An old-fashioned British street party might make you think of a bygone era, the Queen’s Coronation, or maybe even a day during that whole year we’d rather forget, but this largely lost English tradition is still being kept alive in pockets across the country — Stockport being one of them.
Dovedale Road in Offerton, to be specific, but this now legendary local event is becoming bigger and better every year and its journey has been quite remarkable.
Set up way back in 2000, long-standing resident and local neighbourhood watch volunteer, Barbara Marriott, decided to get those living around the Dovedale loop in the Stockport suburb together for the millennium celebrations, using the street’s large green as what would come to be home for the festivities.
Born in the 40s and having celebrated the Coronation herself as a child back in 1953 and grew up on these kinds of street parties, as well as school and community fêtes, she wanted to draw on those influences and introduce them to a new generation. And that’s just what she did.
Credit: The Manc Group
Old school community spirit
Just like that, the first-ever Dovedale Green Party was born and it has been running pretty much every year since, going from a modest little gathering amongst locals on the road into becoming an annual event spearheaded by the Dovedale Community Group.
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With Dovedale consisting of a large looped road bisected by another and centred around the large patch of grass mentioned above, dozens of families come to plant their festive flags on the green, erecting gazebos and big marquees, setting up their barbeques and lining the street with tables and chairs.
This isn’t just a slapdash thing either; Dovedale Community Group gets permission to shut down the road at least once a year, blocking the entrance to the green with their cars and wheelie bins as well as a big banner specially commissioned by the organisers which reads, ‘For Offerton Revival’.
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And it isn’t just the main street party in the summer either: the locals have held special events down the years, be it Christmas, jubilees, the King’s Coronation this past May, ‘Freedom Day’ and many more.
They’re never put off by the typically unpredictable Manc weather.
Fun and festivities, come rain or shine
From the familiar bunting and union jack flags that you’d normally associate with the Great British street party tradition, to bouncy castles, petting zoos, face painting and even inviting along the local fire station for the kids, the Dovedale Green Party is a real family event.
Whether it’s tombolas, limbo competitions and the classic egg-and-spoon race, or even just dancing with their neighbours to the tunes of local DJ, pub quiz host and Dovedale resident, Dave Legg, who’s been MCing the event for years now, there is something for everyone to get involved in.
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Better still, they had a record amount of local businesses donating things to raffle off for 2023: everything from big hampers and vouchers to food, booze, as well as footy shirts and tickets for Man City and Stockport County, just to name a few. They even had Papa John’s serving up fresh pizza.
Moreover, with the help of Forever Manchester, Greater Manchester’s Community Foundation, not only were the organisers able to pump money into this year’s event but the money raised on the day will also be going right back into the fund for next year.
Taking an idea and running with it
Now in its 23rd year, the Green Party and the Dovedale Community Group who help bring it to life every summer haven’t just taken on the responsibility, they’ve built on the idea that Barbara started all those years ago and have grown it into something wonderful.
Speaking at this year’s event, volunteer Michaela said: “From the year 2000, our community champion Barbara started us on our journey and has kept the spirit of the community alive. This year she passed the baton onto our 2023 Community Champion Anna Nuttall and her volunteers to continue the success.
“We were awarded some funding thanks to Forever Manchester and were able to have many more activities for the children this year and even managed to get the fabulous Blank Cheque [a local favourite at Stockport’s Foodie Friday] to come and perform for us.
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“We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of so many local businesses who donated prizes, funding and their services to help make this year’s Green Party a success. It was a fantastic day enjoyed by all and long may it continue!”
In this day and age, it can be rare to find regular events in the community like this where people truly embrace that sense of neighbourly spirit on this kind of scale and do it for no other reason than they want to have a good time with good people for a good cause.
Post-pandemic, especially, this little road in Offerton has really come together and doubled down not only on the Great British street party as a concept but on the value of that ‘love thy neighbour’ ethos and what it can come to mean for so many.
These events are about giving back and getting out what you put in — a lesson we can all stand to remind ourselves from time to time.
Wouldn’t it be nice to see more events like this taking place throughout Greater Manchester’s various boroughs? Is there anything like this in your local area? Let us know in the comments.
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Dovedale Community Group: ‘Thank you to all the local businesses who contributed and here’s to next year!’
