WE love to shine the spotlight on the best local venues for socialising with family and friends.

This time we have headed to Accrington to speak to the landlord about his success in our Pub of the Week feature.

Name of the pub

Arden Inn

Address of the pub:

Abbey Street, Accrington

Landlord/landlady name:

Mark Andrew Jackson

How long have you been the landlord/landlady for?

10 years

Bar staff and their names:

Corey, Cain, Carl, Lee, Lauren and Kyle

Give us some history about the pub

I first moved here when I was 18. I have now changed The Arden into a busy live music venue at the weekend.

This makes me proud that it’s a well-known live music venue and it is always booked up a year in advance. I have vans that come from all over the UK including Edinburgh, Tenby, Bristol, Bath, Manchester and Liverpool, as well as all the local fantastic talent we have around

Is food served? Is so what’s on the menu?

We don’t serve food – we just have a range of crisps, nuts and pork pies, since taking over the Arden 10 years ago

Is there a beer garden

Our urban style beer garden is a big garden which has rock and punk, graffiti, mirrors, plants and flashing lights

Do you have any darts/snooker/pool teams

Mixed darts team, ladies darts team, pool team

Most popular drink served is:

Fosters and Wye Valley HPA

Most memorable moment at the pub

So many to choose from but every July we have a charity Xmas party which includes snow

Do you have an entertainment line-up?

We have live bands every Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights and every fortnight Saturday teatimes now which are proving popular

Have you faced any challenges within the industry

The challenges at the moment are the utility bills and Performing Right Society. As a tenant of a pub I am responsible for paying all the bills

The best thing about running a pub is

Meeting new people and making new friends. Also seeing all my regulars that I have known for years. Also hear at the Arden listening to all the bands we have here that come from all over the UK

The worst thing about running a pub is

Not having enough dates for the bands. I am always full a year in advance, and still get inundated with other bands wanting to play here.

The perfect hangover cure is...

For me steak pudding chips and gravy