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These are our top five recommendations for a drink or bite to eat.
Good Pub Guide Recommended
“Popular sandstone 16th-c village pub in good walking
country, thoughtful staff, Lees beers, good inventive food, and little garden.
Ideally placed in super countryside, and handy for walks on
to the Roaches ridge and into the unspoilt Dane valley this is a warming place
to come into if you've been out on the hills. The carpeted and gently lit lounge
bar and restaurant provide a comfier alternative, and the sympathetically
designed extension into the old stables, with flagstone floors, beams and
wood-burning stove, helps ease the weekend bustle. Three or four real ales come
from the J W Lees portfolio. A small garden has wooden tables. They sell their
own book of local walks.”
As well as imaginative and generously served sandwiches,
tasty bar food could include starters such as winter vegetable soup, fried lamb
kidneys with red onion cream sauce on black pudding, or crab cake with anchovy
aioli, and main courses such as their popular steak and ale pie, trout fillets
with new potatoes and spring vegetables, home-made beef burger, and penne pasta
with wild mushrooms.
Some say The Ship is named after the ‘Swythamley’, which
was owned by a friend of Sir Philip Brocklehurst of Swythamley Hall and sank off the Cape of Good Hope in 1862.
But as the pub reputedly dates back to the 17th century, it's possible that the
name is linked with 'shippen', a local word for a sheep shelter, or with some
much earlier boat altogether.
Sir Philip sailed with the explorer Ernest Shackleton on one of his expeditions to the Antarctic from 1907-9. He is listed
as being aged 20 and as Assistant Geologist, although some sources say he was a
paying guest. The pub sign on the Ship Inn depicts the Nimrod in Antarctic ice
(and not the more famous Endeavour of the 1914 expedition). Shackleton was also
Sir Philip's best man when he married Gwladys Murray in 1913.
Bar food times: 12pm - 2.30pm (3pm Sat, 4pm Sun) , 6.30pm - 9pm (not
Sun)
Wincle, Cheshire, SK11 0QE
Telephone (01260) 227217
Opening Times:
 Belgian-style bar, over 100
Belgian beers inc lots on tap,
three dozen genevers (juniper-flavored and strongly alcoholic traditional liquor
from which gin evolved), three or four changing real ales; piped classical music;
dogs welcome, tables on back terrace,
This is a wonderful little Belgian bar which is a beer drinker's idea of
heaven. There are so many authentic beers available here both bottled and
draught from all over the continent.
Drinks are slightly more expensive than your average pub but the range
available and the excellent ambience makes it a worthwhile pub to visit.
They also have food available in the upstairs room and waitress service at all
times in the bar area.
Opening times:
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Monday, Tuesday
4pm to 11pm
-
Wednesday,
Thursday 4pm to 11:30pm
-
Friday,
Saturday 12pm to 11:30pm
-
Sunday opens at
12pm, but we don't know when it closes.
11/13 Stanley
Street, Leek, Staffordshire, ST13 5HG
Telephone
(01538) 373751
Good Pub Guide Recommended
Remotely set old place with fires in traditional cosy
rooms, lovely views from airy extension and terrace
First licensed nearly 300 years ago, this low-beamed old
drovers' pub high up in the Peak District was in fact built much earlier. Still
in their original layout, its three cosy little low-beamed rooms are simply
furnished. The tiny little snug bar, at its pubbiest at lunchtime, has a
welcoming log fire in a big brick fireplace, a single table, plain chairs and
cushioned wall seats (though there's barely room in here to sit), and a few old
pub pictures and seasonal photographs on its creamy walls. Beers served in here
include well kept Hydes Original, Jekylls Gold and Spin Doctor and a guest such
as Morland Original on handpump, quite a few malt whiskies and ten wines by the
glass. The second room, with a section of bar counter in the corner, has only
fives tables, and there's a third appealing little oak beamed blue room. Down
some stone steps, an airy dining extension has terrific views over a patchwork
of valley pastures to distant moors and the tall Sutton Common transmitter -
seats out on the crazy-paved terrace also have great views; piped music, board
games, dominoes, books. It does get busy so it's best to book on weekends. .
Bar food from the menu and changing specials board (good
but not cheap) could include sandwiches (home-made bread), soup, wild salmon
steak with crayfish tails, steak and ale pie, grilled vegetables with goat's
cheese and home-made puddings such as warm bakewell tart or hot chocolate
pudding.
Bar food times: 12pm - 2.30pm, 7pm - 9.30pm
Langley, Cheshire, SK11 0NG
Telephone 01260 252238
Opening Times
Weekdays 11pm - 3pm, 5pm - 11pm; 11pm - 11pm
Sat, Sun
 The Three Horseshoes Inn is more than just a standard
country pub!
We cater for all types of occasion and so we provide
facilities for all needs. Just want to visit a country pub for a drink? Look no
further, our traditional bar and extensive grounds offer the perfect setting to
relax over a pint or a glass of wine, and open 7 days a week both at lunchtime
and in the evening.
The new Brasserie has a relaxed & informal atmosphere
to suit today’s casual style of dining. Our strong team of chefs have devised
a menu consisting of a good selection of traditional and speciality dishes with
influence’s from all around the World. With an open kitchen, a great
atmosphere and a range of home made deserts that will make your mouth water, the
Brasserie offers a unique dining experience for everyone.
Buxton Road, Blackshaw Moor,
Leek, Staffordshire ST13 8TW
Telephone 01538 300296
 Popular dining pub in fine countryside, good generous food
(all day wknds) from sandwiches and juicy home-made burgers to more elaborate
dishes, ales inc Marstons Pedigree and local Storm, decent well priced wines,
good choice of whiskies, pleasant décor, hill-view dining room, no music or
games; french windows to terrace, good bedrooms in converted barn, open all day
wknds.
Hollin Lane, Sutton, Cheshire, SK11 0NN
Telephone 01260 252244
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