A new social ‘osteria’ and Italian restaurant is opening in Stockport town centre
Danny Jones
You may not have come across the phrase ‘osteria’ before, but all you really need to know is that it’s Italian, involves food and drink, and the concept is coming to one of the most exciting new developments in Stockport.
Put simply, an osteria is somewhere that typically serves up wine and simple, rustic food in a more laid-back setting; they’re even more chill and perhaps extra focused on gathering friends and the communal side of the culinary world than a traditional trattoria.
However, the lines have been blurred over time, and in fact, it’s The Social Trattoria over in Poynton, just on the Cheshire border, that is bringing this concept to the flourishing Greater Manchester town.
Being headed up their team and property firm, Capital and Centric, who will be providing the space for the new social-first foodie spot, it will form a popular hospitality hub in the middle of a new mini-district.
The first CGI of the soon-to-open space. (Credit: Supplied)
That epicentre is the soon-to-be fully reborn Weir Mill: a new housing, business and leisure neighbourhood revolving around the old Grade II-listed cotton factory of the same name.
Scheduled to open later this year and deliver more than 250 new homes, a slate of cafes and bars (as well as Social Osteria), not to mention lots of new jobs, the aim is to make it one of the most vibrant places with an SK postcode.
While the Social Osteria doesn’t quite have a specific opening date just yet, it’s set to be one of the big focal points of the new and improved Weir Mill.
Promising all of the favourites from pasta, pizzas, antipasti, Aperol, other aperitivos and plenty more, they’re hoping it’ll be a place to meet throughout the day rather than just evening dining.
Clocking in at 2000 square feet – not including the 65,000 sq ft of surrounding outdoor space, paired riverside terrace and another exciting new opening in Stockport, Weaver’s Square – they’re looking to make a big impression on the locals, as well as bring even more tourists to the up-and-coming area.
You can read more about how Weaver fits into the Weir works down here:
The Social Trattoria – the Poynton go-to founded by Will Okill, Jeremy Alexander, and Daniel Barron – was named best Trattoria at the Italian Awards UK 2025 and is up for four more this year.
Co-Founder Will Okill said of the plans: “You can’t help falling in love with this building, and that’s what happened when I walked into Weir Mill.
“It was stripped back to its bare bones, but the atmosphere was already there, you could feel the character – and then the outdoor space overlooking the river sealed it; as soon as I saw it, I could picture what we’d create here.
“We’re all about taking traditional Italian cooking and making it fresh for today – everything from scratch and using locally-sourced ingredients wherever we can. Stockport’s indie food scene is booming, and we can’t wait to be part of it.” Exciting times ahead indeed.
Take a closer look at the kind of dishes and drinks you can expect Trattoria to carry over to the new Social Osteria site down below.
Featured Images — Publicity pictures (supplied via Font Comms)
Stockport
Where to find the very best pies in Greater Manchester
Danny Jones
Ok, ok, we all know that Wigan is roundly considered the birthplace of the best pies in Greater Manchester, but other boroughs need good pies too, and we’re here to give them what they want.
As northerners, we appreciate a pie any time of the year (or day, for that matter), so we thought we’d do you all a solid and point you in the direction of some of the best pastry-encased treats in and around Greater Manchester.
From buttery puff pastry to dense shortcrust boys, flaky filo, suet crusts and more, here’s where you can find some of the best pies in Manchester city centre and beyond.
Don’t ask us to put them in order; it’s too hard.
Where are the best pie places in Greater Manchester?
Yes, we know we promised pies from other boroughs, but we’re still starting with a few Wigan gems. It had to be done.
First founded in 1971 by Ronald and Patricia Galloway, Galloways Bakery is something of a local pie institution. With pie choices spanning butter and onion, chicken and mushroom, chunky steak, hot pot and minced steak, and prices from just £2.30, it’s as cheap as it is delicious.
A solid favourite of The Manc team, we’ll quite happily drive over to Wigan to visit Galloways for a meat and potato pie with gravy. To be honest, most of the time, it won’t even get home – we’ll just eat it lukewarm/cold in the car.
Not an insult, that’s actually the name, we promise. Having recently shut up its Wigan shopfront, multi-award-winning pie shop Baldy’s is going through something of a change as it ventures into dark kitchen life. The pies, however, thankfully remain as epic as ever.
