The Ship Inn

A lovely afternoon country walk in the autumnal sun was the order of the day yesterday and planning ahead meant we booked ‘The Ship’ for 5pm after our walk at Quarry Bank (a great NT site if you get the chance to go)
5pm seemed to be optimum busy time but the staff were friendly and courteous, while getting us settled in (FYI: We weren’t told you need to open a tab and order all drinks and food at the bar) — but after being in here a few mins, there was only one thing on our mind and that was Sunday roasts after seeing the giant Yorkshire puds whizzing through.
We chose the pub sharing platter to start between 4.5 of us (our 2 year old daughter has a great appetite…) which consisted of some great fresh pork pies, sausages, scratchings, bread etc — and then followed this with some tasty roasts (mixed pork and beef really hit the spot) — with all the trimmings — lovely veg and of course those ace Yorkshires (check out my pics)
Dessert was tasty with a great selection — Eton Mess and Choc Brownie were awesome. We weren’t drinking for various reasons but they did have a fairly decent selection of traditional ales and wines. The soft drink selection was great too — Fentimans all round for us.
A lovely country inn, great food, drinks and surroundings — can’t wait to go back!

Visited in here in October for lunch following a conference for work…
The Ship is a 17^th century pub tucked away in the pretty village of Styal which is pretty close to Manchester airport and about ²⁰⁄₃₀ minutes’ drive from Manchester city centre in traffic. I have to say it was bucketing rain the day I went here and it didn’t look that pretty! We sat down in a room that was like someone’s front room — including a fire that was blazing.
For starters I had prawns then for main course I had a very grown up fish finger sandwich (Barm, I think) served with chunky chips and tartare sauce. The food here is lovely and in a pretty setting. I’m sure its v popular with locals!

The pub was once known as the ‘Shippon’, a farm building used to store manure, but became the Ship Inn when the farmer who owned it started brewing for the local people. The Ship has recently been taken over by the owners of The Dog at Peover and it shows. After years of increasing tattyness and a listing to port over food quality, The Ship is sailing forward into more sophisticated waters.
The staff are excellent, friendly and professional and the Spanish chef knows what he is doing. The interiors are now light and airy but still suitable to the history of thie place, which is over 350 years old.
Although mum and I were both on light lunches, the menu was extensive and unexpectedly reasonably priced. The chips were AWESOME and mum’s mushroom gallette was perfect for her. My salt and pepper squid lacked any spice, but was perfectly cooked and a good sized portion for a starter.
We will definitely be back for a full meal, especially as they have done a lovely job of clearing the beer garden area.
Coupled with Earlam’s Community Shop (which opens shortly) and Styal Village, Mill & Woods this will make Styal the perfect summer destination.

Great looking pub with a good pint of Taylors Landlord, its just a shame that it feels very cheap inside, you want it to be a proper pub with atmosphere and its not. They do 2 meals for a fiver and have sky sports on in the bar…