The Buxton Line: Part 2, New Mills and Dove Holes

Day 2 on the train from Buxton, where we departed on the same 11:46 service but paid more than the previous day when we travelled further.  Simplification of train fares seems no closer.
This time we made our way to New Mills Newtown, the scond station in the High Peaks hotspot, which is handy for the Swizzels factory, but a bit of trek to the bits of town you really want to be in.

The last time I was in New Mills was on a grey day in January 2022 when I grumbled that I'd wanted to see the Millenium walkway and Torrs with a blue sky background.
We had blue sky this time.  Crikey, a bit of cloud cover would have been nice.

Tucked 40 meters below the town in the Torrs is the old cotton mill which was built in the 1780's by Daniel Stafford.  It's been restored and now contains an events space and preserved trad machinery which visitors can occasionally see in action.  There's also an artisan cheese shop.  Cheese wasn't going to survive the day in the backpack in 30°+ heat, so we headed straight to the beer bar.

Torr Vale Tap (Torr Vale Road, New Mills, SK22 3HS)
This was previously a bar called the Shrub Club, which changed hands in 2023, rebranding itself as a tap house and eatery in a characterful corner of the mill.
There were two handpumps but neither were in action, leaving us with a keg selection from local heavy-hitters Torrside Brewing and an Ossett interloper.

Mrs PropUptheBar was happy enough with the Szechuan pepper enhanced 'Torr Vale Pale' for a second one to be required alarmingly quickly.

I opted for the 'Callista', a 4.5% single hop pale, although I'm not sure this German hop is my favourite.  The 'I'm Spartacus', billed on the pump clip as the "inevitable US IPA" was much more to my taste.

We enjoyed a slow afternoon in New Mills, the hot weather and a tired dog putting paid to any walks longer than the stroll up and down the Goyt.
We loitered in the lovely High Lea Park until the clock ticked 4pm and the micro pub would be open. 
Or should be.
There seemed to be someone pottering around inside, but the door was locked, the closed sign was on display, another fella trying the door and walking away.  No-one paid any heed to the oddbods peering in the window. 
The micropub perogative of unbolting the door when you're ready rather than at the advertised time.

Instead, we ambled along the road to the Pride of the Peaks...

The Pride of the Peaks (59 Market Street, New Mills, SK22 4AA)
This pub was built around 1865 at the same time as the New Mills Central station opened and deposited thirsty travellers at this end of Market Street.  Originally it was called The Railway, a name it kept until 1979 when the owners figured it needed a name change to go with a modernisation and refurb.  A Mr Mick Patterson won £10 for coming up with The Peaks, changed some years later to Pride of the Peaks.
I hate to break it to them - there's a lot of lovely pubs in the Peak District and this one isn't the pride of the region.

Timothy Taylor 'Boltmaker' was the sole cask on offer, served with a smile by a lovely lady.
The beer wasn't lovely though - right on the edge of drinkable, but as there was nothing to switch it for I persevered.
We sat on big sofas in the far corner of the L-shaped layout, near the DJ booth which suggested this would be much livelier on a weekend evening.
I didn't rate the decorations....

Let's go back to the Beer Shed and see if they've opened and if they can do wall-mounted decorations any better.
Yes it was and yes they can...

Back in 2022, fans of drinking in small places could enjoy the Rock Mill brewery tap room (now sadly closed) on its unusual opening days of Monday and Tuesday, then patronise the Beer Shed when that opened from Wednesday to Sunday.
So on our previous visit we enjoyed the brewery but missed out on the micro.  It's taken us four years to return to get this tick, so I'm glad they eventually unlocked the door.

Beer Shed (47B Market Street, New Mills, SK22 4AA)
The Beer Shed opened in November 2016 in a former shop unit.  A very narrow shop unit...

There is some more conventional seating in a seperate area on a lower floor, but sticking around the bar you'll find some exceptionally small tables that you wouldn't want to order a pizza to.
There were plenty of interesting options on keg plus three cask ales from Big Trip, Thornbridge and Eyam.

A  Big Trip 'Fozzie' for me - just as pale and murky and hoppy as you knew it would be.

Drinking up at the Beer Shed, we walked back along the road to the New Mills Newtown station and caught the next Buxton-bound train.

Alighting this time in Dove Holes.

Dove Holes, a village with around 1,200 residents, is 3-miles and about 5-minutes on the train from Buxton.  It's the home of the mountain rescue team, one pub, a neotlithic earthwork, a cricket club and not a lot else.

Mrs PropUptheBar skipped the walk to the neolithic earthwork and grabbed a pint and a seat in the pub.
I was going to tell her it was amazing, better than Avebury: but my photograph suggests she didn't miss much

An aerial view would do it more justice.
Known as the Bullring, this late neolithic henge measures around 90 meters in dimension.  It would almost certinaly be better known if it still had a stone circle, but any stones were removed for farming and building many years ago.

Breif antiquarian sight-seeing done, I joined the Mrs PropUptheBar in the village's remaining open pub...

