Spotted on the BBC website a couple of days ago that the York Brewery – one of my favourite independents, on the strength of their Centurion’s Ghost and Last Drop ales alone – has just been taken over by Mitchell’s Inns of Lancaster.

Apparently the new owners plan an expansion drive, bringing the York ales over to Lancashire and Cumbria, whilst expanding the number of pubs owned on the Yorkshire side of the Pennines. Heck, sounds like a damn good excuse to visit the Lake District to me.

Edit 12.12.08: Boak and Bailey have reported that Mitchell’s Inns are also planning on opening a ‘chain of independent pubs’. See the piece on their blog for an explanation. No they’re not. Different Mitchell’s (see comments…)