0

The Didsbury Dozen Guide

Having lived in Didsbury since I was a wee lad I though it was about time I wrote my guide to the Didsbury Dozen. Didsbury has changed a lot in the last 20 years. Many of the shops are now bars and restaurants, and a few new pubs have appeared or changed their names. Although I have searched high and low I have been unable to find ‘the original’ Didsbury Dozen route so I am going to get as close as possible to it and then give you a few alternatives to it.

For the latest Didsbury news and events information for Didsbury, check out Fetch Didsbury

Do you have anything to add to this guide? Images/reviews/updated links? Leave me a comment…

Shortcuts:

Introduction
List of pubs
Timing
Transportation
Food
How I do the Dozen
My idea of the original Dozen
The Dozen beginning/ending in Withington
The Dozen including the Four in Hand, The Metropolitan and the Railway
The address of all the pubs mentioned and a short description

Here is a list of all the pubs that are currently (as of June 2011) situated in (or very close to) Didsbury and so qualify for the Didsbury Dozen.

There are also Three pubs between Didsbury Village and Withington Village that are worth a mention as part of the Dozen as they may have appeared on the original crawl. If your after a little pub crawl on it’s own then you may want to consider these (now sadly only The Red Lion remains).

Timing

Didsbury has become a very popular place to socialise in the last few years due to the large number of places to eat, bars and pubs. If your going to attempt the Didsbury Dozen then I suggest you don’t do it on a Saturday night. The pubs are less likely to let you in when you’re drunk and you may even have to queue to get into a couple of them. Your best doing this during the week, and if your going to try and do 12 (the full dozen) then you may want to start around 12 noon to make the whole dozen even remotely possible.

Transportation

Didsbury Village is set on Wilmslow Road and is easy enough to get to.

  • Taxi – ask for Didsbury Village
  • Bus from town to the village (42, 142, x57) – ask for Didsbury
  • Bus from town to near the Woodstock Arms (41, 43, 143, 48) – ask for Barlow Moor Road
  • Bus from town to near the Four in hand, Metropolitan and railway (41, 43, 143, 48) – ask for Lapwing Lane
  • Train to East Didsbury (near The Gateway and walk from The Didsbury) – station is East Didsbury

Food

Oh yes, you’re gonna need food and lots of it if you think your going to make it though the dozen without giving up/being sick/being taken to hospital. There are loads of pubs that do food in Didsbury which I have mentioned where I described the pubs. What I am going to tell you about here is the takeaways.

  • Kansas Fried Chicken – A fried chicken joint, enough said.
  • Khandoker – An indian Restaurant based next to The Gateway on Kingsway.
  • Khandoker Takeaway – A takeaway two door down from the Khandoker that sells all your standard chicken and burgers but you can also find such tasty treats as massala burgers. Burgers with indian sauces on them, you have to try it.
  • Stop Inn – Barlow Moor Road just near the Nelson – burgers, chips, kebabs.
  • Didsbury Fish Bar – 2 minutes walk down School Lane (from the main junction in Didsbury).
  • The Meal Box – variety of takeaway food
  • Didsbury Kebab House – good chicken kebab, general burgers and pizza joint

You can find a full list of Didsbury Fish and Chips outlets on Fetch Didsbury

How I do the Dozen

Me and friends have always based our pub crawl on the one I have listed below: (this has been updated several times as pubs come and go)

  • The Didsbury
  • Ye Olde Cock
  • The Famous Crown
  • The Royal Oak
  • The Fletcher Moss
  • The Nelson
  • The Dog and Partridge
  • O’Neills
  • Hogshead
  • The Sanctuary
  • The Slug and Lettuce
  • The Station

If your getting the Train to Didsbury then you may want to include The Gateway at the start of the list. It is a 10 minute walk from The Didsbury.

The Official Didsbury Dozen

Below is the list of pubs in the correct order of how I think the original Didsbury Dozen began. Because of how many venues have closed and changed, I have listed what the pubs were, and then what they are now. Warning as some of the dozen are now restaurants and some are simply closed.

  • The Woodstock Arms
  • The Barleycorn – reopened as Alberts Shed in Summer 2010
  • The Nelson
  • The Clock Tower / Squires – currently a Zizzi Italian restaurant
  • The Station
  • O’Neills – or what it was previously
  • The Dog and Partridge
  • The Fletcher Moss / The Albert
  • The Royal Oak
  • The Famous Crown
  • Ye Olde Cock – currently Loch Fyne at The Old Cock As of Early 2011 returned to being a pub
  • The Didsbury

The Didsbury Dozen beginning/ending in Withington

Below is the list of pubs which include the popular Didsbury and the three Withington pub.

  • The Didsbury
  • Ye Olde Cock (the old cock)
  • The Famous Crown (formally The Crown)
  • The Royal Oak
  • The Fletcher Moss (formally The Albert)
  • The Nelson
  • Fugu (formally Squires and The Clock Tower)
  • The Dog and Partridge
  • The Station
  • The Golden Lion
  • The Red Lion
  • The White Lion

You could of course reverse this order to start in Withington.

The Didsbury Dozen including the Four in Hand, The Metropolitan and The Railway

  • The Didsbury
  • Ye Olde Cock (the old cock)
  • The Famous Crown (formally The Crown)
  • The Royal Oak
  • The Fletcher Moss (formally The Albert)
  • The Nelson
  • Fugu (formally Squires and The Clock Tower)
  • The Dog and Partridge
  • The Station
  • The Four in Hand
  • The Metropolitan
  • The Railway

You could of course reverse this order.

