An immersive 1920s-themed ‘wine and murder’ escape room is coming to Manchester later this year.
Called ‘Wine Escape’, it will combine theatrical murder mystery, ‘beat the clock’ games, a two-course dinner with plenty of wine (as the name implies), and late-night dancing when it opens inside the former Freemason’s Hall this Autumn.
Watching as part of a live show, guests will become embroiled in the drama of the Hawker Wine Estate and its wealthy owners, the Von James family, as they are thrown into the mystery and intrigue of the historic building around them.
Image: Manchester Hall
What starts off as an evening of celebration quickly turns dark, as lies, vengeance and deceit being to turn the party sour. From this point on, the onus is on guests to stick together and hold their nerve in order to beat the clock and make their escape.
The show, which is touring up and down the country until December, will move into Manchester Hall for two dates on October 14 and 15.
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Designed to have “a night out on the town” feel, guests are encouraged to dress up in the 1920’s style but whilst costumes are welcomed they are not compulsory.
Tickets include a two-course meal and a live immersive show performed by actors, followed by entertainment, games and then dancing.
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Image: Manchester Hall
Despite the name, wine is not included in your ticket price – however, there is a bar open on site selling wine, alongside other alcoholic and soft drinks. As for your meal, guests can expect to eat a chicken main and a chocolate-based dessert – although this is subject to change depending on suppliers.
Priced at £64.95 per person, a discount is available for NHS, blue light staff and students. Doors will open at 6.30pm with an intermission during the show, then final drinks and dancing finishing off the night around 10.30-11.30pm.
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To find out more, visit the Wine Escape website here.
Feature image – Manchester Hall
Eats
The cosy Peak District pub serving a pick’n’mix sausage and mash menu
Daisy Jackson
There’s a Peak District pub that’s turned one of Britain’s most beloved comfort foods into a full-on pick’n’mix.
Tucked away in the postcard-perfect village of Castleton, Ye Olde Nags Head is serving up a fully customisable menu of sausage and mash dishes.
We’re talking near-endless combinations of proper pub grub.
You start by choosing your sausages from a daily rotating selection (not a sentence you hear every day, but we’re into it).
Expect classics like Cumberland alongside more adventurous options like venison and mustard, or even wild boar and orange, plus a veggie sausage daily.
Then it’s onto the mash – you can go for flavours like cheese and onion, wholegrain mustard, or even black pudding mash.
Classic cumberland, mustard mash, and mushroom sauceVeggie sausage with cheese and onion mash and classic gravyTucking in
To finish? A choice of rich, hearty gravies and sauces to bring it all together, whether that’s a classic onion gravy, a peppercorn sauce, or a creamy wild mushroom sauce.
And if that wasn’t enough, you can even upgrade your bangers and mash pick’n’mix by having it all served inside a giant Yorkshire pudding.
Ye Olde Nags Head is a historic 17th-century pub, with a roaring fire in every room and cosy bedrooms upstairs.
Inside Ye Olde Nags Head pub in the Peak DistrictYe Olde Nags Head pub is near Mam Tor
It’s one of those flagstone-floored, beamed-ceilinged, mismatched-furniture type pubs that welcomes everyone in every state, whether you’re caked in mud from a hike or popping in on a coach tour.
Another of the pub’s specialties is the Derbyshire Breakfast, a hearty plate of sausage, smoked bacon, black pudding, free range egg, grilled tomatoes, field mushrooms, baked beans and fried bread.
The pub also offers takeaway breakfast butties, so you can use it for both a pre-hike stop and a post-hike pint.
Given it’s just minutes from the ever-popular Mam Tor hike, this is one pub you’ll definitely want to add to your next Peak District day out itinerary.
The hillside farm in the Peak District making its own ice cream
Daisy Jackson
Did you know there’s a 300-year-old farm in the Peak District serving up some of the freshest ice cream you’ll ever taste? And yes, you can meet the cows that made it while you’re there.
Welcome to Hope Valley Ice Cream, a family-run gem where things are kept refreshingly simple: happy cows, proper farming, and seriously good ice cream.
Set in the heart of the Peak District countryside, this place is about as wholesome as it gets.
The ice cream is made on-site in the farmhouse, literally just metres from where the dairy herd are out grazing.
You can watch the animals, wander around the farm, and then tuck into a scoop or three perched on a milk pail stool, or a picnic bench (or even a decorative tractor).
Hope Valley Ice Cream has some amazing seasonal ice creams, like lemon curd, elderflower, and blackberry, alongside all the classics and a rather delicious tiramisu.
You can grab a cone, sit down with a coffee (again, made with milk from the nearby cows), or go all in with a freshly-made waffle if you’re feeling fancy.
Takeaway tubs from Hope Valley Ice CreamYou can get a mini pail of ice creamMeet the newborn calves at Hope Valley Ice CreamTuck into your ice cream on a milk pail stoolHope Valley Ice Cream
And if you’re the type who really loves ice cream? You can actually order a full pail of it, with four huge scoops plus whipped cream and sauce.
The farm itself is run by the Marsden family, who’ve been working this land for generations. It shows in everything – they’ve created a place that feels genuinely welcoming, not just another tourist stop.
Beyond the ice cream, you’ve got plenty of reasons to stick around. There are calves (including the newest tiny arrivals), plus donkeys and pigs to say hello to.
Whether you’re heading out on a hike or just fancy a drive into the Peaks, this is one pitstop that’s absolutely worth it – and honestly, it’s worth the trip on its own.
Georgina Pellant -
27th July 2022 
