The New Bridge Inn

The New Bridge Inn, 
Micklehurst Road, Mossley OL5 9HT
Tel: 01457 832146 

A pleasant Pennine village pub, sits between the River Tame and Rochdale canal and the Pennine bridleway.

Ambience - 4

Piped music but not too loud and intrusive

Decor - 4

Red and cream, quite new, with plenty of comfortable seating.

Ale - 0

No real ale, only John Smith bitter, Carling lager, Strongbow cider - the usual mass produced stuff plus wine and spirits

Features - 5

bar snacks (pizza, baguette, nachos)

dominoes

pool

darts

allows dogs

Service - 5

very helpful and friendly

toilets - 5

beautifully clean and fully supplied

Score 23 out of 30

 This section of the Pennine bridleway used to be a railway line

 A nearby view

 

The Swan, Dobcross

The Swan

The Square, Dobcross, Saddleworth OL3 5AA

TEL: 01457 873451

One of the older Saddleworth pubs, built in 1765, and right at the centre of the village. 

Ambience - 4

Decor - 3

Wooden beams, pale walls, stone floor gives it a traditional feel. 

Service - 3

Friendly, bit slow but the short bar area causes queues when it's busy

 

Ale - 5

Has 5 real ales

Features - 4

Serves food

Regular live entertainment upstairs 

Quiz night

Book swop 

Toilets - 3

Score 22 out of 30

Views of Dobcross village square. It feels secluded, but is not far from the main road between Uppermill and Diggle.

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

 

Jubilee Refreshment Rooms

Jubilee Refrreshment Rooms

Sowerby Bridge Railway Station

Sowerby Bridge

This isn't really a pub, it's a station refreshment room that serves beer (and other alcoholic drinks) plus coffee and snacks. It was previously the station ticket office, the current managers took it over in 2009 and turned it into the kind of refreshment room that would have been usual at train stations early in the 20th century. It's notable that nearly all the drinks and food served here is sourced from local producers.

ambience - 3

decor - 3

a bit basic looking, magnolia colour scheme, dining chairs round tables. Railway memorabilia on the walls.

ale - 3

service - 4

friendly

features - 3

dog friendly

serves snacks, cakes, pies, and sandwiches and breakfasts early morning

regular meetings for transport enthusiasts and other events such as whisky tastings (see their website for news on events)

toilets - 5

Score 21 out of 30

The Moorings, Sowerby Bridge

The Moorings

No. 1 Warehouse, Canal Basin, Sowerby Bridge HX6 2AG

Former warehouse next to the canal basin in the centre of the town, where the Rochdale Canal meets the Calder and Hebble Navigation.

ambience - 5

decor - 4

comfortable seating, two lounge rooms which overlook the canal basin.

ale - 5

service - 5

features - 2

serves food

dog friendly

toilets - 4

pristine

Score 25 out of 30

 

The Navigation, Sowerby Bridge

The Navigation, 

47 Chapel Street, Sowerby Bridge HX6 3LF

An eighteenth century building in local stone, at the end of a narrow street overlooking the Calder and Hebble Navigation. Pleasant location, can be hard to find by satnav.

ambience - 4

decor - 5

very tasteful combination of pale greys and creams, flowers on the table

ales - 3

service - 0

I didn't get any. Stood at the bar for 12 minutes, the pub wasn't busy with only four customers, no staff appeared. Tapping on the bar didn't produce a response. There was a bell on the end of the bar, but that end was being propped up by two elderly drinkers who refused to shuffle aside for a moment so that I could reach the bell.

features - 2

serves food

pool table

toilets - 0

Didn't need to use them!

Score 14 out of 30

Bird in the Hand and Bird in Hand

I passed both pubs early this month (April 2021) on my way to walk round Ogden and Piethorne reservoirs, a mile further up the road, and it looks like the Bird in Hand has permanently closed, possibly a casualty of the pandemic. The front door and ground floor windows are tightly boarded up. I didn't notice the date stone when I first visited. It seems this is the newer of the two pubs. To find out if there are any plans for it, you'd need to look up the planning department of Rochale council.

    Pubs were still closed at the time, so I wasn't able to drop in to the Bird in the Hand, but on peering through the window, I could see that all the furniture and bar fittings were still intact and there were bottles of condiments lined up on one table, so I'm assuming that it has either now re-opened, or will reopen on 17th May.

UPDATE April 2023: The Bird in Hand is still closed. The Bird In The Hand is still open, I got a friendly welcome when I dropped in there.

There are a few pubs called 'Bird in the Hand' or 'Bird in Hand', but I know of nowhere where there are two of such similar names within 100 yards of each other on the same street.

Huddersfield Road,  Newhey, Rochdale OL16 3QZ

They are known locally as the Top Bird and the Bottom Bird. The Bird in the Hand looks like the older of the two, as the building has the long, low windows that are common in former weaver's workshops, of which there are a lot in this part of the county. They date from the 17th or 18th century. But I have not been able to find out about the history of either pub. Both are Samuel Smiths, and both are essentially locals' pubs,  Since they are so similar, they've got the same rating:

Ambience - 3

decor - 3

comfortable seating

 

service - 4

friendly

Real ales - 1

features -  3

real fire

pub games

dog friendly 

toilets - 4

Score 18 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 Navigation Inn

21-23 Wool Road, Dobcross, OL3 5NS

01457 872418

Across the road from the Huddersfield narrow canal, this pub was said to have been built in the early nineteenth century to cater for the navvies who were digging out the Standedge tunnel. It's as much a restaurant as a pub, currently serves food up to half eight in the evening.

Ambience - 3

Bit lacking in ventilation, so a bit humid.

Decor - 3

traditional and comfortable seating. A few outside tables.

service -3

friendly and helpful, if a little slow 

real ales - 4

Includes two guest ales

features - 4

serves food, medium sized pub menu 

dog-friendly

child-friendly

some theme nights and events through the year

toilets - 4

Score 21 out of 30

The Huddersfield narrow canal is not so narrow near here, it forms a series of wide basins between the locks. It's worth combining a visit to the Navigation with a stroll along the canal towards Diggle and back. There's a path on both sides of the canal on this stretch.