Stockport

The Chestergate pub in Stockport is at it again with some of the most wonderfully Manc scenes you’ll ever see

There's a reason this place is the stuff of legend.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 25th April 2024

The legendary Chestergate pub in Stockport is back with another belter of a video, following on from their viral belly-flashing clip of 2022.

The Mersey Square boozer has painted yet another quintessentially Northern depiction of UK pub culture with the latest Manc scenes they’ve captured around the karaoke machine.

If you’ve never had the pleasure of stumbling into The Chestergate in Stockport town centre, the long-standing boozer currently operated by publican chain Blind Tiger Inns, you’re seriously missing out.

While it might not be the flashiest of pubs, when it comes to entertainment, it always delivers.

Whether it’s stunts like renaming themselves ‘The Southgate’ whenever the Euros or World Cup rolls around, or the locals just genuinely having a whale of a time no matter what day of the week it is, it really sums up the best of pub culture.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Chestergate went viral for some of the most British footage ever caught on film back in 2022 and the videos saw a huge wave of love and support flooding in for the pub, as well as a healthy amount of chuckles. Safe to say we were chuffed to see them pop back up on our feed again recently.

Karaoke night at The Chestergate literally never disappoints.

ADVERTISEMENT

Forget ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ or ‘Champagne Supernova’ for karaoke songs – we’ll take a cacophony of inaudible throwback pop music, whilst another bloke and his hype man try and MC over a totally ill-fitting beat any day of the week.

And that’s handy because you’ll find those kinds of shenanigans happening at this place all the time.

Be it hens and stags, St George’s Day celebrations; a safe-cracking-themed competition, a ‘Texas Hold ‘Em Hoedown’ dance-off, or simply the matchday crowds when the footy’s on, there’s always something going on here.

ADVERTISEMENT

It’s simultaneously one of the most no-nonsense and somehow a non-stop shenanigan-filled paradise. They also look after their own and consider their regulars part of the family. Case and point: they threw their very own ‘Dancing Queen’ Molly a big bash for her 86th birthday and it’s such wholesome viewing.

Read more:

At this point, it’s worth flagging that we have nothing but envy for these folks and anyone who’s just out there having the time of their lives on any random weeknight.

Yes, it produced plenty of laughs for those watching online in recent times but this lot won’t mind one bit – not only is the pub seeing more and more new faces through the door but that’s the whole point of a pub, isn’t it? Going for a pint with your nearest and dearest and having a laugh.

Not only is it very Manchester but it’s Britain at its very best.

We hope to see you at The Chestergate pub in Stockport for a pint or two sometime soon and we’re making a bit of a prat of ourselves, don’t worry, we’re sure they’ll have the cameras ready for you.

ADVERTISEMENT

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — The Chestergate (via Facebook)

Stockport

Abuser jailed for life for sexual offences and encouraging a child to self-harm in ‘landmark’ GMP case

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Karl Davies mugshot

A man who encouraged a vulnerable young girl to self-harm while sexually abusing her over a period of several months has been jailed for life.

Karl Davies, a 42-year-old from the Wirral in Merseyside, posed as several different men using fake social media profiles and adopted various different personalities, all in a bid to groom and manipulate his young victim.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) offences began back in June 2023, when a Snapchat account using the name ‘Ben’ messaged the victim – a girl who was aged just 13 at the time.

The communication soon led to image sharing, before ‘Ben’ encouraged the girl to share images with another account under the name ‘Chris’. Over the following weeks, several accounts contacted the girl, disappearing and re-appearing at various points, with phone calls and further image sharing taking place.

However the accounts were, in fact, all managed by Karl Davies.

Davies used the accounts to alternate between blackmailing the victim to send indecent images, or acting supportive of her issues, and this continued for several months, with the girl sending multiple videos at the request of the different accounts – including being asked to send videos of her hurting herself, using items at the encouragement of the accounts.

Eventually, by June 2024, one of the accounts under the name ‘Sean’ told the girl that she had to meet his friend ‘Mark’ to engage in sexual acts.

That very same month, Davies – under the guise of ‘Mark’ – travelled from his home address in the Wirral to Stockport, where he picked up the girl, then aged 14, in her school uniform, and abused her in his car.

This occurred several times throughout June and July, and also during this time, some of the accounts encouraged the girl to hurt herself – with Davies providing her with a razor during one of their meet-ups for the purpose of self-harm.

In January 2025, the girl bravely came forward, and during an interview with police, went through all the details of the incidents.

A police investigation was immediately launched, before Davies was subsequently arrested on 11 February this year and remanded in custody. 

His sentencing came earlier this week (20 October 2025) at Manchester Crown Court, after he previously pleaded guilty to seventeen offences at his hearing on 22 May – including 10 counts of sexual activity with a child, four of grooming, and two of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.

Davies additionally pleaded guilty to the offence of encouraging or assisting serious self-harm, and it’s this conviction that makes it such a ‘landmark’ case for GMP.

That offence – which falls under the Online Safety Act 2023 – is one of the first prosecuted in the country, and the first case prosecuted which involved a child.

Read more:

“As a seasoned prosecutor of grooming cases I have never before seen such sophisticated methods used to target a young person,” commented Stacey Gosling, who is a Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West.

“I can only hope that as Davies begins his prison sentence, the victim can begin to move forward knowing her vile abuser has been brought to justice.”

Davies has been jailed for 20 years, with an additional five years on licence. 

Featured Image – GMP

Stockport

Spooktacular Halloween trail to return to National Trust site Quarry Bank

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Spooktacular Halloween trail to return to National Trust site Quarry Bank

A Halloween trail is set to return to Quarry Bank Mill this autumn for one of the region’s most hauntingly beautiful seasonal events. 

The National Trust site is a former working mill and one of the country’s finest industrial buildings – but as night falls and the shadows lengthen, a haunting will begin… 

This year’s Halloween at Quarry Bank will again feature spooky light installations, a mesmerising laser garden, and a thrilling fire show, as well as live performances and seasonal food and drink. 

Returning for a second year, Halloween at Quarry Bank will be an unforgettable experience for all ages. 

Fog will swirl through the paths around the grounds, as glowing demon eyes watch over passers-by and giant skeletons loom over twisted trees. 

If you’re brave enough, the trail then heads inside the mill itself, where creaking and clanking sounds of its industrial past hint at something a little more haunted. 

Spooktacular Halloween trail to return to National Trust site Quarry Bank
Credit: Andrew Ogilvy Photography
Spooktacular Halloween trail to return to National Trust site Quarry Bank
Credit: Supplied
Spooktacular Halloween trail to return to National Trust site Quarry Bank
Credit: Supplied

As you wander the trail, you’ll pass installations like glowing fire spheres and catacombs echoing with whispers from the past, plus plenty more surprises waiting in the shadows. 

Then you can refuel with ‘bewitched burgers and freaky fries’, plus hot toddys and decadent hot chocolates. 

You can even toast a marshmallow over an open fire. 

Halloween at Quarry Bank is designed for families, couples, and groups of friends alike, and attracts visitors from all over Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Merseyside and Lancashire. 

Entry to the trail is on a timed slot system – tickets are on sale now HERE.

Read more

Featured image: Supplied

More Stockport

Tom and Katie Ogden outside Bohemian Arts Club in Stockport

Eats

Beautiful Stockport cocktail bar launched by Blossoms frontman announces closure

Cheshire

Lyme Park to celebrate 30 years since BBC’s Pride and Prejudice was filmed there

Boxing great Ricky Hatton found dead at home, aged 46

News

Boxing great Ricky Hatton found dead at home, aged 46

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches