Britain’s biggest family the Radfords run their own pie shop in a gorgeous Lancashire coastal town as well as starring in their own Channel 5 series. We headed down to bag a pie and enjoy the views.
We went to buy a pie from the famous Radford’s Pie Shop in Heysham, Lancashire(Image: MEN)
For anyone who has been glued to successive series of 22 Kids and Counting on Channel 5 will know, the Radford family sure do know how to keep a lot of hungry mouths fed. Mum Sue and dad Noel are head of what is Britain’s biggest family, and they allow the cameras in to follow their lives for their hit Channel 5 series which is now back on Sunday nights.
How they make ends meet, and meals stretch to all those children, has been an endless source of fascination with the public over the years. And the fact that they’re a hard-working self-sufficient family thanks to their long-standing bakery, the Radford’s Pie Company, which they’ve run for the past 27 years.
While you can now mail order the pies all across the UK, you can also visit the pie shop itself at their home turf in the coastal town of Heysham in Lancashire. Having heard and seen so much about their pies over the years, it’s a place I always thought I’d like to pop into if I was making this drive over to the coast.
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Well, with the summer heatwave, it seemed finally a good time to head over to Heysham and get myself a taste of a Radford pie for the first time. It’s certainly a bit of a drive from Manchester (around 1hr 20 minutes up the M6) but what I found at the end of the journey was certainly all worth it.
The Radford’s pie shop itself is on a parade of shops on the main Heysham Road and when I arrive there was already a bit of a queue out the door. It’s not exactly the fanciest looking shop, but there’s a big cabinet inside boasting what I’ve come for – the pies.
I also didn’t realise they serve up a host of sandwiches here too, with a hot selection of breakfast baps as well as breakfast boxes, and an array of cold fillings like sweet chilli chicken, cheese savoury, prawns and tuna savoury. But I try not to get too distracted as it’s definitely the pie that I want to sample
There’s a board informing you of the daily flavours, when I visit there’s the likes of steak and ale, steak and pepper, chicken and mushroom and cheese and onion. Naturally I have to try their most famous iteration though and that’s the classic meat and potato.
I’d unfortunately timed my visit on the week when Noel and Sue and many of the kids were away on holiday (I later discovered on social media) however a couple of the Radford children were manning the decks while I was there. I felt a bit starstruck really, so kept my line of questioning to “which pie would you recommend?” to which I was told their favourite was steak and stilton.
On that recommendation I purchased a steak and stilton for £3.85 and a meat and potato for £3.45. If you’re wanting to make a meal of it you can also pre-order the pies to be served with mash.
The ones I got for take away were piping hot in their paper bags though, and so we decided to take them down to the seaside which is a short walk from the shop to enjoy the pies with a bit of a view.
And oh what a view. I’ve never been to Heysham Village before this summer and I couldn’t believe what a beautiful place it was.
Indeed, heading down to watch the waves lap up to the shore while I tucked into my pie made that whole long journey totally worth it. Well that and the pies themselves.
Because my word these are damn fine pies. They’re huge, packed with meat and could easily be shared between two.
The pie pastry is the winner – it hits that sweet spot of just enough of a crunch on top, and just enough of a soft oozy bit round the sides. There was a hefty filling in both, and it was hard to pick a favourite really.
The steak and stilton was very rich as you can imagine, and my only regret was maybe this would have been good to take home and eat with some vegetables to make me feel a tad healthier.
However the meat and potato was just about pie perfection to sit and scoff as seagulls eyeballed me jealously.
I mean, just look at it. Phwoarr, it makes me want to set off on the 90 minute drive all over again.
The other benefit of enjoying a pie or two out by the coast is you can then walk some of the calories off along this beautiful stretch of Lancashire coastline. The village itself is packed with quirky spots to stop for a cup of tea, while the historic church has a spectacular graveyard next to the sea.
Climb a little further beyond it and you can explore the National Trust site of Heysham Head, where you’ll find the ruins of St Patrick’s Chapel that date back to the 9th century.
Next to it are the mysterious stone graves of Heysham that have inspired many a photo over the years including the cover of Black Sabbath’s Greatest Hits.
How to get there
Heysham Village is around 1 hour 20 minutes from Manchester, getting off at M6 junction 34 then taking the A683 then following signs to Heysham. Radford’s Pie Shop is on Heysham Road, and there’s free parking spots outside the parade of shops for short stay parking.
If you’re heading down to the seafront, the main car park in the village is pay and display with a full day’s parking for £3.50.
There are lots of signs in the village, including the car park, with information about the sites of interest. There’s also a Heysham Trail map you can download here to head out on a self-guided tour of the cliffs and Lancashire coastline.
