The Poachers Inn seen from the corner of Ingersley Road on a summer afternoon

A community pub in Bollington

The Poachers Inn

Five cask hand pumps with guest beers that change every week, home-cooked food, and a beer garden worth losing an afternoon in. Dogs welcome throughout.

4.4/5 from 66 Tripadvisor reviews · as of 16 July 2026

What makes The Poachers special

  • Five cask hand pumps

    Five pumps on, with guest beers changing every week. There is always something new worth asking about.

  • A suntrap of a garden

    The garden catches the sun all day long. On a warm afternoon it is comfortably the best room in the pub.

  • An open fire

    A real one, lit when the weather turns, with the good armchairs around it. Arrive early if you want one.

  • Dogs always welcome

    Muddy paws, wet noses and all. There is usually a water bowl down and a fuss waiting at the bar.

The open fire at The Poachers Inn, lit, with red leather armchairs and a stacked log wall

Our story

Our story

The Poachers is a community pub, and we mean that in the plainest sense: it belongs to the people who come through the door. Some have been drinking here for years. Some arrived for the first time last Tuesday. Both get the same welcome, and the same offer of a taster before they commit to a pint.

You will find us at 95 Ingersley Road in Bollington. It is a proper local — the sort of place where the conversation at the bar does most of the work, and where nobody minds if your boots are muddy.

There are five cask hand pumps on the bar, and what is on them changes every week. We do not settle on one house ale and leave it there for a decade. Part of the pleasure, for us as much as for the people drinking it, is that this week might bring something nobody at the bar has tried before. Ask what is on. Ask for a taste. That is what the small glasses are for.

The food is home-cooked — actually cooked here, by people who are in the building. The kitchen takes Mondays off.

And then there is the garden, which on a warm afternoon is comfortably the best room in the pub. Dogs are welcome throughout, and are frankly some of our most loyal regulars.

Read the full story

A roast dinner at The Poachers Inn: sliced roast meats with a Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, green beans and peas, and plenty of gravy

Food & drink

Traditional pub food, cooked here, by people who are in the building. Many of our ingredients come from local suppliers.

There is a specials board at the bar as well — please ask a member of staff what is on today.

The kitchen is closed on Mondays.

See the menus

Sourced close to home

Many of the ingredients our kitchen cooks with come from local suppliers:

  • JJJ Heathcoates Butchers
  • Greg’s Veg
  • The Veggie Pie Company

Kind words

What people say

4.4/5

from 66 reviews

Tripadvisor

as of 16 July 2026

Read the reviews on Tripadvisor (opens in a new tab)
  • “The cask beer is fantastic. Normally 5 on, well kept, and changing weekly.”

    SidFiddler Tripadvisor, May 2026
  • “A great variety of ales.”

    Colin W Tripadvisor, March 2026
The beer garden at The Poachers Inn from above, tables and benches out in full sun

Come and find us

Booking is not compulsory — walk-ins are always welcome. But if you want a table at a particular time, especially at the weekend, this is the way to be sure of it.

Choose a date and we will show you the sittings that still have room. Dogs do not need a seat of their own, so please do not count them in your party size, however much they would like you to.

The kitchen is closed on Mondays.

Book a table