'I visited 24 pubs in Oldham in a day - there were three absolute gems'
A YouTuber named Dale Harvey, known for 'The Great British Pub Crawl,' visited 24 pubs in Oldham and Royton in a single day, highlighting three standout venues: Fox & Pine, Ashton Arms, and Molino Lounge. He praised the community spirit and variety of pubs but noted the decline in the number of pubs in Oldham, calling for government support to preserve British pub culture.
Former Landlord Visits 24 Oldham Pubs in One Day, Discovering Three Standout Gems
Dale Harvey, the Nottingham-based YouTuber behind The Great British Pub Crawl, completed an ambitious 24-pub tour of Oldham and Royton in under 24 hours last week, marking his first visit to the Greater Manchester borough in his quest to drink in every pub in Britain.
The former landlord, who has visited over 5,000 pubs since starting his mission in 2022, began his Oldham crawl at The Tommyfield Inn by Tommyfield Market, praising its “rustic charm” and impressive drinks selection as “a very pleasant start to my day.” He continued through venues including the Town Hall Tavern, the Old Bank, The Railway Hotel, and the Egyptian Room, sampling a half pint at each location.
Three pubs emerged as clear favorites from Harvey’s marathon session. The Fox & Pine on Greaves Street, which sponsored his visit and recently won three CAMRA awards including Rochdale, Oldham and Bury CAMRA Pub of the Year 2025, particularly impressed him. “It’s full of character,” Harvey noted. “It’s just an absolutely amazing pub. They have 10 cask ale lines on, which is something you don’t often really find anymore these days. They’re just really flying the flag for the area and keeping cask ales alive.”
The Ashton Arms on Clegg Street earned praise as “another wonderful cask ale pub” and “an absolute gem of a place,” while the Molino Lounge on Yorkshire Street, housed in a converted police station, surprised him with its preservation of original features. “I never really praise chain pubs, but they’ve done a really good job of building something with a load of the old police station features,” he said.
Harvey expressed concern about Oldham’s declining pub scene, noting the town once boasted over 300 pubs in its center but now has only 12. However, he found encouragement in Royton’s thriving pub culture, where he managed 12 of the area’s 18 venues. “Royton seemed to be thriving,” he observed. “There were trendy cocktail bars and they are just trying to move with the times.”
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