I didn't have a camera with me on the day I visited and these distant photos taken from the centre of Delph on a subsequent, very rainy, day are the best I can do for now. The pub can only just be distinguished from the chapel directly across the road from it.
The Royal Oak, Broad Lane, Delph, OL3 5TX
01457 874460
I came across this pub by chance when I was wandering on the hills above Delph. It's difficult to find, if you were looking for it, as it is along a narrow lane not wide enough for two cars to pass, about a mile and a half above the village. You'll need a satnav, or OS Explorer map OL1. It has no pub sign, too, so it can be difficult to spot; from the back it looks like an ordinary Saddleworth farmhouse. I nearly walked past it, until I spotted the opening times in a side window. It's only open in the evenings from seven o'clock on weekdays, and on Sundays from 12 noon.
It was built in 1767, and became a pub, originally called the Punch Bowl, in 1771. It has been run by the same family for the past 30 years, and has been mentioned 20 times in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide.
It's worth going out of your way to visit. The photos indicate why it has superb views, and if you keep walking east, uphill, on the road next to it, it eventually becomes a bridlepath and then a footpath that joins the Pennine Way at the head of the valley.
UPDATE 2022: This pub closed in early March 2020. It seems not enough people thought it was worth going out of their way to visit and it failed due to lack of business. I think restricting its opening hours to evenings only at one point didn't help it, I have passed it two or three times in mid-afternoon when walking in the hills and would have very much liked to stop in, but it wasn't open. The place might have lost some passing trade that way.
I passed it again on 28th May 2022, and as far as I can tell, what used to be the bar is in the process of being turned into a residential dwelling, perhaps simply an extension of the owners' previous living space which was the part of the building at the side of the pub.
www.oldhamchronicle.co.uk/news-features/139/main-news/133021/devastating-closure-of-unique-royal-oak-pub
décor- 3
muted colours, beamed ceilings, coal fires. Wooden chairs a bit uncomfortable but has padded benches.
ambience - 4
service - 5
very welcoming
features - 3
The owner tells me they no longer do food as trade has varied too much with the weather lately. They can be full on fine days, very quiet when the weather is wet or uncertain. But:
Nicely designed terraced beer garden
Dogs on leads permitted
Superb views
ales - 3
Moorhouses
toilet - 3
A bit rustic but fully supplied
Score 21 out of 30
And the beer garden...
décor- 3
muted colours, beamed ceilings, coal fires. Wooden chairs a bit uncomfortable but has padded benches.
ambience - 4
service - 5
very welcoming
features - 3
The owner tells me they no longer do food as trade has varied too much with the weather lately. They can be full on fine days, very quiet when the weather is wet or uncertain. But:
Nicely designed terraced beer garden
Dogs on leads permitted
Superb views
ales - 3
Moorhouses
toilet - 3
A bit rustic but fully supplied
Score 21 out of 30
And the beer garden...
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