The Bull's Head, Castleton, Derbyshire

 

The Bull's Head

Cross Street, Castleton, Derbyshire S33 8WH

TEL: 01433 620256

This is the first pub in the village you come to if you approach from the direction of the railway station at Hope. I haven't been able to find a date for it, so no idea how old it is. It was refurbished in March 2024.

ambience - 4

relaxing

decor - 4

comfortable seating

warm, light brown wood interior

service - 3

real ales - 1

features - 5

serves food

also serves savoury bar snacks and scones

accommodation

dog friendly

*location - I don't often give a point for a pub's location but this one is in the lovely Hope Valley, and in a village with Peveril castle (called Peak castle until the 19th century when Sir Walter Scott wrote Peveril of the Peak) on the hill above it.

toilets - 4

Score 21 out of 30

If you can get to Castleton on 29th May it holds the Garland Festival, which is believed to date back to at least the 17th century.

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, Castleton, Derbyshire

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese

Howe Lane, Castleton, Derbyshire S33 8WJ

TEL: 01433 620330

Doesn't look it from the outside but this place was built in 1660. It got its first ale licence in 1748 and was named Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese in 1876. It is now a restaurant pub and guest house (check its website for room availability) as well as serving a good pint. 

decor - 3

ambience -4

relaxing

service - 3

bit inattentive but friendly

real ales - 4

features- 5

serves food

dog friendly

muddy booted walkers friendly

quiz night

accommodation

toilet - 4

fully supplied

Car park is opposite, across the road

 

The Peak, Castleton, Derbyshire

The Peak Hotel

How Lane, Castleton, Hope Valley S33 8WJ

TEL: 01433 620247

This pub in the centre of Castleton opened in 1809 and has several changes of name, being known first as the Board, then as the Butchers Arms (the first landlord was a butcher.) It was named The Peak in 1890. It has been run by the same family since the 1980s and had a big refurb in 2014.

Ambience - 3

lively and cheerful

decor - 4

Colour scheme in browns and greens with an odd clutter of items on the shelves at random. No collection of horse brasses, teapots or old photographs here but things like pewter pots, an oil can, pottery jugs, electrical items of indeterminate use, an old telephone. As though the owners had just slung items on the shelves which had no other particular storage place.

service - 3

Not bad but a leetle bit inattentive

real ales - 4

features - 4

dog friendly

child friendly

serves food

rooms

toilets - 3

Score 21 out of 30

 

The Castle, Castleton, Derbyshire

The Castle

Castle Street, Castleton, Hope Valley S33 8WG

TEL: 01433 620578

A 19th century former coaching inn in the picturesque Hope Valley in the Peak District.

Ambience -3

Decor - 3

Huge wooden beams and pale walls

Service - 5

Very welcoming

Ales - 3

Features - 4

dog friendly

Nice beer garden at the back

Serves food

Rooms

Toilets - 3

Score 21 out of 30

 

The Crossings, Furness Vale, High Peak

 

The Crossings

Station Road

Furness Vale

High Peak SK23 7QS

TEL: 01663 308726

I assume it's called The Crossings because it's on the same road as a level crossing over the railway (with Furness Vale station right next to the level crossing) and also a bridge that crosses the Peak Forest canal. It has a big open plan room with a side room with a pool table.

Decor - 5

Walls in shades of blue with blue-and-white checked covers on padded seats.

Ambience -  3

Service - 3

Bit slow, otherwise not bad.

Real ale - 1

Unicorn

Features - 3

pool

TV

dog friendly

They started doing food in  March 2023 according to their facebook, but I'm not sure if they've kept it up (visited May 2023). You can phone to ask.

Toilets - 3

Score 19 out of 30

The Shepherds Arms, Whaley Bridge

 

The Shepherds Arms, 7 Old Road, Whaley Bridge, High Peak SK23 7HR

Decor - 2

A bit drab, wooden floor in bar with benches round the walls, wood stove.

ambience - 2

Piped music

service - 5

A friendly as they claim on the sign outside

real ales - 5

Included Pedigree and Hobgoblin when I was there.

features - 3

darts

dog friendly

two beer gardens front and back

toilets - 3

Score 20 out of 30

This unusual memorial bench is next to the back door, it looks like the seat has been carved in one piece out of a tree trunk.

real ales - 

 

The White Hart, Whaley Bridge

 

The White Hart, Market Street, Whaley Bridge, High Peak SK23 7HN

On my visit in August 2022 the bar staff told me they no longer do food, although there is still a sign outside saying that they do. It seems this was a recent decision as somebody left a review on tripadviser in July that mentioned they serve food.

ambience - 3

decor - 4

Fairly new decoration in shades of cream brown and red, comfortable sofas as well as benches. Four rooms.

