The best restaurant in the UK has just been named as L’Enclume, the much-loved Lake District restaurant owned by Simon Rogan.
And the north west has shone across the board in the Harden’s Top 100 Best UK Restaurants, with eight other local spots making the prestigious list.
There were two entries for Greater Manchester, three for Lancashire, and three in Cumbria.
Both Mana in Ancoats and Where The Light Gets In in Stockport were awarded positions in the top 100, with the latter storming into the top 50.
It comes off the back of Where The Light Gets In being awarded a fourth AA rosette just a few months ago, to go on its mantelpiece with its Michelin Green Star.
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But the top spot this year in the Harden’s guide has gone to L’Enclume, a restaurant that has always featured on the list but never before made it to number one.
Diners hailed the 17-course set menu at L’Enclume as ‘a completely faultless experience’.
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Chef owner Simon Rogan says: “My team and myself are honoured that L’Enclume has been rated the number 1 restaurant in the UK by diners on behalf of Harden’s.
Simon Rogan of L’Enclume restaurant, just named the best in the UK. Credit: Supplied
“To have been featured in Harden’s Top 100 every year since its inception in 2011 is an amazing achievement and being awarded the top spot for the 2024 edition is a testament to the amazing year we’ve had.”
Peter Harden, co-founder of Harden’s, added: “L’Enclume has always been consistent in its top quality offering and it was wonderful to hear the recent news that Paul Burgalières, who has been a key figure in L’Enclume’s evolution over the past six years, has now been appointed Executive Chef.
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“Coming in at £300+ it’s certainly one of the higher priced restaurants in our listings, but we see none of the resistance from diners with regards to paying those prices that we’ve seen at other top establishments. Those who’ve made the pilgrimage think it’s money very well spent.”
Paul Burgalières added: “I am very proud of everything we have achieved at L’Enclume over the past couple of years. To take the position of Executive Chef has been a great honour, and I am excited that our work at the restaurant has achieved such a high level of recognition.”
The number of London restaurants on the list has fallen to an all-time low as the spotlight moves further north, with the North West now one of the best-performing regions outside the capital.
Where The Light Gets In in Stockport. Credit: Instagram, @arestaurantwherethelightgetsin
Mana was praised for its ‘outstanding all-round’ form while Where The Light Gets In was celebrated for its ‘major emphasis on sustainability and local sourcing’ with ‘delicious wine pairings’ all served by ‘lovely staff’.
Mark Birchall’s Moor Hall, just up the road in Aughton, also shot into the top 10 and placed at number six.
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Northcote, also in Lancashire, ranked 70th in the top 100 and the White Swan at Fence was labelled ‘restaurant of the year’.
Peter Harden, co-founder of Harden’s, comments: “This year it has been interesting to note that London’s grip on the Top 100 list is the weakest that we have ever recorded (the lowest previous figure was 41 in the 2020 guide). Whilst 12 months is too little data for firm pronouncements, this swing to the shires may reflect the increasing excellence of dining out across the UK.
“The North-West has made a strong showing in this year’s list, not necessarily for the cities themselves but for top dining in leafy touristic locations such as the Lake District and Lancashire. With more and more diners seemingly valuing and indeed seeking out these types of dining experiences, the region could have even more to gain by drawing further attention to its stunning countryside locales.”
Ryanair is majorly clamping-down on passenger conduct by introducing a new immediate fining system.
In a bid to get onboard conduct to an acceptable level, Europe’s largest budget airline has today confirmed (12 June) that it has introduced a £500 fine for disruptive passengers whose unruly behaviour results in them being offloaded from the aircraft.
The airline – which prides itself on being one of the most ‘punctual’ in the continent – says passengers expect to travel in a ‘comfortable and stress-free environment’ that’s free from ‘unnecessary disruption’ caused by a tiny number of people travelling onboard the aircraft at the same time as them.
Ryanair has introduced immediate £500 fines for ‘unruly’ passengers / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
While it’s no secret that passenger disruption is a problem that’s increasingly affecting the airline industry as a whole, Ryanair says it’s ‘committed’ to tackling unruly behaviour for the benefit of its passengers and crew.
The company intends to continue to pursue disruptive passengers for civil damages, but at a minimum, they will now be issued with a £500 fine immediately.
“It is unacceptable that passengers are made suffer unnecessary disruption because of one unruly passenger’s behaviour,” a Ryanair spokesperson commented as the fines were announced today.
The airline says it’s committed to tackling this for the benefit of its passengers and crew / Credit: Pxhere
“To help ensure that our passengers and crew travel in a comfortable and stress-free environment, without unnecessary disruption caused by a tiny number of unruly passengers, we have introduced a £500 fine, which will be issued to any passengers offloaded from aircraft as a result of their misconduct.
“While these are isolated events which happen across all airlines, disruptive behaviour in such a confined shared space is unacceptable.
Parklife 2025 kicks of a thrilling summer of musical events in Manchester this weekend, but attendees should expect disruption.
Manchester‘s major music festival will once again be taking over Heaton Park this weekend (15 and 16 June), with headliners Charli XCX and 50 Cent, alongside other huge names and festival favourites like Jorja Smith, Bicep, Peggy Gou, Rudimental, Confidence Man, and countless others.
But with all the action, of course, comes the annual travel warning.
That’s right, just as we’ve come to expect every year, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is urging anyone attending Parklife, or anyone travelling around the Heaton Park area, to ‘plan their journeys’ by public transport ahead of time, and allow plenty of time for travel too.
Not only are around 110,000 people expected to make the journey Parklife this weekend, but there’s also events on at Co-op Live and Old Trafford too, so it’s all making for a busy weekend on the transport network.
TfGM wants festivalgoers to use trams and dedicated shuttle bus services to get to and from Heaton Park as much as possible to avoid disruption, and it’s also advised to pre-purchase travel tickets on the Bee Network app to make the process smoother too.
Anyone planning to get the tram to Heaton Park should travel from Victoria station, according to TfGM, as this will help safely manage the demand for transport and allow trams to run every six minutes.
Both Heaton Park and Bowker Vale stops are just minutes from the festival gates.
A travel warning has been issued as more than 100,000 people head to Parklife 2025 this weekend / Credit: TfGM / Parklife
Parklife shuttle buses will run from Lever Street in the Northern Quarter from mid-morning to the last bus at 4:30pm – with drop-off being right inside the festival site.
After the event, returning trams will run from Bowker Vale to the city centre until 1:30am, but the Heaton Park stop will close at 9pm. The last services from Bowker Vale to Bury will run at 12:46am on Saturday and 12:44pm on Sunday.
Return shuttle buses to Manchester city centre will run from inside the park in a temporary bus station, until the site is clear.
Anyone travelling at the weekend, but not to Parklife, can expect roads and public transport be ‘busier than usual’, TfGM admits, especially with the other events at Co-op Live and Old Trafford.
Extra staff and TravelSafe Support Officers will be ‘out and about’ across the transport network to help passengers throughout the weekend.
Key travel and ticket advice for getting to Parklife, as well as general travel advice for the busy weekend ahead, is available now at on the Bee Network website here.
Daisy Jackson -
13th December 2023 
