This week's pub is in a village just outside Accrington and has one dish which 'they can't make enough of'.

The Walton Arms in Burnley Road, Altham, is a JW Lees pub, which came under new management in January 2024.

We spoke to Andrew Kilgannon about how it's going.

SuppliedSupplied (Image: Supplied) Introduce yourself

My name is Andrew Kilgannon and I run the Walton Arms in Altham along with Danny Lamb, my husband.

How's it going?

We've had pubs with JW Lees for the past 11 years, so we're long-standing tenants.

We had the last one for 10 years, in Middleton called the Middleton Archer.

The brewery asked us if we'd consider taking this one over, and it's gone really well since, we've even been nominated for a few awards.

(Image: Supplied) What did you like about the pub?

We liked the rural aspect to it, it's a quaint country pub with a modern twist.

We thought it had so much potential for the food offering to be expanded upon on.

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What awards have you been up for?

Andrew Kilgannon and Lesley, who has worked at the pub for 28 yearsAndrew Kilgannon and Lesley, who has worked at the pub for 28 years (Image: Supplied) We were nominated for the JW Lees pub of the year last year, so we want the 'biggun' this year and to hopefully win that!

But we did win a TripAdvisor traveller's choice award and a 'pub in bloom' award for our outside area.

What's the draught line-up?

  • San Miguel
  • Carlsberg
  • JW Lees Original
  • JW Lees Manchester Craft Lager
  • JW Lees Boilerhouse Range
  • JW Lees stout

What's the most popular dish?

We do a lot of the traditional pub food classics, like your fish and chips and such, but I'd say our most popular is the cheese and onion pie, we can't make enough of those.

How are you finding the area?

Everyone has been really welcoming, which is nice.

We have moved from Oldham, which is a big town, so we're enjoying a slightly more rural setting.

What's the best thing about running a pub?

I'd say the people, we're people people, it's so nice seeing the new faces come in and the regulars are great.