The Royal Oak, High Lane, Cheshire

 

The Royal Oak

Buxton Road, High Lane, Cheshire SK6 8AY

TEL: 01663 309284

Right on the A6 road to Buxton, buses 199 and 394 pass by it, and if you walk about 80 yards from it in the Manchester direction you come to the Middlewood Way. Follow that for half a mile in the Poynton and Macclesfield direction and you will come to Middlewood railway station.

decor - 4

appealing, comfortable seats

ambience - 4

very friendly

real ales - 2

Had Wainwrights gold when I was there at the end of MAY 2026

service - 4

very welcoming and prompt

features - 4

pub food

dog friendly (dogs allowed in one room)

child friendly

pub games: darts, pool, board games

toilets - 4

clean and fully supplied

Score 22 out of 30

It should perhaps get an extra point for the location. It's on the edge of the Peak District, near Lyme Park and the Middlewood Way 11-mile trail, the route of an old railway line,  that runs from Macclesfield to Marple

The Snap Tin, Poynton

 

The Snap Tin

83 Park Lane, Poynton, Cheshire SK12 1RD

TEL: 01625 630009

Not a traditional pub, it's a bar that looks like it's in former shop premises, and it's a restaurant bar. But it has a good range of drinks. (For those who don't know, a snap tin was what miners used to put their lunch in to take to work. Poynton was historically a coal mining area.)

decor - 3

light brown, tables a but close together

ambience - 3

friendly and relaxed

It wasn't busy when I was there, but I hear it gets lively on weekends.

real ale - 1

It does a lot of foreign ales with fancy foreign names but there's at least one recognisable cask ale

service - 3

Good but a bit distracted

features - 4

serves food

dog friendly

child friendly

music night on the last Saturday of the month

toilets- 4

Score 18 out of 30

The Farmers Arms, Poynton

 

The Farmers Arms

90 Park Lane, Poynton, Cheshire SK12 1RE

TEL: 01625 875858

I can't find out anything about the history of this pub so far, and it seems to have been refurbed fairly recently so it's not possible to tell the building's age from its appearance.

decor - 4

ambience - 3

cheerful

real ale - none

It is a Robinsons pub

service - 3

features - 3

serves food

child friendly

location

toilets - 4

Score 17 out of 30

I've given it an extra point for location because it is near some fine countryside with a good network of footpaths and not far from Lyme Hall and Park.

 

The Boar's Head, Poynton

 

The Boar's Head

2 Shrigley Road North, near Poynton, Stockport SK12 1TE

TEL: 01625 409853

There has been a pub on this site for centuries but the current building, which replaced an older one, was built in 1906. In the mid-nineteenth century the local coal mine owner disapproved of the amount of drinking his employees did and had a Temperance Inn built right next door to it. The Temperance Inn is still there though it got a licence to serve alcohol in 1996. I may get a photo of it on a return visit. (I do intend to make a return visit as this area has nice walking routes and is also on the Middlewood Way, which goes from Marple to Macclesfield. I'll get a picture of the Boar's Head too. I didn't have my camera with me on this visit.)

UPDATE: return visit at the end of May, I got photographs.

decor - 5

posh, browns and greens, comfortable seating and little vases of flowers on the tables.

ambience - 4

friendly, relaxed

real ale - 1

Though it has up to three guest ales. Two of them were not available on my visit.

service - 3

A bit inattentive, even though the pub wasn't busy at the time.

features - 5

serves food

Welcomes 'walkers, muddy boots and dogs'

dog friendly

darts

quiz night once a week

toilets - 4

Score 22 out of 30

This is the Temperance Cafe next to the Boars Head. Although internet information says it got an alcohol licence in 1996, it doesn't serve alcohol now. It is a cafe and sweet shop and serves hot drinks, soft drinks, cakes and a few main meals. It is open from 9am to 4.30pm. 

The Stonemason, Timperley Village

 

The Stonemason

365 Stockport Road

Timperley WA15 7UR

TEL: 0161 282 0958 

decor - 4

dark greens and browns, comfortable seating

ambience - 4

laid back (piped music but not intrusively loud

service - 4

real ale - 2

features - 3

serves food

TV screens

dog friendly. Keeps a jar of dog treats on the bar

toilets - 3

clean and pristine but no working locks on any of the doors

Score 20 out of 30

Slug and Lettuce, Sale

 

