It has been absolutely beyond baltic in Greater Manchester in the last couple of weeks, and all we’ve wanted to do is crawl in front of a roaring fire.
Ideally, we’d have had a giant plate of gravy-covered food in front of us at all times, and a comfy armchair and a pint of Guinness is a bonus.
Thankfully the hills around Greater Manchester are packed with cosy country pubs, perfect for whiling away these chilly winter days.
We’ve picked out five of our absolute favourites here for you to add to your list.
Expect big plates of locally-sourced food, many great pints, and plenty of character.
The Pack Horse, Hayfield
Credit: The Pack Horse Hayfield
We never stop rabbiting on about this cosy pub, and for good reason.
Headed up by chef and co-owner Luke Payne, The Pack Horse in the village of Hayfield is an outstanding establishment.
Here is a pub where you can have a world-class meal that shows off the best of British produce, while sipping an ale, with muddy boots on your feet.
In the space of one week last year, it earned a double whammy of successes, scooping up a place in both the Michelin Guide and the Top 50 Gastropubs.
The menu changes all the time, but you expect things like venison Wellington with local meat, wild rabbit and smoked pig’s head pies, and Shetland plaice with potted shrimp butter.
The Hearth of the Ram is one of those local boozers that makes you hop straight on Rightmove to consider relocating closer to it.
Opened back in 2012 in the village of Ramsbottom, the 200-year-old building has been given a facelift by its current owners.
They’ve built a lovely outdoor terrace during the long months of lockdown last winter too.
It’s a delightful range of pub grub here, like sausage rolls made with Bury black pudding, baked Inglewhite goats cheese, and Goosnargh chicken supreme.
Take a walk up Peel Tower, take in the views, then come right back down to refuel by the roaring fire.
You don’t even need to cross the threshold of The White Hart to see why it’s one of the country’s best and most cosy pubs – just a glimpse of the views from its doorway are enough to win you over.
The building itself goes way back to 1788 and has at various points in its existence been a police station, a schoolhouse, a WWII look-out point, and a brewery.
Now, it’s a gorgeous gastropubs with real ales and roaring fires for those who have just ventured over from the surrounding hills, but also an elegant brasserie for anyone wanting a top-notch dinner.
The brasserie menu is packed with steaks and hearty pub classics.
There’s a familiar face behind The Church Green – Manchester’s very own Aiden Byrne, who has run the pub with his wife for more than a decade.
Aiden was the youngest chef to win a Michelin star, at just 22 years of age, so you know the kitchen’s in very safe hands.
You’d be a fool to visit and not order one of the Church Green’s pies, baked in a perfectly golden pastry with regularly changing fillings.
If, for some reason, you don’t like pie (get out), there’s also mains like salt aged duck with barbecued beetroot, grilled salmon and nduja linguine, and an enormous 12oz Beef Wellington to share.
During lockdown, the couple really turned their attention to the deli part of the business, so you can also take some of those pies home with you.
When most people think of pub drinks, they think of a nice cold pint, but if you’re a gin drinker this is the pub for you.
The Saddleworth boozer is home to a world record-breaking selection of gins. If you ask to see the list, you’re handed a binder so heavy it would break a toe if you dropped it.
The 18th century building is one of the cosiest pubs in the country, tucked away in the Saddleworth village of Delph.
Its menu is hearty, and properly northern – we’re talking steamed rag puddings, steak and ale pie made with Timothy Taylors, and a four cheese and onion pie served with baked beans.
Review | Snow Patrol roll back the years at Co-op Live for a mini-Manc’s first gig
Danny Jones
This weekend we enjoyed a new kind of live music experience: rediscovering the joy of listening to a childhood favourite by watching it through the eyes of the next generation – that was how we witnessed a fully-fledged arena return to Manchester for Snow Patrol at Co-op Live.
And it was special for lots of reasons.
Taking a little one to their first gig is something you’ll never forget and sharing a new-found connection with a band that you loved when you were their age is one of those magical things about music that we’re eternally grateful for.
You might assume the Snow Patrol crowd one skews a little older for the most part but we were pleased to see there were more than a few kids and teenagers donning tour tees, looking wide-eyed at the sheer size of the Co-op Live arena, and singing the words back better than Gary Lightbody at times.
Sees the sign: ‘Race you there!’ (Credit: Audio North)
Yes, the Belfast-born frontman made a few mistakes on the night, but it did add a rather laid-back quality to what many acts might have found a daunting performance: playing a sell-out night to around 23,500 fans inside the enormous state-of-the-art venue.
But, obviously, there wasn’t even a whiff of nerves from these lads.
