April - Blue Bell
The Blue Bell
170 Barlow Road, Levenshulme , Manchester, M19 3HF
The Stockport & South Manchester CAMRA Pub of the Month for April is the Blue Bell on Barlow Road in Levenshulme. Margaret O'Brien has been along.
The Blue Bell is an imposing pub tucked away a short walk from the A6, in Levenshulme. While Levenshulme is slowly recovering from its "real ale desert" role, the Blue Bell has been a cask ale outlet for some years now with well-kept Sam Smith's Old Brewery Bitter on handpump.
The pub is managed by Mark and Mary Dunn, who has worked for the Samuel Smiths for well over 20 years now. Not all Sam Smith's pubs sell cask beer and that was the case with the Blue Bell until Mark pushed the company to install cask beer seven years ago.
The pub itself is very smart, having undergone one of Sam Smiths classy refurbishments a few years back. On the right is a spacious vault and to the left three additional rooms - a large lounge with parquet wraps itself around the bar counter and off this is a smaller carpeted lounge and also a small snug.
It's really at the heart of the community with a variety of groups using the pub. Events are held to raise funds for community projects to improve local sites and walkways, there are other regular events, a quiz night, a knitting club and trips out. There's always a warm welcome from Mark, Mary and their staff.
This well deserved award will be presented on the night of Thursday 27 April. We hope to see a good crowd along to celebrate the success of a pub in an area where so many others have failed. It's easy to get to on the 192 - just walk down Cromwell Grove to its junction with Barlow Road and the pub is there on your right.