Popular Cumbria-based craft beer brand Fell Brewery is set to take over an independent Manchester pub in the Northern Quarter and former Squawk drinking spot.
The company based in Grange-over-Sands on the southern coast of the Lake District was founded back in 2013 and has become a much-admired name in the region, with a total of five different locations across the North West, including their live music and events space, Glisky.
Now set to take over the Pelican on NQ, formerly operated by Manc beer experts Squawk Brewing Co. who reopened the venue as the successor Beatnikz Republic, they will retain the existing name for now but are set to carry out a rebrand in the coming months.
This comes as a lifeline for the pub after Squawk announced back in January that they were calling it a day after a decade of brewing some of the area’s most beloved and world-renowned craft beer. Luckily, they announced they were back up and running earlier this month but Pelican will be changing hands.
This is actually the second Greater Manchester spot they have taken over, with the Cumbrian brewery having also acquired an old clothing shop back in 2020 and opening under the name Fell Chorlton, as we’re sure many of you have already sampled in the years since.
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Promising to continue instilling their principles of ‘independent and local’, ‘sustainable and small’, the brand is hoping to keep Pelican’s ever-growing crowd of regulars coming through the door whilst also attracting new customers with their own take on craft ales and the beerhouse experience.
As detailed in the announcement, the plan is to “incorporate [their] branding and venue look and feel” and they’ll also be announcing a lot more over the next few weeks.
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We also applaud the person who was first to respond underneath the announcement post with the comedic but convenient suggestion, “So you’re calling it Fellican right?” Well played.
Fell Brewery lays down more roots in Manchester. (Credit: The Manc Eats)
Although it’s still unclear as to when the first raft of changes will begin, for now, you can still head in and enjoy Pelican’s wide range of lagers, ales, IPAs, stouts, sours and more.
It really is a great boozer and we’re glad Fell Brewery is helping keep Squawk‘s legacy alive in pub form over at the Dale Street site, even if it’s not quite as we know it.
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Better yet, with Fell Chorlton having already grown a strong local following, it’ll be no time before the regular punters catch the tram into town to try the new gaff.
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.
Danny Jones -
27th June 2024 
