Clitheroe’s Holmes Mill combines a brewery, food hall, restaurant and hotel to stylish effect. In fact, there are so many foodie delights it’s no wonder our writer spent so little time in his room
Even by east Lancashire’s unassuming standards, Clitheroe maintains a low-profile. This gateway to the Ribble valley – an area loved by walkers, cyclists and foodies – sits at the end of a train line from Manchester but you would have to go back to 1985 (when the Fall played live in the grounds of Clitheroe’s tiny Norman castle), to find Mancunians hot-footing it to this market town in large numbers.
Holmes Mill is meant to change all that. A vast, Grade II-listed former textile factory, it was reopened last August as a brewery and bar, food hall, hotel and restaurant. It also comprises smaller concerns, such as a comedy club and gelateria. A gym, pool and cinema are yet to be added.
Beautifully lit, the lounge has as its centrepiece a curvy bar constructed from glowing vintage glass blocks
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