Bustling village with 'country-esque feel about it' that's growing in popularity by the day

With lighter nights and warmer weather now in sight, there's nothing better than heading out on a walk, having a shopping day or enjoying a beer in the sunshine.

And luckily, you don't have to venture too far to do it. While Merseyside has many destinations people love to head to, one historic village continues to grow its haven of independents, attracting loyal local customers as well as new from further afield.

Located on the edge of St Helens, it's mid-week and the sun is shining in Rainhill village, a place I haven't spent a lot of time in in years. The area is synonymous with steam train 'Stephenson's Rocket' and railways and while it has retained many of its beautiful old buildings and traditional businesses, it is now home to a number of new vibrant venues.

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Located between Liverpool and Manchester, Rainhill train station backs onto a number of businesses, making it easier to travel to the area, as well as encourage locals to opt to socialise and shop here instead of heading to nearby city centres. Getting off the train and heading to Warrington Road, I'm met by the busy Cookhouse pub and carvery on my right, a number of beauty businesses and a sea of customers and cars passing through the village.

I first headed to Hayes Butchers, an independent on Warrington Road which occupies a site that has been home to a butchers shop for around 200 years. The display cabinet is full of meat, chicken and BBQ treats and the shelves are stocked with delicious pairings of chutney jars.

At the front of the shop is Tony Hayes, who has owned the shop for the last decade but first started working there as a teenager. Tony told the ECHO: "It was John Showering previously before me, but I've worked here since I was 16. I think before John it was Welsby's.

"We've had customers who have been coming for a long time and new customers, the younger generations, which is what we need now to keep the business moving forward. I'd say it is a destination, with the railway heritage here, Stephenson's Rocket, people do come here.

"It's a lovely village, people are friendly, it's got great amenities with the station and the buses. The village itself has got great little shops and great nightlife as well with the restaurants and pubs - it's great for all ages, old and young alike."

Welcoming customers from Rainhill, Prescot, Huyton, Warrington and beyond, Hayes Butchers sells everything from Scottish beef and lamb from Yorkshire to pork, poultry, their own cooked meats, sausages, burgers and more. Tony said the area is "thriving".

He said: "The people appreciate what we're trying to do. Running a business is hard but when you get nice comments about products and people coming back again, it's great.

"It's great here, the customers are lovely and everyone knows everybody. It's a nice area to run a business and to live. "

A little further down the road you will find Dane Court, home to businesses such as the Skew Bridge Alehouse, restaurant Blue Mango, The Hop House craft beer shop - and The Wine Club. Opened in June 2018 by sisters Danielle Milnes and Rochelle Garbutt, The Wine Club sells wines from across the world and also uses local and international suppliers to provide a selection of cheese, charcuterie meats, popular artisan pizzas and chutneys.

In the few years they've been based in the village, Danielle and Rochelle have expanded to opening The Wine Club shop opposite, as well as a bistro in what was the Galleria restaurant on Warrington Road, with a function room now also next door. Midweek, the venue is full of customers, from couples enjoying a glass of wine to friends catching up over a late lunch.

Boasting a rustic, Mediterranean-style décor, manager Rebecca Quigley told the ECHO that the response to the new ventures opening up in the area has been extremely positive. She said: "The girls kind of took a punt to open a wine bar and it's just grown and got bigger and bigger.

"Now we do the hot food, the cheese and charcuterie platters and then they opened the shop three years ago and that's taken off. They've also just opened Houghton's Bistro across the road, that's doing really well and next door to that they've also got the function room so people can hire the private room and we do charcuterie boards, pizzas and all the side dishes.

"A lot of people in Rainhill have known Danielle and Rochelle from when they were little because they're both from Rainhill. When they opened up the bistro, we got a lot of positive feedback from the locals and we invited a lot of regulars from The Wine Club to the bistro on opening night and the support has been fantastic.

"We're starting to get people from outside the area come in too. We're starting to notice more and more now with other businesses in the area so people are coming for a night out as opposed to people just coming from around here."

Predominantly a wine bar, The Wine Club and its sister shop also pride themselves on using local, from Zest's Liverpool Limoncello to Turncoat Gin and The Liverpool Jam Company. Rebecca said the businesses are busy through the week, as is the area in general with more to offer for nightlife too.

She said: "It's a bit more chilled than if you wanted a night out in town. A lot of the other businesses are open later than us and they do live music, so you can start here and go over there, so it's definitely a nice vibe. It's got a real community vibe and feel about it.

"Even though it's not a country-esque village, it very much feels like that. There's a local butchers, a lot of people stay local because they all know each other, a lot of the people have grown up around here or lived here for a long time. It's a really really nice feel to it."

Heading closer to the station, you'll find restaurants such as Carouse, Sorelle and venues like the Acoustic bar. But sitting opposite the train station you'll find a historic pub that has seen more than most in the village.

Dating back to 1870, the Commercial Hotel was first built to accommodate the increasing number of rail passengers arriving in Rainhill. The inn once served beer brewed by Knotty Ash Ales and over 150 years on, the venue is still welcoming commuters and locals alike with its traditional décor and community feel.

Have you visited Rainhill recently? Let us know in the comments section below.

Mark Woodward, operator of Amber Taverns, took over the pub in September 2020 and recently received a CAMRA award, as well as a nomination for the top eight cask pubs in St Helens, alongside neighbour the Skew Bridge. He told the ECHO: "The pub dates back to the 1800s, it's one of the oldest in Rainhill.

"It's busy, versatile and we have a wide range of ages - from 18 to 98. We do get a lot of people from other areas, getting off the train or getting on.

"You get a lot of people from Rainhill getting the train into Liverpool or Manchester and they pop in for one before or after. We find we get a lot of people coming through to beer festivals on the train, it's really handy and it's really nice to have the pub next to a railway.

"It's good being part of the community, it's a really nice area to live and really lovely people." Mark said what he loves most about the area is the diversity of the village and what it has to offer.

Since coming out of the pandemic, more venues have opened in Rainhill, something Mark says will benefit everyone operating there. He said: "From taking over in the middle of covid to having all the restrictions we had to adhere to and coming out of that, to find the village itself has grown with other venues opening, it only helps every other venue because then it becomes a destination.

"It does let people choose, they will have a wander between all the different venues. With the other bars on our street, we're all friends anyway and we get on really well.

"We've got a street closure between 6pm on a Friday and a midnight on a Sunday, so if you want to buy drinks from myself and food from another venue, you can sit outside all together, it doesn't matter where you bought the things from. You've got the Cookhouse, event rooms, drinking places, eateries - it's really growing."

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