The Queens Hotel (Dove Holes, Buxton SK17 8BJ)
The CAMRA website entry suggested Bass was the regular beer, so it was disappointing to see the hand pump serving an ale from Macclesfield's Storm Brewing.
The landlord confirmed they hadn't had Bass for about a year-and-a-half, being as only one fella drank it.  From what he was telling me, I had the impression that the Storm beers keep better rather than sell better, which isn't great.

Yet I've no complaints about the 3.9% amber 'Desert Storm'.
The Queens is a nice village local with three rooms leading off a central servery: pool table in the front room where all the Wednesday evening custom had gravitated; trad lounge to the side... 

...and a modernised dining room to the left of the bar.
I was rather fond of the signage to the toilets and the opportunity to browse the bookshelf should they prove to be particularly busy.

Shame they didn't have Bass, but I'm still glad we got this pub tick a little off the beaten track.

There's a bit of an evening gap in the trains from Dove Holes, so we kept an eye on the time and ensured we were back on the platform in time for the next service to Buxton.

Once we reached there, we headed for two bars on Cavandish Circus right next door to one another...

Beer & Bean (8 Cavendish Circus, Buxton SK17 6AT)
This is very much the cafe/bar, specialising as much in coffee and waffles as beer.
As far as well-known European brews go though, there are some good'uns on a stylish beer menu, black & white pictures of the building in a lesser state of repair beneath it.

I picked the Belfast-brewed Bullhouse 'Road Trippin'', a fruity 4% extra pale ale.  A refreshing  beer washing down a bite to eat.

Straight out one door and into the next, we bowled into the much more beer-orientated micro pub.

Frog on the Bine (9 Cavendish Circus, Buxton SK17 6AT).
Opened in 2024, seating is set over two floors in this tidy little bar.  Just three or four other customers - obviously regulars - as we approached their early closing hour.

Mrs PropUptthe Bar was delighted to get a new Vault City concoction here and keen to rebuff my insistence that they all tasted the same.
Just the one cask ale available: 'Midas', a golden ale brewed by Sunderland's North Pier brewery.  A decent pint, just a little on the warm side.

I kept glancing at the beer list and that Rivington/Sudden Death 8% double IPA collaboration.

But the local signage knew perfectly well what effect that would have on me...

That proved to be our last port of call in Buxton.

Next up: Chesterfield.
"Why are you going there?" asked the neighbour in our holiday let as we packed the car.
Because they've got a LOT of pubs.

The Buxton Line: Part 1, Disley and Whaley Bridge

Setting out from our Buxton base, the plan was to visit a few towns and drink a few beers in some of the stops on the railway line towards Stockport.
For part one, we made the 29-minute trip to Disley in the Goyt Valley.

At least there's no danger of going the wrong way from Buxton, where the station marks the end of the line.

One smooth but stiflingly hot journey later, we were the sole passengers to alight at Disley.  We'd crossed the county boundary and were making a rare excursion into Cheshire.

My initial impression of Disley was that the main attraction was watching a constant procession of trucks roaring down the A6.
It's not somewhere you want to be crossing from one side to the other and waiting for gaps in traffic to take pictures of pubs (yet of course I did).

Disley is a town which has grown around transport.  It began as a farming community, before growing rapidly in 1805 with the construction of the Peak Forest Canal.  The old road to Buxton was re-routed to make the journey easier, on what would be the future A6.  Then in 1857 the Stockport-Disley-Whaley Bridge railway line opened, built by LNWR to connect with the existing Cromwell and the High Peaks line.
We set off to find a midday opener for a spot of lunch.

The Dandy Cock (15 Markey Street, Disley, SK12 2AA)
This is a 19th century pub on a fork in the road with an ideal patio for lorry spotting.
Inside you'll find a relatively smart pub with hard-wearing checked carpets, framed local black & white photos of Disley, and half a dozen locals coming and going.

Another unusual feature was the display of vases for sale, the bonus over a regular homeware store being you get to stop for a pint of Robinsons 'Unicorn' while you're here.  On good form, the other option being 'Dizzy Blonde'.
The music playlist had started okay with Aretha Franklin, then slipped a bit with Sixpence None the Richer, finally turning to the horrors of Ed Sheeran and Coldplay.  And I was stuck listening to it whilst waiting for our jacket potatoes to cook (very slowly).

Fed and watered, we set about discovering if there was more of touristic interest in the town than the A6.
Two hours until the micro pub opened, so we walked towards the National Trust Lyme Park.  Our route took us past the railway station then down Red Lane, with smart pads behind the gated driveways (sample price £1,495,000), probably the homes of Salford City footballers.
At the end of the lane are pedestrian gates to the Lyme Park estate, with a grassy hill leading steadily upward to The Cage.

Perched atop a small hill, this sandstone building is an unmissable landmark, with grand views across to Manchester and beyond.  There was an older version of the Cage dating to around 1580, which was then reconstructed in 1737.  What it's for nobody quite knows.  The National Trust suggest it was probably a hunting lodge or grounds keepers lodgings, but not the lock-up that Wiki suggest, despite the name.

