PRAY TELL, IS THE CASK DRINKING WELL IN SALE ?

November 2025. Sale. Greater Manchester.

A 3pm Saturday kick-off against Dirty L**ds, and just time before the match to meet Matt and tick off one GBG newbie in Greater Manchester with a half hour metro trip down into Trafford. There’s a good cricket team in Trafford, I understand.

I’d made a fruitless journey to Sale in September, the Pray Tell unexpectedly closed, but it had enabled me to re-evaluate a town preparing to cope with a terrible loss.

Yes, the Wetherspoons closed for refurbishment the month before Christmas !

So I bided my time waiting for noon opening in the suspiciously artisan sounding MODE N ART CAFE near Home Bargains, which turns out to have the best staff and espresso of the year.

So good, I took a demerara sugar cube home. I still have it.

Pray Tell is running a bit late, despite the open door,

the friendly barman fluffing up the scatter cushions.

I may have been a bit grumpy about waiting outside in the statutory Mancunian drizzle for opening, but luckily Pray Tell is a wonderful place,

a range of craft and cask from Manchester’s top breweries (and Beak) crowned with the house Track Sonoma in gorgeous chunky branded glass.

Frankly, it’s better than in Track’s own tap, a cool and chewy NBSS 4.

Lacings never lie.

At least, that’s what someone I trust told me once.

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Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

39 thoughts on “PRAY TELL, IS THE CASK DRINKING WELL IN SALE ?”

  1. My cousin lives in Sale and I occasionally go there, although I’ve never drunk in any of its pubs. It’s not very easy to get to on public transport from the Stockport/south Manchester area without going into town on the train then back out again on the tram. The main reason I’ve been of late is to watch the homeless Swinton rugby league club play at amateurs Sale’s rugby union ground, something that would have been an anathema until thirty years ago.

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    1. I’m a Union bloke myself, so know little about Swinton RLFC. Per Wiki, it’s been a bit up and down hasn’t it? Hope you find a new permanent ground soon.

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      1. I’ve found that taking a side in the League/Union matter to be riskier than doing so in the Israel/Palestine one, Bill. So chapeau for revealing that fact.

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      3. “I’m a Union bloke myself”
        bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=you+tube+strawbs+part+of+the+union&&mid=2D8EA5D6499E3BE4BCFA2D8EA5D6499E3BE4BCFA&FORM=VAMGZC

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    2. Yes I had a friend in Sale and as you say it’s a strangely hard-to-get-to place, Matthew.

      I think that micros might be missing a trick by not calling themselves “Time bomb”, “Grandfather Clock”, “Over” etc. to cash in on the ticking trade…

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  2. What a time for Spoonies to shut! Then again, anytime is a bad time for a Spoonies to shut. Have just looked up Sale as never been. “Sale is known for its tranquil, riverside charm and is ideal for walkers and families.” Maybe worth a look next year including a sit on the cushions in the Pray Tell.

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      5. Lana, you’ve reminded me of walking from Birmingham to Stafford along canal towpaths nearly twenty years ago and the water being so clear at Tipton that I stopped for a few minutes watching the carp.

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      7. Not that I know of Martin. Maybe a correct balance of aquatic life with the gentle flow of the water or it not having been churned up with narrow boats exceeding 4mph. Anyway, Tipton is definitely my top carp place.

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      4. Appreciated, Dave.

        My dictionary warned me, that on reading the definition, I might find things that some readers would find “upsetting”…

        Hardly “Blitz Spirit”, eh?

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    3. But scatter cushions just don’t go with an unplastered wall. And I would hope for more comfortable chairs than I remember in the school dining room. There must be better pubs in Sale.

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      1. I’ll defend Pray Tell here. It’s not a traditional pub, but Mrs RM would have enjoyed it (if they’d been open when they said they were), and they’ve made a real effort to make it comfy. And the beer is superb.

        No, Sale doesn’t really have better pubs. It’s a Rugby Union town 😉

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  3. Union not played in proper towns? Bristol. Leicester. Nottingham. Newcastle. Penzance. Cinderford. Pontypool. Swansea. Llanelli. Pontypridd. Gloucester. Lydney. Wrexham. (Yes!)

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    1. Oh come on you can’t include the Welsh towns, Bill. Welsh union is totally different to home counties union. And i include Bristol, Gloucester and Lydney in Wales.

      Gosford is a suburb of Twickenham, isn’t it ?

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      1. Bristol, Gloucester and Lydney in Wales? That’s fighting talk!😉

        Welsh Union different? Well it’s the same game, 15 v 15, 5 points for a try, 2 for a conversion etc. I know the atmosphere is different to home counties rugby though. The Hooray Henry clubs still exist (I used to be a member of one, Clifton RFC) but the gulf doesn’t exist anything like it did back in the day.

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      2. I saw the Cambridge Union team play once. Adnams drank pitchside, Barbour and scarves, very Twickers. The actual running rugby was a completely different sport to the grinding game you see on home internationals.

        Liked by 1 person

  4. “November 2025. Sale. Greater Manchester.”

    Is it legal to put the adjective ‘greater’ in front of Manchester?
    (oh wait, am I thinking of Birmingham?)

    “A 3pm Saturday kick-off against Dirty L**ds”

    Si will like that!

    “and just time before the match to meet Matt and tick off one GBG newbie in Greater Manchester”

    Serendipity that.

    “Yes, the Wetherspoons closed for refurbishment the month before Christmas !”

    Bloody hell. Who runs that business?

    “So good, I took a demerara sugar cube home. I still have it.”

    It’s good to keep ants away from your picnic lunch.

    “Pray Tell is running a bit late, despite the open door,”

    A perfect chance to stick your head in the door and yell, “are you open, pray tell?”.😎

    “the friendly barman fluffing up the scatter cushions.”

    If I was a cushion looking like those, I’d scatter too!

    “but luckily Pray Tell is a wonderful place,”

    (looks down)
    Blimey; a 5% lager costs more than a 6% IPA?

    “Frankly, it’s better than in Track’s own tap, a cool and chewy NBSS 4.”

    Interesting that.

    “Lacings never lie.”

    Crickey. If that was a corset I’d never get it untied!

    “At least, that’s what someone I trust told me once.”

    Wait, you trust someone?
    (it was the mirror, wasn’t it?)

    Cheers

    PS – I (quickly) glanced at the numerous comments above and decided to stay the hell out of that!

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      2. I’m excited about us being in the World Cup. But, sadly, our national sport is… lacrosse.
        (I’m not kidding) 😏

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    2. It was the mirror !

      Lager v ale pricing is a little weird. Cloudwater, another good Manchester brewery you may have heard of always carried quite a price premium, too (same as Tim Taylor).

      Wetherspoon closing November is odd but I guess they’re open in time for the Christmas lunch trade (£13.99 for a turkey lunch with all the trimmings, ugh).

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      1. I tried to reply on Mudgie’s post about beer being priced by ABV but it kept giving me an error (sigh).

        Anyway, to keep it short, over here beers up to 7% are usually priced the same, whether it’s a 4% all the way up to 7%. It’s when you get into DIPAs and Imperial Stouts the price goes up a bit.

        Cheers

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