People stocking up on McDonald’s Big Mac sauce pots encounter same issue

The Manc - 14th February 2020

Eats

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

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

Veggie sausage with cheese and onion mash and classic gravy — Classic cumberland, mustard mash, and mushroom sauce

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

Ye Olde Nags Head pub is near Mam Tor — Inside Ye Olde Nags Head pub in the Peak District

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.

Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

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

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

You can get a mini pail of ice cream — Takeaway tubs from 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.

Featured image: The Manc Group