Service - 4

sociable and friendly

real ales - 3

features - 2

TV

dog friendly

toilets - 3

Score 19 out of 30

The Goyt Inn, Whaley Bridge

The Goyt Inn, 8 Bridge Street, Whalley Bridge, High Peak SK23 7LR

Smallish pub down a side street off the main road. It no longer serves food, despite what it says on the sign outside.

decor - 2

Dark. Single room, filled with small tables and stools, cramped. Beer garden has only two tables in a narrow backyard.

ambience - 3

lively

service - 4

friendly

real ale - 5

features - 2

dog friendly 

TV 

toilet - 3

Score 19 out of 30

 

The Anglers Rest, Bamford, Peak District

 

The Anglers Rest

Taggs Knoll, Main Street, Bamford, Hope Valley, Derbyshire S33 0DY

TEL: 01433 650317

A village pub in the lovely Peak District. The sign at Bamford train station says this pub is half a mile along the main village street. My legs told me it was a mile, and from the station it's all uphill!

It's not often I've seen places that have taken advantage of the legislation that allows pubs to be registered as a community asset. The local people have done that here, they took it over in 2013, and they've not only kept open the pub but also the village post office and the cafe that are in the same building.

Access: disabled toilet and level access through the side door, level access at the front door. A few steps inside between the pub and the cafe/Post Office area.

decor - 2

Bit dark and unremarkable

ambience - 3

ale - 4

service - 2

Slightly amateurish and disorganised feel. Though it was busy when I was there.

features - 5

pool table

child friendly

cyclist friendly - first pub I've seen that positively welcomes cyclists and has dedicated bike parking space

beer garden

Serves food

toilet - 4

Score 20 out of 30

Miltons Tap, Buxton, Derbyshire

 

Miltons Tap, 63 Spring Gardens, Buxton

01298 24733

This was previously called Milton's Head, it underwent a refurb in 2019-2020. The result is a mixture of booths and wooden tables at the back which give a retro slightly Seventies feel, and a narrow Victorian tap room at the front on the right, which must have a coal fire because it smells of coal smoke. No, that isn't a bad smell. If you're old enough to have been brought up with coal fires it's nostalgic. A nice touch, it has antique metal adverts along the wall at the back.

ambience - 3

Friendly, lively, piped music but muted

decor - 3

comfortable seating

Service - 5

fast, efficient, friendly

Real ales - 2

Features - 3

Serves food

child friendly

dog friendly

Toilets - 3

Score 19 out of 30

A high street pub, unremarkable like all of them, but friendly enough that you would want to go back regularly if you lived near.

The Royal Oak, New Mills

 

The Royal Oak, 25& 29 Market Street, New Mills, SK22 4AA

01663 744415

decor - 3

Spacious, bright, mostly wooden seating

ambience - 0

This is because, after visiting the pub myself, I found a review about it on Tripadvisor for April 2022 from Nikki 1792, which says "Awful discrimination - had my full drink taken away and kicked out for kissing my date. Apparently the landlord has no problem with the 'gays' as long as there's no show of public affection."

I've no way of checking the details of this incident but assuming it is accurate - I loathe discrimination. If the landlord dislikes PDAs in his pub that should apply to everybody. And it doesn't warrant kicking people out, just ask them to observe more decorous behaviour. Simple. Fair.

And by the way, it is not the 1970s we're in, it is the 2020s. Being openly gay became socially acceptable some years ago. Catch up.

service - 0

If the staff discriminate against gay customers, the service has to be s---

real ales - 2

A Robinson pub

features - 3

dog friendly

TV screen

live music on some evenings

toilets - 3

Score 11 out of 30

Not lowest score I've ever awarded (The Abbey in Oldham had that distinction) but low enough to be an embarrassment. I have another trip planned to New Mills but this pub won't be seeing my money again.

                                                          

The Pride of the Peaks, New Mills

 

The Pride of the Peaks, 59 Market Street, New Mills, High Peak SK52 4AA

01663 745243

Built in 1865, originally named the Railway Hotel. 

ambience - 3

Pleasantly buzzy

decor - 1

Walls in cosy if drab shades of brown contrasted with fussy crystal light holders and big ornate silver framed mirrors. Not your typical pub decor. Would suit a Las Vegas casino more than a high street pub.

service - 5

very fast and very friendly

ales - 3

features - 5

food

DJ and music

child friendly

dog friendly

beer yard at the back with a pod (outbuilding) available for private booking

toilets - 4

Score 21 out of 30

disabled access - front entrance level with pavement*

*I'm starting to report on disabled access in pubs because a buddy and I now have mobility issues, so I've become more disability aware. But I'm offering it for information without adding it to the scores, because some pub buildings are so designed that it is not possible to adapt them or put in disabled loos without major structural alterations. The fact that pub builders of yore took no account of disabled access is not the fault of the current proprietors!

