Eats

Manchester pubs are doing half-price pints of ‘proper northern stout’ for St Patrick’s Day

It's not all about Guinness, you know

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 17th March 2026

Pubs across Greater Manchester are pouring half-price pints in honour of St Patrick’s Day – but it’s not Guinness on the taps today.

A Manchester-based brewery has decided to seize an opportunity to show off its own ‘proper northern stout’ on a day that everyone rushes to the pub for a pint of the black stuff.

JW Lees pubs right across the North West, including two in Manchester city centre, are slashing prices for one day only.

There’ll be 50% off pints of its Black Tuesday stout, a proudly British beer that they’ve created to show St Patrick’s Day isn’t exclusively limited to Irish beers.

The brewery has selected 50 of its pub locations across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire and North Wales.

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That includes two in the heart of Manchester – the Founder’s Hall in Albert Square, and Rain Bar and Great Bridgewater Street.

William Lees-Jones, Managing Director at JW Lees, said: “While 17 March is traditionally seen as a celebration of St Patrick, we don’t think it should be a celebration exclusively for Irish stout fans.

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“As more and more British pubgoers participate in St Patrick’s Day, we are challenging them to ‘dare to be different’ and try our Manchester-based stout in one of the selected 50 pubs during what is set to be a truly party atmosphere next week, on Black Tuesday.”

50 select JW Lees pubs will serve half-price pints of Black Tuesday stout on 17 March.

A full list of JW Lees pubs taking part in the Black Tuesday offer can be found HERE. 

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

The cosy Peak District pub serving a pick’n’mix sausage and mash menu

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson The cosy Peak District pub serving a pick'n'mix sausage and mash menu

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 sauce
Classic cumberland, mustard mash, and mushroom sauce
Veggie sausage with cheese and onion mash and classic gravy
Veggie sausage with cheese and onion mash and classic gravy
Tucking in
Tucking 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 District
Inside Ye Olde Nags Head pub in the Peak District
Ye Olde Nags Head pub is near Mam Tor
Ye 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.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

The hillside farm in the Peak District making its own ice cream

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Hope Valley Ice Cream in the Peak District

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 Cream
Takeaway tubs from Hope Valley Ice Cream
You can get a mini pail of ice cream
You can get a mini pail of ice cream
Meet the newborn calves at Hope Valley Ice Cream
Meet the newborn calves at Hope Valley Ice Cream
Tuck into your ice cream on a milk pail stool
Tuck into your ice cream on a milk pail stool
Hope Valley Ice Cream
Hope 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.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

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