Pyengana is a dairying valley 30 km west of St Helens with two well-known stops. The Pyengana Dairy has been making farmhouse cheddar since the 1890s and runs a milking-time café where you can watch the cows being brought in. The cheese-tasting flight at the counter is the easiest way to compare its different ages.
A few minutes further along the valley is the Pub in the Paddock, a single-storey wooden pub in the middle of a sheep field, famous for its pet pig Priscilla who drinks beer from the bottle. The food is honest pub fare (steak, chips, parmas) and the welcome is generous. Combine with the nearby St Columba Falls for a good half-day from St Helens.