Three counties pub crawl revisited

Evening,

         back in August me and Barraharri set off on a rather long drive around Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire, taking us through fantastic scenery to pubs in villages, Market towns and in rural seclusion. A chance meeting with a friend on Friday led to a plan to go out and visit some pubs he'd never been to - and what better way than to reprise the route from last year.

It was particularly pertinent since Barraharri was having his leaving do the same day - but not until midnight. So that meant I could spend the day retracing the long steps of the journey we took on a cloudy day in Summer, now on a sunny day in Winter.

We drove through Chesterfield, down to Two Dales and up through Wensley and Winster over Bonsall moor to Uppertown and down into Bonsall for our first stop, the Barley Mow. Being Saturday it was open, so we parked up and popped in, Mr Grant opting for a soft drink, and myself a pint of Dark Star Darkness.

We settled down in front of an open door (hardy souls them Bonsalians) and listened in on a cameo stand up performance from the barman. The pint didn't last long - the first of the day/visit never does, but I think there was surprise at us leaving after only 15 minutes. If we hadn't got a long way to go I reckon I'd have loved to stay and sample the Whim Arbor Light or the Blue Monkey Infinity , but we did. So we didn't.

A quick trip up the Via Gellia then down to Milldale and Hopedale, and the first directions mishap - I didn't see the road off to Stanhope where I wanted to be going and so we ended up in Wetton.

Knowing I wanted to get to Ilam, and vaguely where it was, I directed us left from Wetton only to find us driving up a path. A quick SatNav (it was me who got us there!) enquiry suggested we head down Walditch, another unsurfaced rocky track, so we headed back into Wetton and following new directions finally spotted the turn for Stanhope. A scenic trundle to Ilam, then over Throwley Hill followed, bringing us out in Waterhouses, from where we went to the Yew Tree at Cauldon. We'd rung to check they were open, and the place was really busy.

A decent pint of Burton bridge Bitter for me and a half of Rudgate Ruby Mild for Mr Grant followed., whilst we soaked up the atmosphere and surveyed the bric-a-brac, paraphernalia, accouterments and assembled collect-ables in this fantastic old pub. Decent priced beer as well - our pint and a half came to £3.38, so assuming both bers were the same price that's very inexpensive for the area.

Off next to Waterfall, a short drive away, and we found the Red Lion busy, but only on one side, leaving us the lounge on the left to, erm, lounge in. That took a bit longer than planned since no-one was behind the bar. A good few minutes passed before someone reappeared, which is annoying, but the pint and a half of Bass (more than a pound dearer than our last round) perked us up, as did the real fire.

We headed into Leek next and the SatNav helped us out well, locating and showing a route to both intended pub stops. Having got parked we went straight to the Wilkes Head, which was also busy, and I had a pint of the Whim Flower Power and Mr G a half of the Hartington Best. The Flower Power was exceptional, as it was the last time I tried it, and the Bitter was good as well. Unfortunately the Ruby Bitter I had a half of next was off, so I swapped this for a half of the Hartington IPA. Their beers may have changed a little over the years but I think the Flower Power amply demonstrates they still brew great beer.

Next up I finally got to visit Den Engel. Literally two minutes away, its some surprise that I have managed to miss this pub on my previous ten visits. Four real ales and 10 or so taps plus a decent bottle range makes this s great place to relax in a bar which, as far as is possible, does really seem to be reminiscent of a continental, if not Belgian bar. Here I had a bottle of the De Ranke Saison De Dottignies and Mr G a soft drink. The saison was very palatable, and more like the Fantome, which I suspect is a good thing, and was also easy to drink despite the carbonation and chilly serving temperature. A great place to drink.

Off into Cheshire next and we popped in the Vale Inn Bollington to eat and of course drink. We both had Bollington Brewery Oat Mill stout, a half for the driver of course, and that was on decent form, and I also tried half a Bollington Goldenhall, which was a tasty slightly sweet amber ale. The food was a sensible price and the place was heaving, although much annoyance ensued following finding lots of reserved tables. Nothing says piss off better than a table you can't sit at .

Following on with that theme, the White Swan at Kettleshume is fast becoming a restaurant. Very few diners but every table set out for eating, and the snug, which must hold all of eight people, the only place you could simply sit and drink. That said, no-one objected to us sitting at a table set for dining, so that's a plus, but its not really conducive to a relaxing pint. I had a half of the 4.0% Copper Dragon Silver Myst, which was very nice.

Off through the dark lanes now to Lamaload, then past the Cat and Fiddle to Dale Head and into Earl Sterndale. The Quiet Woman was almost the quiet pub, as the couple leaving as we got there turned out to have been the only customers. No sign of Ken (perhaps enjoying his evening nap, although someone in the back was reading the paper) and nothing to distract us sat in the relaxing calm of the bar. I was on a pint of Jennings Dark Mild in the absence of a guest beer, Mr G on a soft drink once again, and despite the unusual emptiness of the pub it was still a nice stop off on our hectic route.

