Raise a glass to Camra’s Champion pub of the year
The Champion of the Thames was crowned Cambridge & District Camra’s 2024 Pub of the Year at a gala night at the city’s Portland Arms.
The event on Thursday (13 June) was attended by publicans, brewers, cider makers and invited guests to honour those who have helped make the branch area such a good place for real ale and cider drinkers.
The district branch’s Rural Pub of the Year is The Three Horseshoes in Stapleford. Camra members select a winning city pub and a rural pub and choose between them for the overall branch title.
The Cider Pub of the Year does not have a city and rural stage and was won by The Devonshire Arms in Cambridge.
As well as winning the branch’s top award, The Champion of the Thames, on King Street, has also won Camra’s Cambridgeshire Pub of the Year award.
After the awards, landlord Lawrence Dixon said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won Cambridge and Cambridgeshire Pub of the Year. Now it’s on to East Anglia and world domination!
“We have also won the Cambridge BID Night Venue of the Year and were runners-up in the Velvet Food & Drink Awards.”
Lawrence, who has previously won a lifetime achievement award from Camra, and has been at ‘The Champ’ for 23 years, added: “English pubs are at the heart of the community. You come in and find yourself meeting and chatting to people and you could find a friend for life.
“Our team are fantastic. We have about eight staff and we all muck in together – without any one of them we would not be able to function. We operate on six letters: ATD – attention to detail – and fun.”
Alistair Cook, branch pubs officer, said: “Pubs play a key role in our communities so it is great to see pubs with a community feel picking up these awards. It is also important that we show our appreciation for the people who have done so much over many years to offer us great places to go and beers to drink.”
There are more than 200 pubs in the group’s area and the gala night turned the spotlight on some of the people who contribute so much to their variety and vitality.
Jethro and Terri Scotcher-Littlechild, of the Cambridge Blue and other pubs, and the Castiglione family of The Maypole, Portugal Place, were named Real Ale Champions. The Lifetime Achievement award went to Mark Watch of Moonshine Brewery, Fulbourn.
The winning pubs can progress through county and regional rounds of the national Camra Pub of the Year and Cider Pub of the Year competitions.
Award winners in full
Pub of the Year: Champion of the Thames, Cambridge
Rural Pub of the Year: The Three Horseshoes, Stapleford
Cider Pub of the Year: The Devonshire Arms, Cambridge
Dark Beer Pub of the Year: The Kingston Arms, Cambridge
LocAle City Pub: The Royal Standard, Cambridge
LocAle Rural Pub: The Red Lion, Histon
City Community Pub: The Red Lion, Cherry Hinton
Rural Community Pub: The Dolphin, Melbourn
Most Improved City Pub: The Kingston Arms
Most Improved Rural Pub: The Red Lion, Swaffham Prior
Young Members Pub of the Year: The Portland Arms, Cambridge
Dog Friendly Pub of the Year: The Black Horse, Dry Drayton
Real Ale Champions: Jethro & Terri Scotcher-Littlechild, the Castiglione family
Lifetime Achievement: Mark Watch, of Moonshine Brewery
