A double-decker party bus with free cocktails is coming to Manchester this weekend as popular bar chain Be At One celebrates 25 years in business.
The bar’s 90’s style double-decker bus will be visiting Spinningfields’ Hardman Square on Sunday 28 May, popping up from 1 to 6pm with plenty of free cocktails and good vibes.
Here, guests will be invited to hop on board and join in the celebrations with complimentary drinks dished out all day, plus live DJs and more live birthday entertainment.
With over 100 cocktails to choose from, Be At One boasts one of the most extensive cocktail menus in the mainstream nightlife scene.
A longstanding fixture on the high street, it is a challenge for most to walk through the city centre without encountering at least one Be At One bar.
ADVERTISEMENT
First established in 1998, the cocktail connoisseurs have become one of the UK’s most trusted go-to venues.
Now, this May they are taking guests back to a time when it was impossible to shuffle past a bar or club without VengaBoys – We Like To Party being blasted through the walls.
Through eccentric colours, groovy prints and notes of nostalgia up and down their personalised party bus, the group’s three-day weekender will be a true celebration of what has been an incredible 25-year run of entertaining city-goers across the country.
As well as stopping off in Manchester on Saturday, the party bus will also be popping up in Birmingham’s Bullring Shopping Centre and at London Victoria Station.
Michelle Farrell, Director of Marketing of Stonegate Group commented: “Celebrating a 25th birthday is a remarkable milestone for any business, and we couldn’t think of a better way to mark the occasion than visiting our guests right in their hometowns.
“Not only will the Be At One party bus be touring up and down the country, but all 40 of our cocktail bars will be throwing their own birthday bashes all weekend – it’s a celebration not to be missed!”
The Be At One party bus schedule will be:
May 26 – 1pm – 6pm – London Victoria Station
ADVERTISEMENT
May 27 – 1.30pm – 6pm – Birmingham Bullring Shopping Centre
May 28 – 1pm – 6pm – Manchester Spinningfields
Featured image – Supplied
Food & Drink
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 -
23rd May 2023 
