The Swan and Royal hotel, Clitheroe

 

The Swan and Royal hotel, 26 Castle Street, Clitheroe BB7 2BX

TEL:01200 423130

This was a 19th century coaching inn and is now a grade II listed building. Its famous visited include Mathatma Ghandi in 1933 when he was inspecting a nearby cotton mill, and Winston Churchill and the jet engine pioneer Frank Whittle in 1940 and 1941 when they were discussing agreements for the development of the jet engine. The Riot Act was read from the steps of the building during the Cotton Riots of 1861 to 1865. This was the period of the Cotton Famine during the American Civil War, when cotton exports from the Confederate states were blockaded by the Union navy. The shortage of raw cotton for the textile mills in Lancashire caused them to close or go to short time working, which caused loss of income and hardship to the mill workers.

decor - 3

drab teal and brown

ambience - 3

lively

service - 4

real ales - 1

Timothy Taylor

features - 2

dog friendly

accommodation

toilets - 3

Score 16 out of 30

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

 

Castello, Rochdale

 

Castello

415 Rochdale Old Road

near Bury

BL9 7TB

TEL: 0161 763 4754

It's a restaurant bar rather than a pub but it's a good one. You can stop for just a pint or a coffee.

Ambience - 4

decor - 4

Swish, nicely presented

Service - 5

Impeccable

real ale - 0

features - 4

serves food

well maintained flowery beer garden

child friendly

dogs allowed in the garden

toilets - 5

Score 22 out of 30

The Swan, Whalley

 

The Swan Hotel

62 King Street, Whalley BB7 9SN

TEL: 01254 916685

An 18th century coaching inn that used to be a staging post for the mail to and from Manchester. A grade II listed building.

Decor - 2

A bit bland in cream, light brown and grey

Ambience - 2

Noisy. Piped music too loud for conversation.

Service - 2

Inattentive and the staff seem not too well trained. The person who served me had trouble using the till.

Real ale - 0

A Timothy Taylor pub

Features - 2

small food menu

TV screens on every wall

Toilets - 4

Floor a bit grubby but fully supplied

Score 12 out of 30

 

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 Moorcock Inn, LIttleborough

The Moorcock Inn

Halifax Road

Littleborough OL15 0LD

TEL: 01706 378156

This pub is also a B&B and a restaurant. It has been serving customers since 1641, according to a sign on the premises. I can't find out anything independently about its history - so far - but the bar area looks seventeenth century, it has thick stone walls, thick timber roof beams supporting a low ceiling and a stone floor. The restaurant section next to it is less solid in design and looks like it was a later addition, perhaps 19th century. This pub is only two miles out of LIttleborough town centre but it is in the middle of moorland and about a  mile below Blackstone Edge on the Pennine Way.

   In 2022 there was a report that it planned to close due to having lost a lot of business during Lockdown Year but in June 2023 it's still there. Check out its facebook page for its live music nights.

ambience - 2

The bar area is cosy and would be worth a 4 on its own but the restaurant section is a bit characterless.

decor - 2

Unoriginal white painted walls in the restaurant section. Makes the place bright but looks boring, no  pictures or decoration. The bar area has more character.

Ales - 3

In the bar 

Service - 5

Can't fault it

Features - 5

serves food

dog friendly

child friendly

accommodation

live music in the evening

toilets - 4

Nothing to dry your hands on

Score 21 out of 30

It's on the edge of spectacular countryside, the Pennine Bridleway passes half a mile from it.

 

The Strawberry Duck, Entwistle, Lancashire

 

The Strawberry Duck, Overshores Road, Turton, Bolton BL7 0LU

01204 852013

Out in the hills and woods north of Bolton, near Edgeworth village and across the road from Entwistle station, a combination of pub, restaurant and guesthouse.

decor - 4

tasteful, comfortable, relaxing

ambience - 1

Loud bland piped music, small children allowed to run about the bar area and barge into patrons carrying drinks.

real ale - 5

service - 1

very very slow

features - 3

serves food

accommodation

dog-friendly

toilets - 4

Score 18 out of 30

 

The Ribchester Arms, Ribchester

 

The Ribchester Arms, Blackburn Road, Ribchester PR3 3ZQ

TEL: 01254 820888

Disabled access: No ramp that I could see but level access inside

Decor - 3

wooden floors, greyish-green pale paintwork, a bit drab

ambience - 4

Lively. Piped music but muted so that it's possible to have a conversation without shouting.

It's mainly a restaurant pub, with smallish drinking area in front opf the bar surrounded by dining rooms and outside dining space.

service - 4

attentive and professional

real ale - 2

Cumberland Way and The Blonde when I was there

features - 2

serves food

Has accommodation 

toilets - 4

Score 19 out of 30

The White Bull, Ribchester

 

The White Bull, Church Street, Ribchester PR3 3XP

TEL: 01254 878048

Disabled access: not terrible, the front door is level with the pavement but you wouldn't get a wheel chair past those columns.

