CityLife

Pub Of The Year 2010: The winner

The Lazy Toad has won the ultimate title

The Lazy Toad in Droylsden has been crowned CityLife Pub Of The Year 2010.

The venue beat off competition from across Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire to be named the region’s top watering hole in our vote, after initially winning the Tameside Advertiser area title.

Landlord Alan Graham was overjoyed to win. He said: "I’m 57 and I feel like I’m five years old – it’s brilliant. We’re only a little pub!"

Alan and his staff worked hard to encourage drinkers, friends, family and even passers-by to vote for their pub by going the extra mile and employing some unusual tactics.

"I got an A-board outside asking for everyone’s help. There was a polling station nearby and as people were going to vote we hoped they’d see our sign. We said ‘we need your vote for Tameside’ – all of the staff went on Facebook telling all their friends to vote and we asked all the regulars to vote, too.

"Even my Spanish teacher helped. She works in a school and she got all the staff to vote for us."

It’s been a long journey to glory for the Lazy Toad. In the first round, readers spent weeks voting online and using vouchers from the paper to create a top 10 of Tameside pubs. The top three were then visited by our team of mystery drinkers who decided that the Toad should win the Tameside Advertiser Pub of the Year.

Then, as the Tameside winner, it was entered into the CityLife final where voters and readers of our sister newspapers from across the region sent a text message vote – and by the end of the weekend it was clear that the Lazy Toad had come top. There were 17 pubs in the final, and the Lazy Toad scooped 1,600 votes – about 28 per cent of the total vote.

Alan added: "It’s made a big difference to us, there are lots of new people and new faces. But now we can’t just sit back and relax, we have to maintain it."

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The area winners (and runners-up) were...

ACCRINGTON OBSERVER
1)  The Griffin’s Head
2)  The Abbey Hotel
3)  The Rose & Crown

GLOSSOP ADVERTISER
1)  Peel Arms
2)  Wheatsheaf
3)  Bulls Head Inn

HEYWOOD ADVERTISER
1)  Bay Horse
2)  The Crown Inn
3)  Browns No1

MACCLESFIELD EXPRESS
1)  The Vale
2)  The Blueberry
3)  The Poachers

MIDDLETON GUARDIAN
1)  The Lancashire Fold
2)  Ye Olde Boar’s Head
3)  Joiners Arms

MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS (MEN)
1)  Pack Horse
2)  Deansgate
3)  Lass O’Gowrie

NORTH EAST MANCHESTER ADVERTISER (NEM)
1)  Marble Arch, Rochdale Road
2)  Lord Nelson, Gorton
3)  Railway, Openshaw

OLDHAM ADVERTISER
1)  Rose Of Lancaster
2)  Famous King George
3)  Ashton Arms

PRESTWICH ADVERTISER
1)  Woodthorpe Hotel
2)  Bluebell
3)  Coach & Horses

ROCHDALE OBSERVER
1)  The Globe, Ramsden Road, Wardle
2)  The Cemetery Hotel
3)  The Baum

ROSSENDALE FREE PRESS
1)  Rose 'N' Bowl
2)  George & Dragon
3)  Ye Olde Boot & Shoe

SALFORD ADVERTISER
1)  King’s Arms
2)  The Crescent
3)  Dog & Partridge

SOUTH MANCHESTER REPORTER
1)  Fiddlers Green, Levenehulme
2)  Victoria Inn, Burnage
3)  Fletcher Moss, Didsbury

STOCKPORT EXPRESS
1)  The Fir Tree
2)  Arden Arms
3)  The Midway

TAMESIDE ADVERTISER
1)  Lazy Toad
2)  Hop Pole
3)  Ladysmith
 
TRAFFORD METRO NEWS
1)  The Steamhouse
2)  The Volunteer
3)  The Legh Arms

WILMSLOW EXPRESS
1)  King William
2)  Coach & Four
3)  Horse and Jockey
 

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