Favourites include ‘The Big Jim’ — a combination of 14-hour braised beef shin, bone marrow, confit onions and smashed pistachio crumb (My. Word.) — and ‘Triple Truffled Cheese’, packed with cave-aged cheddar, double Gloucester, parmesan, caramelised onions, truffle, black and white sesame crumb.
Baldy’s also serves up some pretty famous ‘Wigan kebabs‘, or at least their version of the regional delicacy. We’re talking bacon fat brioche with marrow fat mushy peas, buttered mash, crispy shallots and chives, plus Baldy’s signature gravy. Naughty.
Moving swiftly from Wigan to Cheshire, the brilliantly named Lord of the Pies is up there with some of the region’s best – even if they are only delivery/catering nowadays.
Order fresh to your door or hot and ready for events, these award-winning pies come with helpings of mash and gravy, peas and plenty more. They might not strictly be in Greater Manchester anymore (RIP those lovely Chorlton and SK spots), but they still ship plenty around here from their HQ in Macc.
Choices include the likes of beef and stout, pork and black pudding, classic meat and potato; pulled chicken balti (this thing absolutely flies off the shelves), cheese and onion, chicken and mushroom and a very good vegan pie.
V. Goode by name, v good by nature. The lovechild of Winsome and local chefs Shaun Moffat and Sam Grainger, as well as being named after co-founder Tom Fastiggi’s grandmother, Valerie – a former dinner lady and certified ‘pie aficionado’ – they’ve not been in Manchester long, but they’re off to a great start.
Swapping the gourmet trapping for no-nonsense pies, mash and more in tin takeaways trays or plated up right then and there in the small Oxford Street shop, they feel well portioned, have a lovely lacquered finish and are pretty reasonably priced too.
Starting at around £6 for the perfectly filled pastry cases, their beef and Guinness pie collab with local Irish bar O’Connell’s was a ‘V’ popular item, but you’ve got all the staples on their full-time menu, too. However, special mention has to go to their breakfast pies, a.k.a. one of the best ways to start the day.
Nicknamed ‘Horsemoor’ when it reopened thanks to the new interior’s striking resemblance to the Deansgate steakhouse, classic British pub grub is the order of the day at The Bay Horse – pies included.
On the main menu here, you’ll find all the classics: steak and ale, cheese and onion, mushroom and leek, as well as a chicken, bacon and spring cabbage concoction that sounds delicious. All of these come served with a choice of mash or chips and lashings of gravy.
Did we mention on Mondays they do a pie and a pint deal for a tenner, or 50% off your total bill? We can’t think of many better ways to start the week.
Ex-scaffolder Steve Patel worked in construction for 18 years before venturing into the food world with Vaso Kitchen. Quite the sea change.
Then, in the midst of the pandemic, he decided to launch his own pie brand, combining traditional northern pie techniques with flavouring tips and tricks learnt from his Indian dad. The results are pretty incredible.
You can find Patel’s Pies at multiple sites across Greater Manchester, including A Taste of Honey and the Makers Market in West Didsbury, as well as The Butcher’s Quarter in the Northern Quarter.
Pies might typically be the domain of bakers, but let’s not forget the contribution of butchers, too.
A long-standing Bolton favourite, this family-run butcher has won big at the British Pie Awards as well, taking home silver medals for a traditional pork pie as well as their unbelievable pork, turkey and stuffing pie called ‘The Huntsman’.
They also won a bronze award for their meat and potato pie, which sits on the menu alongside many others, such as the cheesy chicken and leek, ploughman’s, and the classic chicken and mushroom.
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8. Pieminister
On the shelves in your supermarkets and available as a sit-down scran in various spots around Manchester, Pieminister is, as the name suggests, all about proper pies.
Pies here come in every shape and form, including the healthier option of having one of their delicious filo options. There’s even a pie bottomless brunch, a.k.a. our idea of heaven.
Simply walk in, order the pie of your choice, and have it piled high with mash, Yorkie puds, carrot and swede mash, baby garlic and kale roasties, pigs in blankets, pork scratchings, heaps of gravy and more. Just perfect.
Winners and now judges at the Great British Pie Awards, multi-award-winning pie favourites Great North Pie Co specialise in classic flavours like Lancashire cheese and onion, roast chicken and mushroom, and 14-hour braised beef.
