Free Trade Inn crowned Tyneside Camra Pub of the Year

LANDLORD Mick Potts said he was surprised and delighted to see Newcastle’s Free Trade Inn named Camra’s Tyneside Pub of the Year.

The annual contest celebrates the best places to drink beer, with members of the local Campaign for Real Ale branch voting for their favourite watering holes.

“I think pubs wise in Newcastle things are better than at any time I’ve been here,” said Mick.

“I’m more confident going into more pubs that I’ll find a good pint of beer, be it cask or craft, and a good variety of drinks, in the quality you would expect, than ever before.

“So we were quite surprised when we were told we’d won.

“There was a really great turnout for the presentation – a lot of Camra members and a lot of people who we don’t see a lot of alongside a lot of regulars who’d come to celebrate.

The award is a first for the Byker boozer – it has previously being crowned Tyneside Cider Pub of the Year – and it will now go on to face the Jarrow Brewey owned Isis in Sunderland, The Quaker House in Darlington, The Rat Race in Hartlepool, the Tap & Spile in Framwellgate Moor, Durham, and one of The Boathouse at Wylam, the Tap & Spile in Morpeth or The Ship at Low Newton for the regional prize.