December Weekday Wander — Altrincham
11:15 Wednesday 3 December 2025, Stockport Rail Station

This month's Weekday Wander is a return trip to Altrincham for two very important reasons:
1) Because it is a mighty fine place to visit for a beer or two.
2) Anyone partaking in Winter Warmer Wander can pick up two pubs.

Travel can be either quick and simple on the 17 minute train journey or long and tortuous using bus, tram or both for an overall journey time of around an hour! If you miss the 11:19am train the best advice is to adjourn to the pub and await the next service at 12:19pm.

Our first pub will be the Unicorn, a Wetherspoon's outlet, so food is available here. Because of the scheduling of the trains, we should arrive by 11:45am, just in time for the breakfast menu.
If you regularly use their app to order food — remember to reset the location to the Unicorn!
This is one of the more unusual Wetherspoons, being based in a new building rather than a conversion. This means there are none of the usual architectural feature on view. What it does have in common with other Wetherspoon outlets is a multitude of handpulls (and uniquely patterned carpet?), at least one of which should serve a stout/porter/old ale or Christmas special, so don't forget your sticker.

Next up will be Costello's Bar, the tap for nearby Dunham Massey Brewery. The brewery is well known for its range of dark beers with a stout, porter and old ale all being in their repertoire (plus award winning milds, but they don't count on this visit!) Who knows what we will find today. Take note of the unusual address, Goose Green - so called because geese were driven through here on their way to Hale Moss. Read how one man transformed the area from workers’ cottages to become Altrincham’s unique jewel here.

We will now be passing what potentially is our final pub of the day - 'Passing?' you say. Unfortunately it doesn't open until 4pm, so it would require a lengthy wait outside.

We will next wander back towards the Market Hall (there are several sneaky cut-throughs), where two excellent pubs are on offer, so a choice had to be made. We will be passing the Con Club (bet you can't work out why it is called that, Sherlock!) and turn in to the Market Hall. Here we will find Jack In The Box, which is a Black Jack Brewery tap. The bar is surrounded by a number of food outlets, so anyone still peckish can replete themselves. Warning: electronic payment only. So those technologically challenged (or wanting to tick a full house of pubs) can bob into the Con Club instead, where coins are acceptable, and they also do food.

Our next port of call is Beacon. These premises have had a variety of names over time, originally it was Le Trappiste, and the continental bar feeling is still preserved. This includes street drinking (weather permitting) but without the stifling fumes encountered in some Bruxelles or Paris street bars. After Le Trappiste it became the Brew House with its immediate previous name being Pi. Cash is accepted here, so the technologically challenged can re-join the throng. Downstairs has limited seating, so if busy there is more open seating available upstairs.

Our penultimate pub is the Old Roebuck, which has had a mixed history. One source says that the Old Roebuck was not built as pub, but was originally several smaller cottages, being converted into an alehouse in the 19th Century. There is another story which says it was moved from a location behind the Old Market Tavern in 1837. Was this simply a transfer of licence as moving buildings in the 19th centaury was rarely undertaken? There is also confusion about the street's name, one source says it was changed from Queens Street to Victoria Street upon Vicky's coronation — Altrincham Heritage suggest it was changed from Well Lane to Victoria Street. All this is academic, as nowadays it is a jumble of rooms, many with original features and featuring real fires in selected rooms. There is a large beer garden, but this is December. Pub food is served, but only noon till 3:30pm so be quick if you still require feeding (also served 5:30pm to 8:30pm).

We now have a dilemma - which pub to make our last of the day! There are three options,: (1) Take the 10 minute walk all the way back across town to the GBG listed Rustic (as of August). (2) Traval just down the road to the nearest pub or (3) Return to the Interchange to the nearest pub, handy if the train back is late running.

Option 1

Our potential final pub, it is back across town to Stamford New Road where we come to a pub which, externally, doesn't live up to its name of Rustic (apart from the pallet wood signage). This is a modern bar, with downstairs being long and thin and having bench seats to the front and tables to the rear. Should the premises be full, there are a further 60 seats upstairs in an area which is also doubles up for comedy nights, but that is tomorrow on Thursday. For those still peckish, a selection of homemade steaks, wings, ribs and sliders is available from the kitchen. Our visit will need to be brisk if the 4:57pm train back to Stockport is being contemplated.

Option 2

This is the nearest option, and having left the Old Roebuck we travel a little along Victoria Street until its junction with Stamford Street where we will visit the only brewery tap (assuming the Con Club/Federation haven't re-started brewing) on this wander, the Malt Shovels. Don't get too excited, as the brewery in question Richardson's/Richardson & Goodall closed a hundred years ago. Internally there are several drinking area, the main bar with bench seating, a games room and upstairs a pool room and to the rear a lounge which has an open fire. The walls are adorned with many photographs of old Altrincham. This 'olde worlde' feeling is complemented by the owner's attitude to electronic items post about 1990. Yes it is a Sam Smiths house so no sneaking a look at your mobile phone! Don't let that put you off as the Regional Director describes it as a cracking pint of Old Brewery Bitter. There is also a good selection of quirky bottled beers and (though I shouldn't say that on a CAMRA website) some of the other ales on offer are also worth trying.

Option 3

Our final option is to travel almost back to the Interchange where we will find the Station Hotel. At one time, as its location suggests, it was the hotel to use if arriving by train. Nowadays it is a typical town centre pub with, to the left the bar and to the right the TV room. There is also a beer garden, but it will be a December late afternoon so we probably won't be visiting. Finally the old stables (did they run a park and ride for the cotton barons commuting in to Manchester?) are now repurposed as the games room. The location is very convenient as we can stay in the warm and, using your phone, track the progress of the train back to Stockport as it is but a minute or two back to the platforms.

Another alternative is to spend a shorter time in each outlet then combine two of the options, the easiest being Options 2 and 3, but a second plan could be to combine Option 1 and 3. There is however an option 4! Rather than fleeing home, we could catch a tram to Sale and visit the JP Joule to gather another Winter Warmer Wander sticker, then either back to Altrincham to catch the 5:57pm train, or continue on the tram to Manchester and thence (avoiding several other WWW pubs) home.

The following timings reflect the 'Catch the 4:57pm train' option.
 

Arrive	Leave	Pub	Address	Food
11:15am	11:15am	Stockport Rail Station ready for train
11:19am	11:36am	Northern Train Manchester Piccadilly to Chester geting off in Altrincham
11:45am	12:45pm	Unicorn	1 Ashley Road, Altrincham WA14 2DP	Yes
12:45pm	1:30pm	Costello's Bar	18 Goose Green, Altrincham, WA14 1DW
1:30pm	2:15pm	Jack In The Box	Altrincham Market Hall, Altrincham WA14 1SA	Food adjacent
2:15pm	3:00pm	Beacon	18 Shaws Road, Altrincham, WA14 1QU
3:00am	3:45pm	Old Roebuck	42 Victoria Street, Altrincham, WA14 1ET	Yes
Three contestants for final place. We will make up our mind on the day.
4:00pm	4:40pm	Rustic	41 Stamford New Road, Altrincham, WA14 1EB	Yes
4:00pm	4:40pm	Malt Shovels	68 Stamford Street, Altrincham, WA14 1EY
4:00pm	4:40pm	Station Hotel	44 Stamford New Road, Altrincham, WA14 1EJ
4:57pm	5:14pm	Train Altrincham to Stockport - Alternative 5:57pm ariving 6:14pm

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