment including our new ‘walk in’ fridge, all the electrics, in fact everything you can think of has been completely re-newed.

It is vital to us that our kitchen reflects our passion for great food, using fresh produce from local suppliers where we can while maintaining the highest standards possible.

Here is our opening line-up on our ‘famous five pumps’. Teachers Tipple is our seasonal ‘session’ house beer brewed by Weetwood brewery in Tarporley. It is a really good hoppy beer with fruit flavours. Then there is our ‘centre piece’ Ale, the Cholmondeley Best Bitter again, brewed at Weetwood.

On the right as you look is our first guest ale, the ‘bitter mans’ bitter from Cheshire’s newest brewery ‘Mobberley Fine Ales’, Hedge Hopper is an excellent brew and reflects our close relationship with the village of Mobberley where we have our first Cheshire based pub the Bulls Head the winner of the ‘Best Turnaround Pub’ in the Northwest 2011.

Then we have two further guest ales. Wincle Waller from Wincle Brewery near Macclesfield and of course the famous ‘Shropshire Gold’ from Salopian.

The Cholmondeley Arms is committed to local micro-breweries from within a 35 mile radius and we will only stock ales from Cheshire and Shropshire..