Our penultimate stop was at the Royal Cottage. Arriving as the first customers of the night we had a good chat with Cliff and I supped a bottle of Old Speckled Hen. It was unusual to hear Cliff bemoan his lot in terms of the pub not making money but its obvious after our chat that the folk night is pivotal. It was cancelled on the 26th due to snow and with its high isolated position the pub couldn't open Saturday either. I've never visited the pub late on before but I got the impression that its usually closed by 22.30, so trading is very restricted. Luckily, on this occasion, other customers were coming in when we left near ten.

A final run into Bakewell put the tiny back lanes behind us, but not before we headed out to Wardlow Mires to visit the Three Stags Heads. A decent range of Abbeydale beers were available as always, and I got a pint of Absolution an Mr G a soft drink (poor lad!).

A great deal of dogs were present, and a varied conversation about anything and everything played out in front of the warming fire as we sat against the left hand wall surveying the scene. Its good to see that nothing has changed here, so Mr Grant got to see the pub as it usually is, chaotic, eclectic, traditional and unique. And the beers was pretty good as well.

So concluded a fantastic yomp round the countryside, with all the pubs being open when they should have, and the trip serving as a rather unsuitable precursor to my attending Barraharri's leaving do. At least he got to visit the Royal Cottage back in August. Just a shame he missed the Yew Tree. Seems you sometimes need two goes at getting a pub crawl right, and this three counties drive manages that perfectly.

Thanks to Mr Grant for tirelessly ferrying me around - thanks to Barraharri for showing it was possible.

Wee Beefy

Walking and supping in North Staffordshire.

Clearly what you need for a yomp in Staffordshire is a Derbyshire Wayfarer...

Well, actually you do, as you are starting just over the border then travelling back into the county to get home. The idea of this walk was that, having missed the pub at Waterfall last time, I was determined to get there, and to do the Ilam walk again, and take Dave along with me.....

The day started manically as I got up later than planned and, having unwisely left myself a raft of tasks to complete, then had to run about like a blue arsed fly in order to get the bus into town at 08.27 and thus meet Dave on time (ish) at the train station.

Having forgotten to do my blood test so not realised I had run out of test strips, as well as having forgotten to put a cautionary dressing on the dodgy part of my foot that I always get blisters on, I arrived at the station to find Davefromtshop wasn’t answering his phone, and that the train at 08.54 was next to leave. Cue chaos.

Without checking the time I despatched Dave to get the ticket which I should already have bought whilst I went to the cashpoint and the loo. On coming out I could find Dave nowhere and wasted minutes circling the area, then was heading to platform 6 when Dave rang to ask where I was – and to inform me that the train had in fact just left.

After this I went to platform 5 instead of 6 then went to P6 to find Dave was on P8 for a train at 09.05 which when he finally met me on P6 we looked at the screen and decided was on P5, only to find when we got there that we had looked at a train at 10.05, leaving us about 4 minutes to get back to P8 and catch the train…

Ealing comedy script followed we sat down to enjoy the journey, but the train was delayed and was about 11 minutes late in Derby, leaving us only 6 minutes to get to the bus station. So we tried to catch a taxi, which he had to book for us since he couldn’t for insurance purposes pick up passengers without a booking. We arrived at the bus station with 2 minutes to spare and ran like lunatics to catch the 108. This arrived on time in Ashbourne, giving us 6 minutes to catch the 42a to Ilam (just inside the Staffordshire border) where, only an unlikely seeming 2 hours 28 minutes after leaving my house we arrived to start our walk.

We set off at a goof pace despite the wearying escapade of our outward journey, walking round the back of Ilam Hall to where I knew from last months trek that the path turned off (despite stil seeing absolutely no indication of this). We found the footbridge and crossed in to the fields and uphill to Rushley farm, then up through the narrow dale of Musden Woods. We arrived in Calton in excellent time to fight our way through a laughable excuse for a path linking Throwley lane to a track from Calton, ( it was bad last time but the netes are 6 foot high now), and out onto a path along the edge of and down into the Manifold Valley.

Once on the Manifold track we headed to the path up the dale to Back O Brook before diverting to Pikelow, and down into Waterfall for our first pub stop at the Red Lion, which we reached about 2 and a half hours after setting off.

The Red Lion is tucked away in the tiny hamlet of waterfall and appears to be the epitome of what a pub should be. It’s open in the evening only during the week, which is understandable since on discussing my walk with about 15 people none of them had heard of Waterfall or nearby Waterhouses. They do Sunday lunches and possibly evening meals and on the bar there are handpumps dispensing M+B Mild, Bass and a guest, this time being Fullers London Pride.

