Feature

Rivington Brewing Co – The beautiful country walk that ends at a taproom with stunning views

The prettiest pint in the North West.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 14th June 2024

After a long afternoon of trudging through the countryside in whatever weather conditions the north throws at you, there’s nothing quite like the reward of a crisp pint.

And on a particularly beautiful walk right on the outskirts of Greater Manchester, we stumbled upon a taproom that might just provide the best drinking background in the region.

Let’s start with the walk details.

If you haven’t yet been exploring the trails and paths around Rivington, you’re missing out on a real stunner of a hike.

There are countless loops you can do around the area, providing the best bits of all countryside settings.

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You want woods? They’ve got em. A nice flat walk beside a body of water? Rivington’s got it. A decent uphill trudge ending in absolutely stunning views? Yep, that’s here too.

A highlight of this corner of the North West is the Rivington Terraced Gardens, which will try to transport you to Italy and Japan all while only just stepping outside Bolton.

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These 100-year-old gardens were created by the Lord of Leverhulme and inspired by his travels, and have been carefully restored in recent years by teams of volunteers.

Views from the water's edge at Rivington reservoir
Views from the water’s edge at Rivington reservoir
And approaching Rivington Brewing Co's taproom at the end of the walk
And approaching Rivington Brewing Co’s taproom at the end of the walk

Walking around the footpaths and flights of steps you’ll stumble upon a hidden Japanese Garden, lakes, waterfalls, bridges, sculptures and caves, ending up at the top of Rivington Pike with panoramic views.

From here, you can keep going along to Winter Hill for arguably even more impressive views, or start to loop back down the hill to the water’s edge, passing Liverpool Castle as you go.

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And here is where the beer comes in.

If you pass through the village of Rivington itself and walk along Horrobin Lane which crosses the two reservoirs, you’ll find yourself at the Rivington Brewing Co taproom.

The most scenic pint in the north west
The most scenic pint in the north west
Insdie Rivington Brewing Co's taproom
Insdie Rivington Brewing Co’s taproom

This is huge taproom is a haven for modern craft beer, with absolutely loads of brews to choose from and a can fridge if the 18-odd taps don’t have what you fancy.

There’s plenty of cosy spaces inside the fairylight-strewn converted barn building, but the beer garden is the star of the show.

There are views from here right across the water and all the way to Pigeon Tower and Winter Hill, with plenty of space for big groups.

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And dotted all around the outdoor area are a rotating selection of street food traders, serving everything from pizza to burgers to cakes.

If you’re looking for a belting Saturday afternoon activity, this is absolutely the one.

You can look a walk in the area that suits your ability here.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Feature

Inside the new Hive Stores as beloved antiques shop adds a beautiful new cafe and bar

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Hive Stores in Altrincham, Greater Manchester

It’s not every day that Greater Manchester gets a new business quite as beautiful as the new bar at Hive Stores.

This fantastic local business is now operating partly as an antiques store, partly as a cafe, also selling everyday essentials, quality produce, bakery bits from Half Dozen Other, cheeseboards, and cocktails.

The new addition is a real looker, all dark wood and marble with so much character it feels like it’s been here for 100 years.

Over the years, this little building in Altrincham has been everything from a greengrocers to a bakery to an antiques shop – and now, fittingly, it’s sort of all three of those things at once.

When Steven Sherratt and Gareth Wilkins took the space over, it was with a vision to restore it back to how it would’ve looked in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as offering all the convenience it would have done in its former life but with their own personal style added in.

That means you can pick up some eggs and have an espresso martini at the same time, and the old-fashioned shelving is stocked with Italian brands as well as local produce.

They’re also hoping to bring back the traditional relationship between shopkeeper and customer, which seems to be working – everyone who comes through the door greets them by name.

Hive Stores started life in Altrincham Market as an antiques stall almost a decade ago.

But when Covid hit, Gareth and Steven shifted all their stock over to a space on Grosvenor Road.

Initially, the ramshackle building out the back was all that Hive Stores consisted of, an Aladdin’s cave jam-packed with beautiful antiques and other items from local craftsmen.

Then they added a coffee cart in the courtyard, which became a ‘haven for locals to escape the same four walls’ during lockdown.

Then several years later, the small building at the front of this plot of land became available, and Hive Stores added cafe and bar to its bow.

Following a successful Crowdfunder, they spent more than a year carefully restoring the space, adding in their favourite antiques from their collection like a wall of hand mirrors and silver plates.

Gareth said: “We’ve got antique furniture as the bar, quirky antiques adorning the walls in the dining space, and it’s kind of created that really good mix between modern and vintage.

“We wanted to create something that was timeless, so in years to come, regardless of how we change the decor in terms of mirrors or pictures or anything like that, the building itself will always be timeless.

“We’re very happy with how it’s turned out.”

Gareth continued: “We’ve got loads of people who have followed us literally since day dot in the market.

