North Derbyshire Pub of the Year presentation

A number of CAMRA members from across the area along with local pub regulars assembled at the Miners Arms in Hundall, near Dronfield, on Friday 7th July to celebrate the pub winning CAMRA’s North Derbyshire Pub of the Year award. CAMRA Regional Organiser Pete Boitoult presented the winners certificate and the whole cast of management and staff got behind the bar for the photo opportunity! A complimentary chilli and garlic bread supper was provided for all in attendance with a choice of hot or mild. We never asked if the chilli plants growing in the pub’s conservatory had been involved! The pub is a traditional rural village drinkers pub that attracts a wide cross section of customers and has a choice of areas to enjoy your drinks – the main bar area with sport on TV and background music, a quieter lounge area, pool table room, conservatory with sofas and beer garden. The Miners has a range of 5 real ales served on handpump. The two regular beers are Pictish Alchemist Ale and the locally brewed Drone Valley Dronny Bottom Bitter with an ever changing selection of guest beers on the other three pumps. On the presentation night these included Acorn Summer Ale and Sonnet 43 Raven Stout. The Miners also boasts an extensive range of traditional cider and perry with around 20 listed on the blackboard! There is a discount for Real Ale and Real Cider for CAMRA members of 30p off a pint or 15p off a half every day except Monday when the beer prices are available to everyone at a bargain price! A new feature on the bar is an extended gin selection with a range of around 15 available including the Sleeping Lemon Gin from the Wild Beer Company! The Miners also offers a selection of bar snacks including pork pies, bhajis, sausage rolls, flans etc supplied by Deli-Licious of Dronfield. The pub is dog friendly, having some pub dogs of its own as well as numerous customers that bring ‘guest dogs’, a cask of water can be found in the conservatory labelled ‘doggy beer’ and there is a vending machine selling doggy treats to raise money for charity. A limited bus service is available stopping directly outside the Miners Arms (TM Travel route 14 Dronfield-Chesterfield), otherwise it is walkable from Unstone or a short taxi ride from Dronfield town centre. The Miners Arms hosts two beer festivals a year with additional guest beers and music. The first is in early June as part of the wider Three Valleys Beer Festival and the other is August Bank Holiday weekend when other events in the village coincide including charity cricket matches and the Land Rover trials. Congratulations to team Miners for winning this award – beating off competition from other North Derbyshire pubs including our own entry, the Anglers Rest in Bamford – and we wish them good look in the next round of the competition against the other East Midlands winners. The pub that is judged the best in the East Midlands then goes into the national Pub of the Year competition. Andrew Cullen (Photo credit: Nick Wheat)