An eighteenth century pub with Roman columns each side of the front entrance. The pub, and he village, featured in a Time Team episode in 1994 (which could still be viewed on Youtube as of July 2022), it was thought that the columns had been repurposed from one of the Roman buildings in Ribchester. The village is worth a visit for its Roman museum and the remains of the Roman bath house. It's also on thew Ribble Way long distance footpath.

Decor - 3

It's divided into a dining area and smallish bar area, with a nice walled beer garden at the back.It's a restaurant pub but has a fair amount of space for drinkers.

Has a variety of mostly comfortable seating with newish decoration in cool creams and whites.

Ambience - 1

Irritatingly loud piped music

real ale - 3

Service - 2

A little bit offhand

Features - 5

accommodation

Serves food

Child friendly

dog friendly

Ramblers with muddy boots friendly

toilets - 4

Score 18 out of 30

River Ribble, a hundred yards or so along the road from the pub
 

 

Haworth Old Hall Inn, Haworth

 

Haworth Old Hall, Sun Street, Haworth BD22 6BP

01535 642709

This establishment has a bar and is also part restaurant and part guesthouse and I've had a few people ask me why I count such places on a pub blog. It's a good question. At what point does a pub become a hotel? But the owners seem to put as much effort into providing good beer and wine as they do into the other aspects of the business, and though the space in front of the bar is narrow, there are comfortable seats to sit and enjoy your drink. So at the moment anyway, it's enough of a pub to be in.

ambience - 5

The building dates from 1580 and you can feel the history as you walk in. 

decor - 5

Very tasteful, especially the dining room area. This takes up most of the space inside, but there is a long narrow area for drinkers in front of the bar with comfortable benches.

Service - 5

Very attentive and welcoming

Real ales - 5

Features - 5

Serves food

accommodation

dog friendly, see the photo above

child friendly

beer garden at the front

Toilet - 4

Disabled access : There is an accessible toilet.

Score 29 out of 30

The Black Bull, Haworth

 

The Black Bull, 119 Main Street, Haworth BD22 8DP 

01535 644254

There has been a pub on the site since the 16th century. The current building dates from the mid-1700s. 

decor - 1

Drab. But comfortable padded chairs and benches

ambience - 2

service - 3

Friendly but slow

ales - 4

features - 2

Serves food

Accommodation

Toilets - 4

Disabled access - there is a ramp up to the side door and an accessible toilet.

Score 16 out of 30

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 Gate, Diggle

The Gate, 
217 Huddersfield Road, Diggle OL3 5PQ
01457 870100

Previously called the Hanging Gate, it has recently had a change of management and a bit of a makeover. A nice, relaxing country pub on most nights, it gets lively when there's live music on. There has been a pub on the site since 1803, the current building dates from 1926.

Ambience - 4

Decor - 4

Service - 3

Varies a bit but usually prompt and friendly

Real ales - 2

Features - 5

Serves food

Live music at least once a month

Beer garden

Dogs allowed
accommodation

Toilets -4

Pristine and a few touches like popourri and hand cream

Score 22 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

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 Queens, Todmorden

ho

Rise Lane, Todmorden OL14 7AA

01706 819917

This is a hotel not a pub, but I'm including it because it has a downstairs bar that is open to  non-residents. It's a better place for a quiet drink than the lowish score suggests. It is almost opposite Todmorden railway station.

Ambience - 2

Spoiled by intrusive piped music.

Decor - 4

Rather tasteful, natural lighting and a choice of armchairs or upright chairs, both comfortable.

Real ales - 0

Service - 2

Very slow. One bar person who disappeared for long intervals

features - 1

Serves food

Toilets - 4

Posh

Score 13 out of 20

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 Carriage Horse, Marsden

The Carriage Horse, Manchester Road, Marsden HD7 6NL
01484 844419

Bryn Clough reservoir and the Pennine Way, are just a few hundred yards along the A62 from the Carriage Horse. Many walkers doing the Pennine Way use it for an overnight stop. This small reservoir used to supply water to a local mill, and was later used to supply water to the Huddersfield Canal, which runs under the hills here through the Standedge Tunnel. You can see the ventilation shafts for the tunnel on the hill next to the pub, and across the road is an ancient spoil heap produced when the tunnel was being dug out.

The Carriage Horse is another restaurant pub and also a B&B, quarter of a mile nearer to Marsden than the Great Western on the same road; you can see one pub from the other. It also has a camping and caravan site next to it. It is open from 6pm weekdays, 12pm on Sunday. 

Ambience - 4
decor - 4
well maintained

service - 4
Prompt and welcoming, slightly better than the Great Western, at least on the day I was there

ales - 1
One guest ale

features - 4
serves food
location - fantastic moorland views
child friendly, children permitted in the restaurant area
has accommodation (look at the pub's own website for details)

Toilet - 3
clean, but was short of loo paper

Score 20 out of 30