“So the regulars have been fantastic sticking with us and how we’ve transitioned our business over to what it is now. And so many new faces now too, it’s brilliant, and everyone’s been so complimentary and kind.”

Steven added: “As well as the Crowdfunder, where we raised about £13,000 from the public, we wouldn’t have been able to even start the renovations without the help of Atlantic Timber and Cheshire Marble and CTC tiles, which are all local businesses who were just so generous and supportive.”

Gareth said: “There’s no way it would’ve happened without the help of both the public and other businesses here, we’re forever in their debt.”

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The new-look Hive Stores is now open in Altrincham.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Feature

Manchester’s most exclusive restaurant, serving omakase sushi to just four customers a week

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Sushi Pod is serving an omakase sushi menu above Grape to Grain in Prestwich

At a time when sushi restaurants are opening in Manchester more often than I open my fridge, it’s becoming difficult to stand out from the crowd.

But boy oh boy have we found a newcomer that will change all of that, and a new favourite Japanese spot has entered the region.

Sushi Pod is quite possibly the most exclusive restaurant experience in the entire country, seating just four guests per week.

Those lucky few who manage to secure a table (and at the time of writing, you can still book in for dinner in the coming weeks) will be whisked through a whopping 20 courses in a full omakase experience.

Omakase loosely translates to ‘I’ll leave it up to you’ – you just pull up a seat and watch the chef work their magic on the finest quality seafood available.

At Sushi Pod, tucked upstairs above the brilliant Grape to Grain wine bar on Bury New Road, you sit mere inches away from chef Artur Wacewicz.

You have a true front-row seat as he delicately slices tuna, deftly rolls sushi rice into nori sheets, and blow-torches sugar onto exotic fruit.

Artur Wacewicz working his magic at a Sushi Pod omakase night
Artur Wacewicz working his magic at a Sushi Pod omakase night
Sushi Pod are serving above Grape to Grain in Prestwich, Greater Manchester
Sushi Pod are serving above Grape to Grain in Prestwich, Greater Manchester
Artur Wacewicz
Artur Wacewicz

Artur has teamed up with Grape to Grain founder Tom Sneesby for the Sushi Pod omakase nights – while one is plating up perfect bites of world-class fish, the other is topping up your glass with perfectly-paired wines from downstairs.

And while the experience truly is world-class, it’s not remotely stuffy or formal.

Can’t use chopsticks? Don’t even worry about it – Artur will make you up his special ‘baby chopsticks’, wrapping a napkin around one end so they basically turn into a giant pair of tweezers.

Never eaten uni before (it’s literally the gonads of a sea urchin…)? Again, Artur will talk you through every ingredient, even happily whipping out his phone and flicking through his pictures to show you exactly what part of the animal you’re eating.

This is a man who has worked alongside the legendary Terry Huang, of former Umezushi fame, which was considered to be one of the best sushi restaurants not just in Manchester but in all of Europe.

Uni (sea urchin) at Sushi Pod
Uni (sea urchin) tamaki
Salmon nigiri at Sushi Pod
Salmon nigiri
Mackerel at Sushi Pod
Mackerel nigiri
The day's catch at Sushi Pod
The day’s catch
A small sample of the 20-course menu

Artur also works with Out of the Blue fishmongers in Chorlton, rising before the crack of dawn to make sure he has the freshest, best-quality seafood ingredients possible.

And because of this ‘what-have-you-got-today’ approach, the omakase menu from Sushi Pod changes all the time.

For our visit, we had (to name but a few) sweet scallops, bluefin tuna, mackerel, eel, different cuts of salmon, caviar, prawn, and so much more.

The first dishes are presented as sashimi, with Artur simply slicing off pieces of fish and placing them in front of you beside a wedge of lime and a scoop of wasabi so that you can tweak each bite to your own tastes.

Then comes the nigiri portion, where expertly-prepared sushi rice spiked with vinegar is rolled up, dotted with wasabi or a soy sauce reduction or lime zest, then topped with different seafood ingredients.

Scallops at Sushi Pod
Scallops
The omakase wine flight menu from Grape to Grain for Sushi Pod
The omakase wine flight menu

And finally comes the tamaki section, when Artur literally hands each course over to you neatly tucked into sheets of nori – no plate.

To go alongside this wonderful sushi journey, there are a few different menus of wine or sake pairings, usually kicking off with a champagne before touring some of the world’s finest white wines.

And again, Tom is on hand to explain exactly what is in your glass and why it’s the perfect match, with no stuffy wine lingo chucked in.

At £90 per person, it’s a darn sight more accessible than a lot of other Omakase menus in town, but with no compromise on quality.

You can book in for Sushi Pod’s Omakaze Night at Grape to Grain here – but be quick, this one’ll book up fast.

And if you DO miss out, you can always order yourself a grab-and-go sushi selection to collect from either Grape to Grain in Prestwich or Out of the Blue in Chorlton.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

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