All of the crawls that I have listed are simply suggestions. None are supposed to be the actual original Didsbury Dozen. I do not even know if there has ever been one list of pubs that began the whole thing.

Location of pubs

View full size on Google Maps

The Railway
3 Lapwing Lane, West Didsbury, M20 2WS
A tiny little pub situated opposite The Metropolitan and a good 10/15 minutes walk from Didsbury (might be just what you need). Quite busy at weekends, although friendly and not quite as expensive as The Met.

The Gateway
882 Wilmslow, East Didsbury, M20 5PG
Although this pub is a bit out of the way I think it is a great place to start if you coming from that direction or if you’re getting the train to Didsbury. The Food is good and not too expensive. There is a large selection of beers and loads of seating. There is also outside seating for sunny days.

The Metropolitan
2 Lapwing Lane, West Didsbury, M20 2WS
Opposite The Railway. Since the refurb the place is a favourite for the young and wealthy. Large no-smoking area. Good food. Outside bar in summer. Sadly it is priced to keep the old regulars away. Nice for a meal but I wouldn’t normally spend the whole night drinking here. Bar staff regularly get mixed reviews.

Alberts Didsbury
121 Barlow Moor Road, West Didsbury, M20 2PU
Opposite The Woodstock Arms in West Didsbury and previously The Barleycorn. A relatively posh restaurant which serves incredible food, but occasionally gets comments about it’s service.

The Nelson
3, Barlow Moor Rd, Didsbury, M20 6TN
A small pub I only visit when on this pub crawl. Full of regulars and you don’t often find a seat in here. Quite a good selection of drinks.

Zizzi Italian restaurant - Squires, The Clock Tower, Fugu
700 Wilmslow Road, Didsbury, M20 2DN
This place used to be Squires and more recently The Clock Tower and used to be full of rough types most of the time. It was then reopened as Fugu, a Japanese restaurant with a smart bar downstairs. All have closed and it’s now a Zizzi Italian Restaurant which is not recommended as one of your dozen!

Slug & Lettuce
651 Wilmslow Rd, Didsbury, M20 6QZ
Now it does great food. Has lots of seating inside and out. The bar is always well staffed but the prices reflect the fact that there are a lot of staff. A nice place but not cheap. Great on sunny days.

The Sanctuary
653 Wilmslow Road, Didsbury, M20 6QZ
Quite a small place with a bar that stretches the whole length of the pub. Food is much improved since it became The Sanctuary. Plenty going on during the week and at weekends.

The Dog & Partridge
667 Wilmslow Road, Didsbury, M20 6RA
This pub looks great from the outside. There is always a list of it’s current guest beers on the wall outside. The beer is great, although the place is quite small so you may not find a seat at weekends or when the football is on. Never try to go for a quick wee in this place when it is busy. Getting to the toilet can take upwards of 5 minutes.

Piano & Pitcher
1D School Lane, Didsbury, M20 6SA
Really expensive and very trendy. If you fancy a posh night out with some cocktails then go here. If your after a cheap bite to eat and a pint of nice beer then go elsewhere. Nice stairs, there I said something nice about it.

The Royal Oak
729 Wilmslow Road, Didsbury, M20 6WF
The Royal Oak sits in the middle of Didsbury Village. It is a very popular place with plenty of regulars. Several real ales and usually some seating available. Really good food here to go with the large selection of quality beers.

The Famous Crown
770 Wilmslow Road, Didsbury, M20 2DR
An old fashioned pub, changed it’s name a while back from simply ‘The Crown’. There is a large clock on the front of this pub which is an hour slow for half the year and often doesn’t move at all. It’s quite an old fashioned pub, low cealings and small toilets. Lots of old style high back seating too.

The Woodstock Arms
139 Barlow Moor Road, West Didsbury, M20 2DY
The Woodstock Arms, five minutes down Barlow Moor Road from Didsbury Village if you’re walking. The pub has open fires, large rooms and a mixed group of drinkers. Excellent food.

Station Hotel
682 Wilmslow Road, Didsbury, M20 2DN
The Station is a thin building on the end of a row of shops. Small to look at and quite small inside. The place is quite deep so it’s always worth looking to the back if your wanting a seat. Good beer and a good atmosphere. If you put this at the end of your crawl then you are always likely to end up chatting to few of the regulars. It’s called the Station because Didsbury train station was once situated opposite where the row of bars and pubs now sits.

The Didsbury
852 Wilmslow Rd, Didsbury Green
A five minute walk from Didsbury Village and a ten minute walk from East Didsbury, The Didsbury has an excellent reputation for food and a great selection of wine, beers and ales. Recently extended upstairs to cope with the popularity of the restaurant side of the pub. A great beer garden just off the road which gets packed in the summer.

Loch Fyne at The Old Cock
749 Wilmslow Road, Didsbury Green
Now more of a restaurant than for drinking, but drinks are still available. Large court yard at the back.

The Fletcher Moss
William Street, Didsbury
This pub is down the back of Didsbury on a street behind the Royal Oak. It has a large conservatory and lots of seating. The beer is excellent. Well worth the detour off the route. This place is often busy, especially on Saturdays as it has a large number of weekend regulars.

O’Neills
Wilmslow Road, Didsbury
O’Neill’s shows lots of sport on large screens and has live music most weekends. An Irish bar as you would expect it gets to the point of queueing at the weekends and the bouncers can often be really strict about what your wearing and how drunk you are.

Hogs Head
Wilmslow Road, Didsbury
Cheap and cheerful food. Massive inside with toilets up lots of stairs. Large bar with a lot of staff. Quite cheap. Can get rough at times. Small amount of seating outside.