Manchester has been ranked one of the worst cities in the country for binge drinking, it has been revealed as part of a new study.
According to research undertaken by Private Rehab Clinic Delamere, Manchester is in the UK’s top 5 when it comes to cities that are considered to have toxic drinking cultures.
Coming in at number 4 on the list, we scored highly for alcoholism and hospital admissions, as well as having a large number of bars, clubs and off-licenses.
The study also looked at how many bottomless drinking locations a city had, as well as considering factors like drinking events, alcohol delivery services and alcohol tours, before ranking each city out of 80.
Overall, Manchester was given a score of 17.1.
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Image: Delamere / JBH
Other cities included in the top five worst drinking locations were London, which took the number one spot with a score of 0, and Leeds, which came in at second place with a score of 11 – partially thanks to its excessive number of bottomless offerings.
Completing the top three was Bristol with a score of 16.6 out of a possible 80, reports The Hoot
As the most populated city in the country, London had a huge 26,580 alcohol-related hospital admissions recorded between 2019-2020, 190 bottomless drinking locations and 1,068 bars and nightclubs that all contributed to its toxic drinking culture.
The Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities for Drinking Culture
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London – 0/80
Leeds – 11/80
Bristol – 16.6/80
Manchester – 17.1/80
Liverpool – 19.9/80
Birmingham – 22.3/80
Newcastle – 25.6/80
Nottingham – 31.1/80
Sheffield -31.2/80
Brighton -32/80
When compared to other countries in Europe, the UK was in the top three “at risk of dangerous drinking levels” with a score of 17.7/80.
Martin Preston, Founder and Chief Executive at Delamere, shared his insight on why binge drinking rates are so high in the UK:
Image: Delamere / JBH
“The coronavirus pandemic caused an alarming spike in binge drinking levels across the UK, the isolation caused many people to turn to drinking high levels of alcohol at home.
Drinking at home, rather than at a pub, removes the need to wait between drinks and also the worry around spending too much money. For example, the average bottle of wine in the UK costs around £6, which is what some glasses of the same wine can cost in pubs and bars.
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The endless hours spent at home during the lockdowns meant that 18.1% of people were drinking at a high-risk level. While one in four (22%) of adults had increased their alcohol consumption, causing 10% of people to worry about the strain of alcohol on their health.
Image: Delamere / JBH
As well as this, our research found that the top three cities with the highest binge drinking problems had a large number of drinks delivery services, so the need to leave the house to buy alcohol was eliminated.
For more information about drinking culture in the UK and the results of this study, including tips for combatting binge drinking and alcohol dependancy, visit the Delamere website.
Yorkshire Tea is Manchester’s ‘favourite’ brand of teabags, according to new data
Danny Jones
The Great British debate of which teabag is best is one that will rage on for millennia, that’s just the way it is, but according to new data, it sounds like we might at least have an answer to which brand makes for Manchester’s favourite brew.
It won’t be a surprise to many of you and we can certainly confirm it on our end but the one and only Yorkshire Tea looks to have taken the cuppa crown when it comes not only to Manchester’s preferred teabag but seemingly the best-loved in Britain as a whole.
This is according to numbers pulled by local firm, TonerGiant. The Atherton-based ink and toner suppliers decided a poll around the office wasn’t enough and instead chose to turn their knowledge of the market and consumer trends into a bit of online research.
At the end of the day, tea is has got to be the most important of all the office supplies, surely?
According to the stats, Yokrshire Tea is Manchester’s favourite brand of tea bags. (Credit: Yorkshire Tea)
Using data from trusted online source Statista, which nailed down the top 25 teabag brands in the UK, each make was then ranked in relation to its average monthly searches via Google Keyword Planner to reveal that Yorkshire Tea was clearly the top dog.
With roughly 390 searches per month in Manchester alone, compared to PG Tips as the next best (260), it seems us Mancs have to concede at least one thing to our fellow Northern county: Yorkshire makes a bloody good brew.
The Roses rivalry raged for centuries but if there’s one thing that brings us together, it’s a good cuppa.