The Bass and mild are regulars, and this demonstrates a good turnover, since mild does not like being on more than a few days. The Bass was served in handled beer mugs which is a nice touch, and served through a sparkler. Despite initial concerns I am happy to report that Bass can be served in this way and still taste fantastic. To cap it all, this tiny pub seems to be full of locals of all ages, enjoying a drink and a chat, and seems to be the meeting point for people from a wide area.

We could have stayed a few hours then simply walked to the main road and caught a bus back to Ashbourne (well, with carefully planning, since there’s only 3 on a Sunday), but we opted to press on.

We took the right hand lane out of the village with the green and pub behind us heading for Pethills, taking a few turns to bring us out on the A523 at Winkhill. We then crossed the stream and headed along a long straight road and then up a never-endingly steep hill up to the ridge along which the Staffordshire moorlands walk runs, before slowly dropping down into the linear village of Foxt.

With drizzle upon us we ducked into the Fox and Goose to find Three B’s Blonde and Bass and Jennings Cumberland on offer – alas the Three B’s ran out so we had one of each of the other two. The pub has a traditional interior and bar and a number of rooms, with seating outside. There doesn’t look to be a lot of seating for drinkers, with a lot of tables set for diners, but this could not be tested since it was gone 16.00 and few people were in.

We pressed on downhill to Froghall wharf and out into Froghall hoping for a pint in the Station Hotel. Sadly the pub was closed (opening soon said the sign) so we headed down to the Churnet Valley railway and their restored Froghall station. They were just locking up for the day but we bartered to give them a donation in return for using their loos.

We had a short wait for a bus in Froghall, catching it to Alton Towers ( which you pay for, obviously Derbyshire Wayfarer is no use now… ) before transferring and paying once again to get from there to Uttoxeter, which we made in good time – the two journeys cost about £4.00 each in total and took less than an hour.

Once in Uttoxeter we went to the bar in the Bank House Hotel, where we both had Peakstones Rock Brewery Nemesis, which we missed on our last visit, and at £2.80 a pint seemed to be the same price as in 2007. After a brief relax here we walked round the corner into the square to visit the Vaults.

On our last visit the Vaults had been forlorn and closed, but its fantastic Bass windows had caught our eye. Now open again, we were pleased to discover that is a very traditional boozer, with Pedigree and Bass on handpump.

You enter up a short steep flight of stairs and there are tables on both sides with the bar to the let, and a tiny back room with a bar skittles game and another small bar counter. The Pedigree was excellent and the two blokes sat in the front half were both drinking the real ale, from traditional handled beer mugs. Long may the pub stay open.

We pressed on from this excellent location to the rather more rowdy Olde Talbot just to the right of the Vaults as you come out. This ancient pub is large with multi rooms and low ceilings, and was very busy with drinkers inside and at tables outside. Here once again we had pints of Bass.

We went from here to catch an imaginary train to derby at 20.22 – its always best to double check the times since its an hourly service – but having got there only a minute after it left this at least gave us time for a bite to eat. Addressing a more pertinent need first we went to a pub called the Steeplechase – you’ll have to bear with me on this because I can’t remember its actual name for definite, given that we immediately nicknamed it the Clarkson Arms. We had gone in and found the large modern interior markedly empty, and ordered 2 halves of Bass. Sitting down we noted to our horror that dotted around the pub were a few people avidly watching, interacting with and seemingly enjoying the widescreen viewing on offer – which was an old episode of Top Gear.

Hearing 9 people in unison laugh at a Jeremy Clarkson comment about horsepower or engine torque is for me a chilling experience, suggesting as it does, that people would consider the screening of a Top Gear episode from 3 years ago in the same way they would a stand up DVD or live sporting occasion.

Traumatised, we hurried down our beers then went to a Chinese takeaway to somehow contrive to make ordering two chips with curry sauce complicated, and to end up sat at the station with two scalding hot trays of molten curry and chips.

Once in Derby we headed to the Station (Inn) and having passed the entry check were rewarded with somewhat pricey but as always matchless pints of Bass. We stuck around for another half and a chat before heading to the Brunswick, having not been in for yonks, only to find, perhaps not unreasonably, they were closing at 22.30. We still got a pint though – me Hartington Bitter and Dave a Brunswick Station Porter.

I reasoned that no-one else would follow this lead so suggested visiting the Alexandra for our finisher, but they were observing the same hours so we trudged back to the station knowing it was over an hour before our next train. As luck would have it, given our train shenanigans earlier, the Leeds train was running late so we jumped on this and were back in Sheffield, tired and emotional, at a sensible time.

Overall we visited 8 pubs and had a lot of Bass, along with racking up what seemed like about 16 but was more likely only 12 miles of hard slogging.
And as soon as the crater like blister I achieved heals up I will no doubt be off again to the far away corners of the Derbyshire Wayfarer’s reach to try new pubs and fantastic beer.

Wee Beefy.