You don’t get to have been around for this long and become as successful as they are without being able to relax on stage and lean into those idiosyncratic perfections that feel more like private moments shared between the artist and the crowd.
The young lad sat watching it with us certainly got a kick out of it and though we might not have been able to cover his ears in time to censor some light but ever-charming swear words (it always sounds better in Irish, don’t you think?), it made for some nice banter between him and the crowd.
Big props must go to Johnny McDaid on the keys too, who besides having written for the likes of Ed Sheeran, Robbie Williams, Alicia Keys, Biffy Clyro and countless others over the years, also managed to impress by playing the majority of this entire tour after having trapped his hand in a train door. OUCH.
Credit: The Manc Group
Not only was that little interlude up there with one of the most applause-worthy parts of the entire show, but we were always pretty blown away by what we saw, as we all as what we heard.
Be it watching a digital tree come to life, shed its leaves and then fall as petal confetti, two sheer semi-opaque paper-thin screens swirl to create the album cover art for their latest album, or kicking the gig off with ‘Take Back The City’ as a multicoloured skyline appeared behind them, it was all pretty incredible.
We even got to hear a personal favourite of ours, ‘Set Fire To The Third Bar’, complete with a virtual performance from the voice that truly makes the song: Martha Wainwright.
It was in moments like this when we turned to see a 10-year-old’s face not quite sure of what it was seeing but an open-mouthed expression confirming they were finding it as stunning as we were.
We thoroughly enjoyed going through the back catalogue and working our way right up to plenty of the songs from The Forest Is The Path – which Gary himself firmly believes is their best work yet when we interviewed him – but it was as visually stunning as it was to the gorgeous sonically.
Both proved to be a brilliant way to see the contemporary rock, indie and alternative veterans, but there’s something about giving them a stage as big as this that reminds you of just how much they deserve it.
Up there with one of the prettiest gig snapshots in our memory.Not quite a hologram but very cool nonetheless.The production levels are always top-tier at Co-op Live but the Snow Patrol set was much more impressive than we expected.
Last but not least, thanks to Co-op Live not just for having but for creating a little boy’s memory that he’ll never forget.
Flashbacks: The timelapse of the Trafford Centre construction that’s gone viral
Danny Jones
The Trafford Centre might look like some decadent Roman emperor’s palace or as if it was plucked from the heart of Ancient Grecian city, but as anyone old enough to remember it’s opening and/or construction will tell you, it seems strange to think its not even been around for three decades yet.
As Greater Manchester’s and one of the North West’s most famous shopping centres full stop, the iconic attraction first began being built back in 1996, when John Major was Prime Minister, Manchester United were still Premier League champions, Britpop was at its peak and George Michael was number one.
It’s fair to say that a lot has changed since then and although Oasis might be back come 2025, The Trafford Centre and surrounding area are pretty unrecgonisable compared to nearly 30 years ago.
All told, it took approximately 27 months to erect the neo-classical epicentre of all things shopping, leisure, food and fanciness – and here’s what the process looked like:
With the initial 14 million sq ft shopping centre being completed in September 1998 following approximately 810 days of work, The Trafford Centre debuted to the Manc public and beyond.
It took more than 3,000 builders to bring the 60 hectare site to life at the peak of construction and since then the plot has only grown bigger, bolder and more ambitious over time.
Present day, it has everything from cinema screens and a mini Legoland to a Sea Life location, multiple bowling alleys and countless other forms of entertainment beyond just rows of shops and restaurants – hence why it remains busy pretty much year-round.
Back then, British celebrities, popular local names of note, politicians, dignitaries and prominent figures from the retail industry got to visit as part of exclusive preview events in the days before its launch date.
You can see the spectacle and fascination surrounding the official opening event here:
Seems surreal watching this today but the construction of the Trafford Centre was a huge moment not just for 0161 but all of the North.
But of course, the entire complex itself has seen multiple extensions over the years, including massive developments such as Barton Square and The Great Hall.
At the outset, it cost more than £600 million to build The Trafford Centre; the major renovations mentioned above which took place in 2008 cost another £100m and the Trafford Palazzo revamp around a decade later came in at around £75m.
There has and always will be lots of money put behind this intruguing monument to modern consumerism, and big brands will continue to flock to open units within the huge expanse whenever they can: some of the most recent being Archie’s, Flying Tiger, Sephora, Tiffany, Gymshark and more.
We’ll admit the aesthetic still makes us double-take from time to time (though not as much as confused Londoners visiting for the first time), but it’s not like this part of the world hasn’t boasted plenty of other curiosities in the past…
Daisy Jackson -
16th December 2022 
