The Sun in September

The Sun in September, Burnage, Manchester M19 1NA

The newest entry on this blog in terms of when it opened as a pub, the Sun in September was originally a detached Victorian villa in extensive grounds that was converted to pub use by Samuel Smith’s in the 1980s. The décor originally had something of an Indian Raj theme, which is where the name came from, but successive refurbishments have largely removed this.

It is situated in a mixed residential area just off Kingsway and close to a busy local shopping parade. Although there is no lack of nearby housing, it is now the only established pub left standing for at least half a mile in any direction, although there a couple of newer micros. The derelict Albion is a few hundred yards away along Burnage Lane.

In front of the pub is an attractive beer garden featuring several mature trees from the original grounds, which shows up well on the StreetView image. The remainder of the plot is given over to an unnecessarily large car park which presumably was dictated by 1980s planning policies.

The main door leads you through into the extensive lounge, which has an L-shaped bar on the left, and four distinct seating areas centred around an impressive feature fireplace. One section has tramcar-style seating. There is also a plainer public bar with its own entrance around the back of the pub.

It offers cask Old Brewery Bitter together with the usual range of keg beers. Obviously the restrictive Sam’s house rules apply, in particular the mobile phone ban, but there can be a good buzz of conversation. The pub clearly has a strong band of regulars, but also attracts customers from further afield, particularly for the popular Sunday lunches.

Several bus services run nearby and it is only a short walk from Burnage Station on the Piccadilly-Manchester Airport line.

The Green Man

The Green Man, Milwich, Staffordshire ST18 0EG

Milwich is a pleasant village situated in the deep Staffordshire countryside on the B5027 between Stone and Uttoxeter. The Green Man stands on the road junction in the village centre opposite a picturesque red-brick schoolhouse with a stone plaque dating it to 1833.

It’s a long, low, cream-painted building. The entrance on the right-hand side takes you into the main bar, which is the heart of the pub, with parquet floor, real fire and bench seating against the windows. Beyond this is an area with more of a public bar feel, and further on again a raised dining area. There is a large and attractive beer garden at the rear.

It was once tied to Bass, and older StreetView images show it still in Bass livery, although it has been independently run since 1990. The regular cask beers are Bass and Ruddles Bitter, with typically a couple of others divided between national brands and local microbreweries. Food is served on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday lunchtime, with the Sunday lunches seeming particularly popular. It is open seven days a week, but only from 4 pm Monday to Wednesday.

It’s a good example of the kind of country pub striking a balance between local trade and dining that was once commonplace, but has now been rendered increasingly rare by widespread closures and the advance of the gastropub.

The pub has a large car park on the right hand side. A little research shows no evidence of a bus service through the village, so the nearest public transport is five miles away at Stone. A mile up the road in the Stone direction is the wonderfully unspoilt Red Lion at Dayhills.