Next stop the Dog and Duck... Real ale campaigners have launched new guides which reveal hidden gem boozers along Metrolink lines.

The free pocket-sized leaflets, created by beer group CAMRA, list the top pubs near every tram stop on the Altrincham and newly-opened South Manchester routes.

Connoisseurs of traditional ale hope the guide will encourage locals and tourists to uncover unsung boozers across the tram network and reduce drink driving.

The colour guide for the Altrincham route lists 15 pubs along the route, with a further eight in Altrincham town centre.

John Byford, landlord at The King’s Ransom, opposite Sale tram stop, said he was thrilled to be included in the new guide.

He said: "It’s very pleasing for us to see this. People can just buy a travel card and hop on the line.

"They can stop for a couple with us, then get back on and go somewhere else. It sounds like a great day out."

Hayley Dixon, manager at The Bridge Inn near Dane Road station, added: "Hopefully it’ll be good for business. People might travel through stops and not know there’s a pub there, so this should help.

"It’s also good because if you’re on the tram you can enjoy a few drinks and not need to worry about driving afterwards."

The South Manchester guide features more than 20 popular pubs and bars in Chorlton and Whalley Range.

The line only has three stations, but the venues are all within easy walking distance.

The guides are available from pubs and tourist information centres in Manchester and Trafford and can also be downloaded from the CAMRA website.

Beverley Gobbett, from the real ale group’s Trafford and Hulme branch, who designed and financed the guides, said: "The campaign’s goal has been to support local community pubs, but also to mobilise people and get them to use public transport. This is a really good way of doing that."

CAMRA published its first guide to pubs along the original Bury to Altrincham line when the Metrolink network opened in 1992.

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