Todmorden, Three Micropubs and a Chippy

Nan Moor’s

Nan Moor’s

Nan Moor’s is next to Todmorden Lock on the Rochdale Canal. It’s a small micropub that used to be a tattoo parlour. Inside there’s a single room on multiple levels. Outside at the rear there’s a small patio with access to the canal towpath. In fine weather there’s extra seating along the towpath. Plants grow in the window, and there are pictures on the walls. The bar is small and busy; see the photo below.

Real ale is dispensed by gravity (my favourite method) from barrels on a stillage behind the bar. The beer is kept cool by spear coolers through the spile hole. There’s only room for two casks. Often there’s only one, which can result in no real ale being available. This is especially true on a bank holiday Monday and maybe late on Sundays. When a second cask beer is available, it’s often a dark beer.

When I was there, there was only one real ale on, Pintle Bitter from the Fern Brewery. It cost me £4.50 a pint and was 4.3% strong. It was a very nice pint. I had two. I should have had three.

When visiting the bar, you need to be prepared for no real ale. They also sell real cider and Perry. When I was there, there were two ciders and a perry on. Served from Polypins, stacked three high on the bar. They were strong, over 6% and not cheap, £6 and over. They have a Cider Club on the second Wednesday of the month, with reduced prices for the ciders.

If there is no real ale, Cider makes a pleasant alternative. There is also a large fridge containing bottles and tins of beer from home and abroad, including some 75cl bottles of cider.

It won the Halifax and Calderdale CAMRA branches’ Cider Pub of the Year in 2024, 2025 and 2026. It was the branch pub of the season in Spring 2024. It was Yorkshire Cider Pub of the Year in 2024.

There are lots of evening events, and some in the afternoon. Most are free, but you have to pay for some of them (usually at weekends). They have folk nights twice a month in the evening (2nd and 4th Wednesday), and once a month in the afternoon (3rd Friday). When I was there, they were playing some interesting indie and African-based music in the bar; during the quieter passages I could just about hear other music. When I left, I noticed some folk musicians on the patio. There were two bodhrans, two violins and an acoustic guitar. Today was the third Wednesday of the month.

According to the events board, they have a writing club once a month.

This bar is well worth a visit; it’s now one of my firm favourites. Possibly one of my desert island bars.

Nan Moor’s Bar

Beer Necessities

Beer Necessities

I never meant to visit Beer Necessities; I was trying to find the Fox, one of the Good Beer Guide pubs here. Walking past this bar, I noticed a banner in the window saying it had won Halifax and Calderdale CAMRA branches’ pub of the season for summer 2026. I decided to try it out.

It’s a micropub, converted from a shop back in 2024. The bar is at the front. There are two rooms, one at the front and one higher up at the rear. In good weather, there are a couple of benches out at the front. On the ceiling and walls, there are acoustic panels to deaden the sound. The barman told me that when the bar opened, you could hardly hear people talking. The walls and ceiling are white, with pictures on the walls.

They have four real ales on. One from the Tiny Rebel Brewery. One from the Northern Whisper brewery. And two guest beers, mainly from regional breweries. I had a pint of Irk Street from the Blackjack Brewery, 3.8%, for £4.80. The most expensive beer of today. But this is more of an upmarket bar.

They have up to fourteen cask-keg beers on. They sell Sneider Weiss and Helles beer. A fridge at the rear contains an interesting collection of beers in bottles and cans from Britain and abroad.

Apart from Pork Pies, there is no food.

I’d actually walked past The Fox bar getting here. I was expecting it to be a micropub; it was actually a more traditional pub, which is why I walked right past it. I never did visit it, as I’m now more of a micropub man.

Beer Necessities Bar

The Alehouse

The Alehouse was the first bar I visited and the reason I didn’t walk around Todmorden. Unfortunately, none of the photos I took worked because of a large canopy at the front, darkening the bar.

The bar is in a row of shops set back from the road. It consists of a single room, with the bar at the back. One of the walls is exposed brick, and the other is wood panelling. On the walls are works by local artists, often for sale. There are large windows at the front, either side of the glass door. Almost certainly the shop’s original windows and front. Outside there is a large canopy with tables underneath.

There’s a mix of tables and seats; stools, low-backed chairs and high-backed chairs. And to keep things cool, a large fan in the ceiling.

Five handpumps sell a variety of beers, usually including a dark beer. I had two pints of Brewers Gold from the Picktish Brewery, 3.8%, £4.30. A beer I’ve drunk before; it was in excellent form. They have four pint flagon to take beer away in.

They sell wine at £6.00 for a large glass or £16 for a bottle (all wines are the same price), which will really please my wife. The landlady told me that she hates ripping people off.

Apart from Pork Pies, there is no food.

The landlady prefers cash (yippee), but most people paid with a card or their phone. Apart from a man who said he was a builder and that he always had cash!

Market Place Chippy

The Market Place Fish and Chippy

After all the drinking, I needed food, and today, food meant fish and chips. This place is in the centre of town and was highly rated by several sites, such as TripAdvisor. It’s an old-style English chippy.

I had fish and chips for the very reasonable price of £7.80. They only take cash, so it’s not for you if you are one of those people who doesn’t carry cash; your loss.

I ate them sitting on one of the market stalls at the front of the market. If it’s cold or raining, there’s a small restaurant to eat them in. They were very, very good. The fish was larger than some I’ve had recently. Unlike my local chippy, the food was not very greasy.