A staple of the Stockport pub business is cycling to all the pubs he’s owned over 50 years in the industry this weekend, to raise money for charity. Doug Almond will be joined by a group of 30 other cyclists to take on the ride, which kicks off tomorrow morning (April 2) at the Fletcher’s Arms in Denton.
“I’ve got to tell you, I’m a bit nervous,” he told the Manchester Evening News. “At the end of the day, I’m bl***y 80 and cycling nearly 30 miles with hills.”
After the Fletchers Arms, Doug and his vanguard will be following a route that will take in the Spread Eagle in Romiley, then to the site of the former Almond’s Hotel in Marple, now a block of flats, before heading to The Crown at Hawk Green, the Red Lion at High Lane, the Three Bears at Hazel Grove, the Hesketh Tavern, the site of the former Unity Inn, the Puss In Boots in Offerton and the finishing line at the Jolly Sailor.
He’ll also stop at Robinson’s in the centre of Stockport for a photo opportunity, and to celebrate working with the iconic brewery for 50 years. Then before getting to the Jolly Sailor, he’ll pick up his grandchildren, including granddaughter Bella, to cross the finishing line with.
Bella has the genetic condition Prader-Willi syndrome, and the money raised from the event will be going to the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research UK.
“When she was born, we were all - wrongly - devastated,” he said. “But she’s brightened up all our lives and she’s taught us all how to behave and how to live.”
Doug added that he won’t be having a pint in each pub, as some have presumed. “We’re starting at 10 in the morning, and even I’m not as irresponsible as to starting drinking on a bike. And it would be about 10 pints.”
Doug opened his first pub, The Unity in Stockport, in March 1971, and never looked back.
“I’m absolutely and utterly proud of it all,” he says. “I’m proud of the quality and the service, the standards, and it’s been a pleasure - and still is - to serve the public. It’s been a privilege to be in the industry, and I have never considered it work. Never. It’s a way of life, and I’ve not regretted a minute of it.”
He’s seen plenty of celebrities coming through his pubs over the years, from the likes of Michael Crawford to Jimmy Tarbuck, but he’s also become something of a local celebrity too. He added: “Wherever I go, I don’t realise, but people will recognise me. I was recognised once on the Isle of Skye. I was in the toilet, and the fella next to me said ‘the food’s not as good as the Crown at Hawk Green here’.
“I’ve been recognised on the island of Gozo, Tenerife, I was recognised in Miami. It’s been amazing.”
Ahead of the ride tomorrow, he went on: “I just want to put a smile on people’s faces, though I’ll have a grimace on mine and I’ll be walking around with a sore rear end.”
Anyone wishing to donate to Doug’s Just Giving page can do so here.
Get the latest What's On news - from food and drink to music and nightlife - straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter.