In terms of other tea brands that came in high on the leaderboard, Pukka Tea (170), Twinings (140)and Teapigs (90) made up the rest of the top five most-searched tea brands in Greater Manchester. It’s also interesting to see how those figures looked when extrapolated nationwide. Here’s the full ranking:
Rank
Tea
Average UK monthly searches
1
Yorkshire Tea
27,100
2
PG Tips
18,100
3
Pukka Tea
14,800
4
Twinings
12,100
5
Teapigs
8,100
6
Whittards Tea
6,600
7
Tetley
4,400
8
Clipper Tea
4,400
9
Lipton Tea
3,600
10
Barrys Tea
3,600
11
Thompsons Tea
1,300
12
Typhoo
1,300
13
Taylors Tea
1,300
14
M&S Tea
1,300
15
Tesco Tea
1,000
16
Tick Tock Tea
880
17
Sainsbury’s Tea
720
18
Lyons Tea
720
19
Asda Tea
590
20
Aldi Tea
590
21
Waitrose Tea
590
22
Lidl Tea
480
23
Morrisons Tea
320
24
Bewleys Tea
90
25
Cafedirect Tea
40
Few of these on here we’ve never heard of. Taste test, anyone?
While Yorkshire Tea was found to be Manchester’s and the nation’s favourite, Belfast was the only UK city where Yorkshire Tea didn’t take the top spot. Instead, it was Irish-owned Barry’s Tea that came out as their favourite – we definitely need to hold a ‘brew-off’ between the two. The Hoot, you up for it?
As for supermarket’s own-brand offerings, out of the eight options on the list, Marks and Spencers teabags were found to be the most popular, closely followed by Tesco and then Sainsbury’s.
Commenting on the findings, TonerGiant’s Stuart Deavall said: “With so many office workers opting for tea to get through the day, it’s no surprise that the UK has a day dedicated to the drink.
“In light of National Tea Day on Sunday, 21 April, our new data shows that Yorkshire Tea is the nation’s favourite, with over 27,000 Brits searching every month… We can expect many Brits to be celebrating in style this Sunday, no doubt with a mug of Yorkshire tea in hand”. Speaking of, anyone fancy a brew?…
Featured Images — Yorkshire Tea/Rumman Amin (via Unsplash)
Food & Drink
Northern Quarter favourite Pie and Ale has sadly closed down
Danny Jones
Beloved Northern Quarter eatery and pub Pie and Ale has sadly and quietly closed its doors this week in yet another gutting bit of news for the Manc hospitality sector.
Known for its legendary homemade pies, great selections of ales, craft beers and lagers, not to mention a great little pub when it comes to watching live sport, it’s long been considered an NQ institution.
Unfortunately, however, as confirmed by a sign posted in the window, Pie and Ale has now closed for business after more than a decade.
Safe to say, we’re absolutely gutted, as we’re sure everyone else is.
Credit: The Manc Eats
While no official announcement has been made on their social media as yet, which will no doubt receive love and sadness from its loyal following, the sign in the window simply reads: “Pie and Ale has unfortunately ceased trading. Apologies for any inconvenience.”
The local favourite which was always hailed for being great value for money – celebrated especially for its popular pie and a pint for under a tenner deal – also served up great nibbles and light bites as well as dessert specials.
Although the Lever Street spot previously shut down for a short spell back in 2018 due to what they labelled as “unforeseen circumstances” before reopening just two months later, this latest update looks pretty definitive.
Sister-site Bakerie also ceased trading back in April 2019, with husband and wife founders, Alyson Doocey and David Cook, admitting that all independents had been “feeling the squeeze”.
While we have few other details at this stage, it does look like Pie and Ale has indeed closed down for the foreseeable future.
A mainstay on our list of the best pies in Manchester since day dot and just the latest in the list of losses in 2024 so far, they will be sorely missed.
We sincerely hope this is like last time and will keep our fingers crossed that we see the pie pros and expert pourers back in business at some point.
Georgina Pellant -
30th June 2022 