Slug and Lettuce

7 Waterside

Sale 

TEL: 0161 969 8966

decor - 3

ambience - 3

service - 3

bit distracted

real ales - 0

features - 1

serves food

toilets - 3

Score 13 out of 30

The Old Red Lion, Holmes Chapel, Cheshire

 The Old Red Lion

London Road, Holmes Chapel, Cheshire CW4 7AQ

TEL: 01477 549282

This grade II listed pub dates from at least the 17th century, the first written mention of it is in Thomas Gaudie's will (a local resident) in 1625. John Wesley preached at this pub in 1758  when he was on his way from Oxford to Manchester. It was a coaching inn.  The 15th century parish church is next to it.

decor - 7

ambience - 2

piped music

real ales - 3

Included Doombar when I was there

service - 2

Bit too formal

features - 3

serves food, wide menu

quiz night every week

dog friendly

toilets - 3

Score 17 out of 30 

The Vine Inn, Dunham Massey

 

The Vine,

Barns Lane, Dunham Massey, Cheshire 

TEL 

When I saw this pub I thought at first it was a residential house because it has no pub sign anywhere. Then I noticed a menu in the window and that the person sitting at the picnic table out front was drinking out of a pub-style pint glass. 

    It might have originated as a private house, a local directory of 1909 says it was occupied by a Mrs Katherine Allen, a beer retailer. That meant she was licensed to sell beer from her house.

    It has a cosy bar area and separate dining rooms and a nice outside sitting space surrounded by hedges. .

The disabled access is quite good.

ambience - 4

Friendly and relaxed

decor-3

tasteful but plain

service - 3

Prompt and friendly

real ale - 3

Samuel Smiths pub, has guest ales

I had the Moorhouses White Witch

features - 4

serves food

book swap, lots of books on the shelves opposite the bar with backgammon and other pub games on the lower shelf

child friendly 

dog friendly

toilets - 3

Score 20 out of 30

The Saracens Head, Warburton, Cheshire

The Saracens Head

Paddock Lane, Warburton, Cheshire WA13 9TH

TEL: 01925 753761

A rural pub out in the Cheshire countryside, which was a 17th century coaching inn.. I came across it because it is just 50 yards off the GM Ringway route. It is mainly a restaurant but has a bar area for drinkers. 

ambience - 3

Don't know what it's like when it's busy. I arrived just as it opened on a day early in the week, so it was quiet. I'm guessing it's lively at times. There's a huge, well designed dining room that takes up a lot of space but it's well separated from the bar area if you're only in for a drink.

No canned music and no tellies. (I like that)

decor - 4

Pale walls and lots of huge old wooden beams. A very traditional feel.

service - 4

Fast and attentive

real ale - 2

It's a Greene King pub but has two guest ales.

features - 5

Serves food, classic pub menu

Play barn and play area for children.

big pub garden

dog-friendly

The fifth feature is one you will only see in early November. This is when the Warburton Soulers perform a traditional folk play about death and revival. Their first performance of the year is at the Saracens Head on 1st November, unless that is a Sunday, in which case the first performance is on 2nd November.

Find out more about the Soulers and soul-caking on 

www.larchfieldhouse.co.uk/Souling/WarburtonSoulingPlay.htm

 

toilets- 3

Good, newly decorated and very clean. But no loo roll.

Score 20 out of 30

The Railway, Marple

The Railway

223 Stockport Road, Rose Hill, Marple SK6 6EN

0161 427 2146

This was the pub in Marple that I left out when I did the pubs there a few years ago. It is a little way out of the town centre next to Marple Rose Hill train station. This is the last station left of the line that used to run from Marple to Macclesfield and which is now a 10 mile footpath, cycle path and bridle path that runs between the two towns called the Middlewood Way.

Ambience - 3

Relaxed

decor - 3

brown and cream colour scheme, comfortable seating. Seats on the balcony at the back.

Service - 4

Friendly

Real ale - 3

 It's a Robinsons pub. When I visited it had Citra and Dizy Blonde pale ale and Wizzard bitter.

Features - 5

Serves food between 12 and 2

dog friendly

TV sport

Regular quiz, karaoke and other events

Right next to the Middlewood Way

Toilets - 3

Dryer didn't work

Score 20 out of 30

 

The Cheshire LIne, Cheadle

 

The Cheshire Line

Manchester Road, Cheadle, SK8 2NZ

A nice restaurant pub in a country setting, even though it's little more than a mile from the urban centre of Cheadle. The building started life as a railway station in 1866; the railway line still runs only yards away. Traffic on the line was reduced to occcasional freight trains in the 1960s and the stattion was closed. The building was left derelict until the 1980s, when it was given a refurb and turned into a restaurant and pub, originally called The Station. It was owned first by Banks Brewery then by Chesters. Now it is a free house.

decor - 3

ambience - 3

service - 3

friendly, a little slow

features - 2

serves food. 

