About The Fisherman’s Retreat
- One of North West England's top Pub Restaurants.
The Fisherman’s Retreat is nestled in Twine Valley at the edge of the Pennine hills, three miles east of the town of Ramsbottom. There is no passing traffic, bar the occasional hot air balloon.
- The journey to the Retreat is part of the adventure
- Once there the fantastic views may grab your attention, each window providing a frame for the beautiful landscape outside
- The food is great – where else can you get real home reared meats, dry-aged steaks, locally sourced fresh produce from loyal suppliers - and cooked well to boot by our top chefs (cooked to our own recipes, just like mum used to do)
- Family owned and run - always more friendly and personal than the ‘faceless’ chains
The Beginning
In 1981 Hervey and Susan Magnall (mum and dad) purchased Twine Valley with their house funds. It was a 25-acre valley containing four fishing lodges and many tumbledown stone buildings (the ruins of 19th century bleachers and dyers mills).
The land wasn't very good for farming, but it had a family history associated with it. Hervey's great grandfather had lived near the valley and worked in the mill overlooking the valley; also Hervey’s father and grandfather had played as children in Twine Valley.
Cattle & Trout
Initially the land supported a herd of South Devon and Longhorn cattle, until it became evident after 6 or 7 years that the valley needed to pay for itself in a more substantial way. Existing lodges were used to set up a trout fishery; rearing rainbow trout for the purpose of stocking the 4.5-acre fly fishing lodge.
Through word of mouth, local people heard about the trout fishery and travelled up the road for 'fresh trout'. This added another string to our bow. (We three children had to learn how to net and gut the trout, though mum did do most of it!)
Birth of the Pub and Restaurant
It was around 1990 that Hervey Snr overheard two cold and hungry fly fishermen debating where to go for a bite to eat and a bit of warmth. The idea for a fisherman's retreat was born!
We, (Hervey Snr, Susan, Samantha, Hervey and James) built the Fisherman's Retreat in 1992. From laying the concrete foundations, labouring on an old ‘tiger’ of a bricklayer, doing outside groundwork and putting the roof on - to completing all the inside works and decoration. We were helped out by some very good friends during the early months. Of course, qualified tradesmen - plumber, joiners and plasterers were required for specialised jobs.
To keep costs to a bare minimum we built using 90% reclaimed materials - the outer stone came from the tumbledown mill buildings in the valley, the inside walls used reclaimed bricks from the old bus station in Ramsbottom (cleaned until our fingers were raw), the beams also came from the bus station, reclaimed wood from Prestwich hospital chapel was used to make the window frames, and much of the seating incorporated old pews from churches around the country.
Just as everything was nearing completion our bank pulled out on us. We just hadn’t enough money to complete and the building was only a shell. Drastic action had to be taken – we sold our beloved herd of South Devon cattle amid tears and we were able to complete The Retreat by the skin of our teeth.
We opened our doors to the public on December 5th 1992. Our bar and waitress skills were laughable and only mum in the kitchen seemed to have her act together. However thirteen years later we are a lot more knowledgeable and much better prepared, but still learning!
The Fisherman's Retreat has grown from a place used only by fishermen, to a retreat for everyone.
The Way We Are Today
Today we are still very much a hands on family business although there have been changes.
Susan died in 1999, but I’m sure she would be pleased (and amazed) to see that both her sons (Hervey and James) have become very good cooks and are very hands on in the kitchen.
Daughter, Samantha is currently living in Australia with her husband and young children, but is still involved in the business through the wonders of modern technology.
Hervey and James run the restaurant and are always about. They may often be found in the kitchen, as good chefs are as difficult to find as hen’s teeth.
As the business has grown so too have our staff.
Garry Schofield is our Head Chef, who oversees the day to day running of the kitchen and produces wonderful dishes from our excellent produce. He is greatly assisted by a young chef, Chris Hood, who has been with us since working as a part-time pot-wash. Chris has trained with us and been here for seven years now.
We have lots of other wonderful staff working for us - in the kitchen, front of house, outside and behind the scenes, and without them, what we do now would not be possible. They make up our fantastic team.
Opening Times...
- The Fisherman’s Retreat serves food from Tuesday to Sunday and on Bank Holiday Mondays, 12:00 noon until 9:00pm
Restaurant Policies...
- We DO NOT accept bookings/reservations and seating is allocated on a ‘first come first served’ basis. During busy periods there will be a wait for food, but no one will go home hungry!
- Please abide by our ‘ONE table, ONE order, ONE bill' policy;
- We enforce a NO smoking policy throughout the building, however there are designated smoking points outside;
- Children are welcome but MUST be seated in the restaurant at all times and MUST be accompanied by a responsible adult at all times;
- For the convenience of other diners, we request that parents control their children (runners, kickers and screamers) whilst in the restaurant or they may be asked to leave.