Delighted punters enjoyed their first pint in the pub as early as 6am this morning as beer gardens reopened.
Pints of Guinness were poured just after sunrise today at the Sportsman in Whitworth, with dozens of other pubs across the region opening early doors.
Jenny Dempsey was one of the first to arrive at the Sportsman with friends Alison Brook and Emma Buckle.
"It was pretty cold when we got here", she told the M.E.N from her spot in the pub garden.
"But we've got our big coats on, I've got a big jumper on, we've got gloves and blankets."
Jenny said it feels great to be 'supporting her local business' again.
She said pub landlord Steve Butterworth is a 'pillar of the community' and has worked hard getting everything ready for reopening.
"We're so pleased to be back, more than I can tell you!", she added.
Follow our live blog here as Greater Manchester beer gardens, shops, gyms and hairdressers reopen
"We're planning on staying today for as long as we can."
Landlord Steve said: "It's all going very well, we opened at 6 o'clock this morning.
"Six people were in and they're still here.
"It was very, very cold and very frosty as we've still got some snow here.
"But they were eager to get in and it's going great."
Eager punters also arrived at The Regal Moon in Rochdale bright and early this morning.
Long-awaited pints of lager were poured from 9am.
As well as pub beer gardens, non-essential shops, gyms and barbers will also reopen to the public today.
It marks the start of Step Two of the government's roadmap out of lockdown and follows months of closure for large parts of the hospitality sector as people were urged to stay at home.
Boris Johnson urged the public to 'behave responsibly' ahead of the reopening.
The Prime Minister said: “Monday is a major step forward in our roadmap to freedom as venues such as shops, hairdressers, nail salons, outdoor attractions, and pubs and restaurants open once again.
“I’m sure it will be a huge relief for those business owners who have been closed for so long, and for everyone else it’s a chance to get back to doing some of the things we love and have missed.
“I urge everyone to continue to behave responsibly and remember ‘hands, face, space and fresh air’ to suppress Covid as we push on with our vaccination programme.”
