A village pub has been given an award by a real ale association – again.
The Engineers Arms in Henlow is no stranger to winning accolades and this year is proving to be no exception.
The watering hole, which is run by Kevin Machin and his partner Claire Sturgeon, has been chosen as the branch pub of the year by the Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA).
It is included within the East Bedfordshire division. The Engineers Arms also won the same award in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2011. In 2011 it was a runner up in the national competition.
It was CAMRA’s Bedfordshire Pub of the Year in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2011, runner up East Anglia Pub of the Year in 2003 and East Anglia Pub of the Year in 2003.
The pub was a CAMRA national finalist in 2011 and in both 2012 and 2013 it achieved the title of CAMRA Cider Pub of the Year.
The latest awards were announced to time in with April’s Community Pubs Month.
CAMRA’s branches, which consist of thousands of volunteers, judge all of the pubs in their area to find their branch’s local pub of the year.
Pubs are judged on their decor, value for money and customer service, their appeal to different demographics and the quality of their real ale.
The local branch winners then go forward to battle it out in the regional heats in their quest to become National Pub of the Year in early 2015.
Colin Valentine, CAMRA chairman, said: “There are literally thousands of wonderful pubs that need our support at this moment in time and I would urge everyone to visit their local pub in April and discuss with the licensee ways he or she could encourage you to visit more regularly.”