The George, Hayfield, High Peak

 

The George, 14 Church Street, Hayfield, High Peak SK22 2JE

01663 743691

This 16th century pub was once thought to be the second oldest in the village, but the Bull's Head which was reckoned to date from 1386 was closed in 2012 and turned into a private dwelling. 

Hayfield is the village that the mass trespassers walked through in 1932 on their way to Kinder Scout.

decor - 4

The front part of the pub has your typical 16th century low ceiling and I'm guessing this was the extent of the original pub. It has a spacious modern-looking dining room at the back and equally spacious side room with an iron fire range and coloured glass windows with scenes of British imperial conquests of yore. Tasteful cream walls with bare wooden beams.

ambience - 4

I would have given it 5 but for the piped music.

service - 3

courteous but a bit distant

ales - 4

plus one farmhouse cider

features - 5

serves food. Its website shows an extensive menu.

Accommodation

papers and magazines

TV screen

Location, in the heart of the Peak District with excellent walking country nearby

toilets - 4

Score 24 out of 30

disabled access - ground floor toilet and level entrance at the back. A few steps at the front.

The Packhorse, Hayfield, High Peak

 

The Packhorse

3-5 Market Street, Hayfield, High Peak SK22 2EP

01663 749126

Hayfield is the village the mass trespassers walked through on their way to KInder Scout in 1932, and the village held a commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the event on 8th April 2022.

The Packhorse is a restaurant pub near the church.

decor - 2

white ceiling, painted-over beams, ugly greenish-grey walls, few pictures or ornaments.

ambience - 3

Not unpleasant, despite the offputting choice of wall colour. Piped music, something I never like even when it's not loud. Mostly wooden seats with a few padded chairs and benches.

service - 5

fast and courteous

real ale - 3

features - 5

Food. I don't do food reviews but their website indicates they are proud of the quality of what's on the menu.

Weekly quiz night

child friendly

dog friendly - or so I surmise because they have a dog water bowl with fresh water placed inside the front door.

Location, in the heart of the Peak District with excellent walking country just yards from the front door

toilets - 3

Decent but the hand dryer has been fixed low above a wooden shelf and there is no space to get your hands under it to dry them.

Score 21 out of 30

disabled access - uneven cobbles at the front and a step up to the front door

The Old Hall Inn

The Old Hall Hotel

Market Place, Hope, Derbyshire

Mainly a hotel and restaurant, with a public bar downstairs and a tea room next door, welcomes walkers.

ambience - 3

decor - 3

Dark wood and stone floor. Traditional feel.

ales - 4

service - 3

A bit slow

features - 3

accommodation

serves food

dog friendly 

toilets - 3

Not fully supplied

 

Score 19 out of 30

Woodroffe Arms

Woodroffe Arms

1 Castleton Road, Hope, Hope Valley, Derbyshire

Solid village pub in the village centre, in the Peak District National Park. One mile from Hope railway station.

ambience - 3

decor -3

comfortable seating and has  a real fire.

ales -2

service - 4

fast and friendly

features - 5

child friendly

dog friendly

serves food

accommodation

wheelchair access 

toilets - 4

no soap

 

Score 21 out of 30

 

The Old Nag's Head

The Old Nag's Head, Edale, Hope Valley, Derbyshire

Nearly a mile further into the village than the Rambler Inn, famous for being at the start of the southern end of the Pennine Way.

Ambience - 4

Pleasant, though smallish rooms give it a bit of a cramped feel.

decor -3

Ale - 3

Service - 4

friendly

Features - 2

serves food

accommodation

Toilets - 4 

Score 20 out of 30

 

 

The Rambler Inn

The Rambler Inn, Edale, Hope Valley,Derbyshire

 A country inn with a traditional feel just a few hundred yards north of Edale train station. 

Ambience - 4
decor - 3
A bit dark, comfortable seating

Ale -4

Service - 4
welcoming

features - 2
Beer garden with superb views
Children permitted during the day

Toilets - 4

Score 21 out of 30

The Friendship Inn

The Friendship Inn, 3 Arundel Street, Glossop SK13 7AB

About 300 yards off the main road through Glossop, well worth the short detour to find it.

Ambience - 4

Traditional feel, wood panelling.

Decor - 3

Ales - 3

Service - 5

Prompt, welcoming bar staff

Features -3

Pool room

dog friendly

beer garden 

Toilets - 4

 Score: 22 out of 30

The Star Inn, Glossop



The Star Inn, Howard Street, Glossop SK13 7DD

01457 853072

 

 

A comfortable, traditional pub, handily opposite the train station, with excellent ales, and a fine view of the Peak District hills from the front door.

 

Ambience - 4

decor - 4

tiled floor, wood panelling, comfortable seating

 

service - 4

fast and friendly

 

ales - 4

usually a farmhouse cider too

 

features - 0

compact corner pub, no space for features

 

toilet - 2

powerful air freshener but overll a bit scruffy

 

Score 18 out of 30