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.

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

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

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 Little John, Hathersage

The Little John, Hathersage

near the junction with Station Road and the High Street

More of a pub-like pub than the Scotsmans Pack and less posh but equally pleasant and with friendly bar staff.

Ambience - 4

Decor - 3

Minimalist decor in brown and cream with deep sofas

Ale - 3

selection of three real ales

features - 2

pool table

serves food during the day

service - 4

friendly staff

toilets - 3

score 19 out of 30

The Scotsmans Pack, Hathersage, Hope Valley

The Scotsmans Pack, Hathersage, Hope Valley

Off the main road through Hathersage on School Lane, opposite the parish church where Little John's grave is. School Lane leads on to The Dale and up to Stanage Edge.

The Hope Valley must have been a bleak and isolated place before somebody built a railway through it and made it accessible to tourists. Up to the 18th century the only way in, and out, of the valley was by packhorse track over the mountains. This pub stood on one of the ancient tracks leading to Sheffield and was a stopover for travelling salesmen, or packmen, who travelled about rural places with packs full of small household items to sell to the local farmworkers. Hope Valley got packmen from as far away as Scotland, who came to sell Scottish tweeds.

There has been a pub on this site for more than 300 years, though the current building dates only from early in the 20th century, c1910. The original pub was considerably less upmarket than the current one, its regular customers were local farmers, shepherds and quarrymen and it had a patch of common land at the back where gypsies and sheep thieves settled.

Nowadays it is more of a restaurant-hotel than a pub. I was here some years ago and it had a section set aside for people who were visiting to drink but not to eat. When I returned this summer, every table in the pub was laid for dining and there was no area reserved for drinkers.

Ambience - 4
Decor - 3
traditional, dark wood and brasses and copper ornaments on every beam and shelf.
If you look at the walls at the far side of the room, there is a photo of the old pub ( a plainer building with narrow windows) with the licensees standing in front of it, from 1905, and next to it a photo of the rebuilding work in progress.

Service - 5
friendly and welcoming, no issues with customers in walking boots or work clothes, though dogs are not allowed in

Ale - 3
Small range of cask ales

Features - 3
Food
Accommodation (I'm never sure if I should count this as I'm reviewing pubs not hotels, but for now accommodation is in as a feature)
beer garden, really is in a garden and is not just a corner for smokers

toilets - 5
gleaming tiles, as posh as the rest of the pub

score 23 out of 30

Stanage Edge

view over the valley from the track to Kimber Court (turns off the road to Stanage Edge)