Pint to pint: Cemetery Hotel, Rochdale The Cemetery, first opened in the 1860s to cater for the funeral trade, had a complete makeover in the early 1900s and it has retained most of those later glamorous features, so much so that it is listed as a precious building, not just by the Campaign for Real Ale's architectural buffs on their National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors, but by English Heritage no less. The cosiest room is first left. There are four elegantly numbered corners, separated by low baffle screens, each with a half circle of comfortable seats. Go for Number 2 or Number 3, because they are nearest the fire. There are notices here: "Spouses are like fires - left untended, they will go out." And: "Please feel free to throw a log on the fire." The bar is a stand-up or perch-on-a-barstool area for serious drinking. They have six or seven cask ales which change regularly. It was good to see and taste Spotland Gold, from the Phoenix brewery, in nearby Heywood - Spotland is Rochdale's football ground. There's another, rather more comforting notice here: "If you think the head on your beer is too large, please tell us. We will gladly top it up. You wouldn't cross continents for the food, but it is perfectly fine pub grub. A huge noticeboard in the bar offers the usual suspects: pies, scampi, burgers, sausages and so on, all with copious helpings of vegetables and salad. Nothing costs more than £6.50. A much larger room upstairs is reserved for special occasions. There's a famous medium coming up soon. The session costs £10 per person and he looks forward to "Full audience participation in energy, glass or table movement." I'm not so sure about the next bit, when your man seeks to offer "proof of loved ones on the other side." Well, I mean, as I said, the cemetery is just across the road. Cemetery Hotel, 470 Bury Road, Rochdale OL11 1UA.