A HOLT IN WEST DIDSBURY

February 2026. West Didsbury.

I left Matt back at Piccadilly, no doubt to attend to housework, and added a rare Greater Manchester GBG newbie before City v Fulham.

This year’s Manc ticking has been a bit of a slog, with brewery taps in Wigan and Timperley only opening weekends, craft bars not opening at all, and pubs seemingly miles from railway stations (I will get there, Norden).

But a south Manchester Holt pub should be no problem at all by metro, right ?

And it was no problem, though the CAMRA Geography Department could have saved me 5 minutes walk in the drizzle by labelling it as Burton Road rather than West Didsbury, which is where I got off.

Blimey, isn’t West Didsbury shiny, the Heaton Moor of the, er, west (?).

Modern arcade bars, impressive road houses,

and the Railway,

a smaller than usual, open-plan modernised Holt house.

Oooh, look at the shiny hand pumps !

More Old Monkey than Hare & Hounds. Yeah, I know the Hare & Hounds isn’t one of theirs but you always feel it should be.

It’s a quarter to five, the trade is local, well-dressed, and young(ish), with urgent discussion about the ABBA round and Everley Bros v Righteous Bros confusion in the pub quiz. The Millennials get a very pop quiz friendly soundtrack.

A great neighbourhood feel, with particularly warm and cheery service at the bar and lots going on. You don’t get Japanese pop-up kitchens in Weaste.

I decide on the Pint and Pasty deal; I’ve never been able to resist a deal. In truth, the cheese and jalapeno pasty is a little underwhelming compared to the impressive mess of crumbs I leave on the nice table, but the Holt Bitter is cool and smooth (NBSS 3.5).

I leave at the first notes of “Rio”.

Later that night Matt sends me a photo from his evening in Stockport.

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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.

40 thoughts on “A HOLT IN WEST DIDSBURY”

  3. I only drink there a few times a year, but the Railway is a great pub (much better than the trustifarian frequented and much pricier Metropolitan across the road). Stockport and South Manchester CAMRA gave it our Most Improved Pub award last year. Paul Heaton from The Housemartins/Beautiful South lives in West Didsbury and is a regular at the Railway, I’ve seen him in there once or twice.

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      1. I haven’t drunk in a Holt’s pub for a long time. I remember the unimproved ones when I was at the CAMRA AGM in Salford. One that didn’t fit into that category was The Lamb in Eccles which was magnificent.

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  7. One of life’s biggest frustrations is pubs that improve after you move away from the area. It seems to happen to me a lot. When I lived across the way from the Railway (a long time ago, I admit) it was keg-only and rough. I used to walk into Didsbury proper to drink the Marstons in the Royal Oak and the Station.

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  8. It had never occurred to me that the Hare & Hounds in Shudehill was not a Holt’s pub. I just walk in, drink the only cask beer on the bar (Joseph Holt’s Bitter) and then walk out again. Unless it happens to be NBSS 4+, in which case I have another.

    Thanks for opening my eyes!

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  9. Living under a stone, as I do, from time to time, I wasn’t aware that Manchester had a Metro. I’m assuming it’s an amalgamation of existing train, tram and bus routes, but it looks great for getting around.

    I wonder whether my soon to be renewed bus pass is valid on the network, like it was in Sheffield, three years ago?

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    1. Paul, our bus passes aren’t valid on it but a day ticket only cost me £7.10 two years ago.
      A great shame though that the Coach and Horses was demolished for the tram lines.

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      1. You can’t stop progress in Manchester, Paul, whether we like it or not. I’m one of the rare people who like to see large new buildings alongside the old pubs (e.g. Briton’s Protection and Kelham Island) as it provides day to day custom for pubs.

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      3. The problem might be that if they can afford the large new buildings then they can afford the smart bars called Alchemist or Bar Lina (not Lana) in Spinningfields rather than needing to visit the Hare & Hounds.

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      1. Not a very helpful response John, but I found the answer to my question on Google, which is where I should have looked in the first place!

        FYI, although I spent four and a half years living in the Greater Manchester area, that time came to an end in 1979. Apart from the occasional business trip, I hadn’t been back to the area until a meet-up with Retired Martin in July 2023. Even then my sole journey on local public transport, was a return train ride from Mcr Victoria, to Salford University, to visit my old stomping ground.

        Looking at a map of the Bee Network, I must say I’m impressed, which is more than I can say about your unnecessarily, sarcastic comment.

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      2. I’m guessing 90% of the population couldn’t place Tonbridge on a map, or tell you anything about it !

        The metro is going to be extended to Stockport, which will make that town even more attractive for a pub day out !

        Did you join us on the Stockport days ?

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      3. John,
        Looking at a map of Staffordshire, you might realise that I’ve been under Stone for over fifty years !

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  11. “February 2026. West Didsbury.”

    Just how many Didsburys are there?

    “and added a rare Greater Manchester GBG newbie before City v Fulham.”

    Fulham! Me grandad’s old team.

    “and pubs seemingly miles from railway stations”

    How rude!

    ” though the CAMRA Geography Department could have saved me 5 minutes walk in the drizzle by labelling it as Burton Road rather than West Didsbury, which is where I got off.”

    (looks up)
    Is that map orientated like a regular map, with north on top? If so, why is East Didsbury further west than West Didsbury.
    As for Burton road, the map could indicate how far it is from West Didsbury, as they do with the train stations at Eccles, East Didsbury and Ashton-under-Lyne.

    “and the Railway,”

    It’s nowhere near a railway!
    (unless they mean the tram line?)

    “a smaller than usual, open-plan modernised Holt house.”

    So, it’s a chain pub?

    “Oooh, look at the shiny hand pumps !”

    (looks down)
    If it’s not a chain pub, it certainly looks it by the pumps!

    “and Everley Bros v Righteous Bros confusion in the pub quiz”

    You don’t hear THAT every day.

    “In truth, the cheese and jalapeno pasty is a little underwhelming”

    The jalapenos were a sneaky way to get you to drink more.

    “I leave at the first notes of “Rio”.”

    Can’t argue with that!

    “Later that night Matt sends me a photo from his evening in Stockport.”

    (looks down)
    You raised him right. 👍

    Cheers

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      3. Last year I arrived by tram from the north, found the Gateway drastically altered from the Hydes pub of fifty years earlier and walked south to the Cheshire Lines near Cheadle.

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      4. “Don’t get me started on West and East in Manchester, Russ.”

        Sounds like that old saying, “east is east and west is west, and never the twain shall meet”. 😉

        “Best stick with left and right (as in left bank), can’t go wrong with that.”

        Ooh, I like that idea!

        Cheers

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  12. T’Pau. They were awful. I’d started going out with a girl around that time. Went to her house for tea and tiffin and she put her T’Pau LP on. I never went back.

    A few years ago, Carol Decker did a gig at, of all places, St John’s church in Farncombe. Bit of a come down from the arena shows in the 80s at the height of her 15 minutes.

    I wonder if Susan went?

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