Pointing Dog, Cheadle Hulme

The exterior is a striking mix of boarding, white rendering, and weathered copper set in extensive grounds. Parking is available to three sides, whilst a lawned area to the rear aspect is bounded by trees, in front of which is a large covered pergola and patio area housing many tables to enable enjoyment of the British weather. Inside, the result of this expenditure can be appreciated in a very modern space set around an island bar with an open kitchen visible beyond that. This is a very large building, it has five rooms with the smallest being an alcove area with full-height wine racking acting as a screen between there and the toilets. All of the rooms offer the user a drinking or dining experience, given that an emphasis is heavily placed on dining, everywhere is a place that you may eat. The front rooms appear slightly more plush and give you some old hunting photos and enlarged postage stamp images of hunting dogs to look at. Elsewhere the décor is minimal and somewhat rustic, some walls are painted, whilst others are seemingly bare plaster, this look is fitting as most rooms have no ceiling, just the exposed underside of the roof structure. These blend with huge sliding wooden-gates that act as doors-cum-wall screens; one of the rooms even has a faux minstrels gallery (with the floor of the gallery here fashioned from industrial galvanised flooring however). This was a most welcome addition to the Cheadle Hulme pub scene, especially in an area that had next to no provision of cask ales prior to this. Why the name Pointing Dog? Two ideas are mooted - a variant on a renowned New Zealand wine, Dog Point; or a name used by no other pub in the UK that will always come top of a web search with that name.