I'm not sure but it is probably child-friendly

It is next door to a garden centre which sells gifts and confectionery as well as plants and garden equipment. There is a car park between the pub and the garden centre, accessed via a U-turning driveway off the main road.

   

real ale - 5

It's a free house

toilets - 4

Score 19 out of 30

The White Horse, Disley

 

The White Horse

18 Buxton Old Road

Disley SK12 2BB

TEL: 01663 635366

This dates probably from the early to mid-19th century ( the houses around it bear date stones ranging from 1821 to 1860 and are made of the same local stone). It has been a Robinsons pub since 1949. It underwent a refurb in 2018-2019, I don'r know what it looked like before but it is said to have much improved the pub's appearance and level of comfort.

ambience - 4

relaxing

decor - 5

creams and light browns, comfortable padded seats

real ale - 0

A Robinsons pub. Has Unicorn bitter

service - 5

features - 3

dog friendly

child friendly?

serves food

The beer garden is out the back and 25 yards from the pub up the lane that leads to the car park. It's smallish and is only there for the smokers, so I decided it's not worth a point.

toilets - 3

Score 20 out of 30

The Ram's Head, Disley

 

The Ram's Head

Buxton Road West

Disley 

near Stockport SK12 2AE

TEL: 01663 767909

There has been a pub on the site since 1650. The current building dates from 1840. It was a coaching inn on the Manchester to London route. 

ambience - 4

relaxing

decor - 4

muted greys, comfortable new seating

real ales - 1

The guest ale was Doombar when I was there

features - 4

serves food

big shady beer garden out the back

dog friendly

child friendly

service - 5

toilets - 3

score 21 out of 30

The Navigation, Marple

 

The Navigation

9 Stockport Road

Marple SK6 6BD

TEL: 0161 427 3817

There has been a pub on the site, next to the Peak Forest canal, since 1790. The current pub is spacious with an open plan bar, tap room with white walls and a stone floor to the side of it, two lounges in tasteful cream and grey on the opposite side of the ground floor. Mainly a locals' pub but friendly.

ambience - 3

decor - 3

tap room is a bit dingy

service - 4

real ale - 2

features - 3

disco

karaoke

dog friendly

toilet - 3

Score 18 out of 30 

Samuel Oldknow, Marple

 

Samuel Oldknow

22 Market Street

Marple SK6 7AD

TEL: 0161 425 9530

A micropub with a few real ales, not completely open plan, it has a couple of booths inside which make it feel a bit cramped but there is a snug downstairs.

ambience - 4

decor - 3

service - 4

real ales - 6

features - 1

bar snacks (pie and pickle)

toilets - 4

Score 22 out of 30

The Bull's Head, Marple

 

The Bulls Head

23 Market Street

Marple SK6 7AA

TEL: 0161 465 9503

ambience - 1

Frosty. There is a 'wait to be seated' sign at the front door and you need staff permission to cross the threshold.

decor - 3

service - 2

Nice to regulars, distant to newcomers

ale - 1

Robinsons

features - 2

beer garden

bar snacks

toilets - 3

Score 12 out of 30

Aggie's Bar, Marple

 

Aggie's Bar

54 Market Street

Marple SK6 7AD

Cheshire 

TEL: 07521861570

An open plan small bar in former shop premises. It feels like having a drink in someone's living room, in a nice way. It's a comfortable space.

ambience - 3

Comfortable but too-loud music with poor quality sound

decor - 4

But there are a lot of high stools which can be difficult and uncomfortable to perch on.

service - 5

real ale - 0

features - 4

child friendly

dog friendly

bar snacks and sandwiches

weekend disco

toilets - 3

Score 19 out of 30

King's Ransom, Sale

 

The Kings Ransom, 

Britannia Road, Sale, Cheshire M33 2AA

TEL: 0161 959 6006

Next to the Bridgewater near the centre of Sale. As you can see from the photos, the front entrance has a steep flight of stairs. The disabled access is along the street and through the car park and beer garden at the back. 

decor - 4

Light, newish decor, comfortable seating, lots of room inside, and outside in the beer garden. The outside has a couple of cabins which give shelter from the elements, don't know if you have to book them to use them.

ambience - 3

Lively

Service - 3

A bit slow and distracted, otherwise not bad

ale - 1

Greene King pub

Features - 4

Beer garden with additional  floating space on a barge with a canopy moored next to the bank. First I've seen such a thing at a canal or riverside pub. Rather nice. (Railed off all round, no risk of falling in the water unless you're unusually reckless or careless.)

dog friendly, at least in the beer garden

child friendly

Serves food

Toilets - 3

No toilet paper

Score 18 out of 30