With a recently opened cafe at KAMPUS in Manchester city centre, head down for your fill of butter pies, suet puddings and what genuinely might end up being one of the best pie experiences you’ll ever have.
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In case you’re not fully convinced of just how much our office loves this place and must imbibe wherever they stumble across one of their venues, you can always read our review HERE.
For some people, the best pie in Manchester is a sweet one, and if it’s a pastry-encrusted dessert you’re after, Idle Hands is up there with the absolute best in town. As you can see, there’s always a hearty selection on – with plenty of choices for vegans as well as veggies.
Think passionfruit cheesecake pie, rhubarb and blood orange pie, butterscotch meringue pie, malted milk brownie pie, key lime (we make silly noises whenever we eat this one), cookie dough, Earl Grey, Bakewell, and everyone’s favourite, the classic cherry pie.
Sit in and enjoy a slice at the NQ cafe or order a whole pie to your house. No judgement here, honest.
11. The Black Friar – Salford
Credit: The Manc Eats
As part of its recently relaunched pub grub menu, The Black Friar in Salford has a rotating menu of pie specials, and they’re all utterly decadent.
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This revamped old-school boozer boasts cosy settings and a selection of tall, hand-built, homemade pies, making it a must for Greater Manchester pie fans. Get ready for this: spinach and wild mushroom, duck and orange, lamb tagine pies and even a BONE-IN lamb shank pie.
Just ask your server for the daily special and know you’re not prepared for this level of deliciousness. Oh, and make sure to keep your eyes peeled for their annual pie festival, as it really is one of our favourite dates on the calendar.
Now, if we’re applauding Black Friar‘s pies, then we must also do the same with those being served at their other spiritual site over in Chorlton: the rejuvenated Horse and Jockey, which has been given a new lease of life by both Neil Burke and Ben Chaplin.
With a little help from regional brewery J.W. Lees as well, the already once-loved suburban pub has been given the TLC it needed to become a new thriving neighbourhood spot once again. The building is still gorgeous, and the food is better than ever – especially the pies.
Besides appearances on the specials board, their two main pies are the chicken, leek and pancetta one with greens and their super moorish ‘chicken liquor’, as well as their very impressive vegan offering: the sweet potato and butter bean pithivier (basically a lighter, posh French pie) with fire roast pepper sauce.
Last but not least is H.M. Pasties, set up by former prisoner Lee Wakeham in 2018, which offers a lifeline to those in need of work experience after leaving prison. Using ingredients from local prison farms wherever possible, the bakery makes delicious Cornish pasties and pies.
H.M. scooped up four gongs at 2022’s British Pie Awards, winning the vegan category overall with their chickpea curry pasty and taking home a silver award for their legendary cheese and onion pie.
The bakery also scored two bronzes for their traditional Cornish pasty, as well as a creamy vegan leek and mushroom pie that is to die for. The story behind this place, which now serves people all across the region, alone makes it one of our favourites.
14. The Wharf – Castlefield
Our penultimate pick is another one just outside of the city centre, sitting pretty waterside along Manchester’s Bridgewater Canal, and serving some of the best pub grub in town, full stop – so it’s no surprise their pie game has always been very strong.
As well as having one of the best beer gardens in town, The Wharf does lots of things well: Sunday roasts, cocktails from their little hut outside come the summer, but above all else, pies. The first time we ever tried a chicken chorizo pie was right here, and we’ve never looked back.
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Best of all, since they’re renovations over Christmas 2025, they’ve come up with more flavours than ever; we’re just gutted it’s unlikely you’ll get to see all of them on the menu at the same time outside of British Pie Week.
Last but not least, we couldn’t wrap this pastry-packed list up tight and carefully crimp it closed without shouting out the one and only Carrs Pasties Ltd. Is there a case for splitting hairs between a pie and a pasty? Sure… Do we care? Not one bit.
The legendary Bolton-born brand has locations all over the borough, Greater Manchester, the North West and beyond (there’s even some in Yorkshire and the likes of Leicester), and this legendary native name’s reputation really does speak for itself.
You can find their name on shelves, available to order online, or in person at one of their MANY Carrs Pasties Shop sites. We’re not going to run you through everything they do, because they quite literally do it all – including plenty of pies – so if you haven’t initiated yourself by now, right that big Manc wrong.
Danny Jones -
16th July 2023 
