Several pubs and a social club in and around Teesdale are among the best in the Darlington and North Yorkshire regions according to the Campaign for Real Ale.
Barnard Castle’s Old Well Inn was runner-up in the Darlington CAMRA Pub Of The Year, while Bowes Social Club was runner-up for Club Of The Year.
This follows a tour of Teesdale by Darlington CAMRA members late last year.
The Old Well Inn lost out to The Quakerhouse by just one vote.
Landlord Roy Chatterjee, who was also runner-up in 2022, said: “We were told it was very, very close. There are 100-plus pubs competing for the award.”
Old Well Inn has five real ales on tap at any given time, but has Timothy Taylor’s Landlord and Mithral Ales’ Cumming and Goings on permanently.
The other taps – known as guest ales – are rotated between ales by Island Breweries, Consett Ale Works, Yard of Ale, Black Sheep, Yorkshire Heart, Settle Brewery, Pennine Brewing Company and George Samuel.
Roy added: “For us, our anchor is, other than the experience and food, our real ale drinkers. They come from all over.”
Ever trying to expand their offering the pub is now trialling ales by Three Kings Brewery and Darwin Brewery, both based at North Shields.
Andy Beck of Bowes Social Club said the committee is “dead chuffed” with the award.
He attributed it to the way CAMRA members had enjoyed their bus trip to Teesdale late last year of which the social club was the last stop.
He said: “There was about 30 of them. They came at about 6pm on a Saturday – we always have a good crowd in on a Saturday evening.
“I think we had three different real ales on that evening.
“We thought nothing of it and then out of the blue it came out on the CAMRA Facebook that we had come second.”
Andy added the club “is basically the hub of the village” since the Ancient Unicorn closed.
Bowes Social Club was pipped to the top position by Darlington Snooker Club.
Just across the Teesdale border, Eppleby’s Cross Keys was the winner of the North Yorkshire Pub of the Year, and Piercebridge’s The George was runner-up.
