White Lion is your Best Bar 2014 winner

The White Lion, in Starkholmes Road, Starkholmes, took the honours and has been awarded a trophy which will no doubt take pride of place behind the bar.

Spencer Slater has run the pub with partner Chris Linley for almost three years, and while Chris is the landlord, Spencer looks after the cooking side of the business.

He said: “We were happy just to be short listed.

“I’d just like to thank the customers who took the time to vote for us.

“We appreciate the fact that there was a lot of competition and we have managed to establish ourselves in the short time that we have been here.”

The White Lion is tied to Marsden’s and Spencer added that it was an achievement to be competing against CAMRA pubs such as Moca and the Thorntree, in Matlock.

“When we took the bar on it was a step away from closing so it’s nice that we’ve been able to turn it around,” Spencer continued.

He added that the pub, which dates back around 300 years, has an enviable location overlooking Matlock Bath and close to Riber Castle, and they had recently created a garden area on the front of the premises to make the most of the views over the valley.

As well as serving traditional food, the White Lion has two boules teams and host live music events, as well as beer festivals.

Spencer also thanked his staff, without whom he said they would not have won.