The gentle path down the other side of the hill took us to the spectacular house in Lyme.  There's a whole lot of history about the Legh family but all I remember is that it was used in the BBCs adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.

We turned left before reaching the house itself and followed the Gritstone Trail on a pleasant loop which eventually took us back to Disley.
Perfect timing would have been knocking on the door at 14:59, but reaching the end of our walk at 15:15 wasn't too bad.

Malt Disley (22 Market St, Disley, SK12 2AA)
This is a quality modern micro in a old shop unit, as happy to serve you cocktails, craft gin, or murky keg beers as cask ale.  They've been open since June 2017 and have picked up a fair few awards since then, including being crowned the local CAMRA winter pub of the season this year.
Three of the four hand pumps were in action on our visit...

From which I picked the Nightjar 'Thatch of the Day' - the best World Cup themed beer name and pump clip I've come across (there's not much competition to be fair).
Being a micro, there are lots of high tables and stools, although a couple of booths along one side offer comfy seating for those who prefer their feet to touch the ground.  We may have been the first customers of the day, but a fair few folks followed us in.

 

Leaving the micro we strolled along the main road until we reaching the trad-looking red-brick Albert, a pub which appears in the 2026 Good Beer Guide.

The Albert (75 Buxton Road, Disley, SK12 2HA)
The building we see today was constructed in 1862 and was owned by long-gone Stockport brewery Daniel Clifton & Co.  It's gone through a bit of a sports bar phase in the not-so-distant past but looks to have been rejuvenated as a community local in the last couple of years.
I suspect it would have had three or four separate rooms at one point, before being opened up into one big L-shaped space.  There's still a small back bar and the tiled corridor leading from the front door.

  

Wainwright 'Amber' or 'Gold' were the ales to choose from, the amber pump clip having gone missing.  They've written "yum" on their makeshift replacement, which is all the convincing I needed.
Despite being a beer that sits distinctly in the boring brown bitter category, this was kept on top form and was an enjoyable pint.
We opted to take our drinks into the back yard.  Perhaps there was just a little bit too much world cup flag bunting within for comfort.

Mrs PropUptheBar must have phoned ahead to warn them I was a bit hot and sweaty after walking through Lyme Park, the Lacura Men ready for me in the gents.
Where someone has tried to remove the Stockport County sticker.

  

We headed back to the railway station and caught a late afternoon train back in the direction of Buxton as far as Whaley Bridge.

Just across the border into Derbyshire, this is a handy jumping off place for canal walks, but the main street of the town is another one scarred by a wickedly busy main road.
As with Disley, it expanded in the industrial revolution when cotton mills were built here.  It's now home to around 6,300 folks who have eight pubs and bars and a bowling club to drink in.
The one we were heading to was the Whaley Nook micro pub.
5pm opening said Google and CAMRA.
7pm said the sign on the door.  Doh!

What to do with an unexpected extra 2-hours in town?
Let's start with the Shepherd's Arms...

Shepherd's Arms (7 Old Road, Whaley Bridge, SK23 7HR)
This is a splendid two-star heritage pub - a real rural gem in the middle of a town.
To the right of the front door is a flagstone-floored tap room with two long tables, bench seating and dumpy stools.

My positivity about Wainwright beer was put to the test with exactly the same duo of Amber and Gold available here.  This time I opted for the 'Gold' which isn't going to win beer of the day but was - again - in decent condition.

Most of the customers had veered to a pleasant garden, providing us with sole use of the lounge.

Okay, stone floors and wooden benches have more character, but when I grumble about pubs having modern makeovers, the lounge bar in the picture above is what I'm thinking they should look like.  That's a proper pub carpet, if ever there was one.
What artwork would the gents WC provide?  Newspaper cuttings, mild smut, retro beer posters? 
Nope - British sheep breeds... 

Whaley Bridge's pubs were very much wet-led / shut on a Tuesday / 'kitchen closed - no food today'.  We decided to investigate the recently re-opened Bridge and Barrel with a name and setting which looked like it should be a micro, except it's not.

The Bridge and Barrel (39 Buxton Road, Whaley Bridge, SK23 7HT)
Formerly Ruby's Bar with an intriguing hint of having had a 'bad reputation' this was taken over by new owners in May of this year.  The ground floor is a dimly-lit L-shaped room with servery and a wall of fake wine barrels, whilst there is a basement bar with pool table downstairs.
Footy on a big TV which the fella on the bar stool kept on commenting to me about despite being sat straight in front of me and obscuring my view.

No cask ale, but all lager at £3.50.
A Dortmunder Pils for me, accompanying our table of tapas...

Okay, so the Bridge and Barrel will disappoint anyone looking for a rustic micro selling Derbyshire home brew and picked eggs, but it did the job for us and by the time we'd polished off all those plates the Whaley Nook would be be open (we hoped).

The front door propped ajar and punters outside with glasses in hand was a good sign.

Whaley Nook (20 Old Road, Whaley Bridge, SK23 7HR)
This micro pub was converted from an old shop, originally opening as a tap room for the Whaley Bridge brewery in 2017.  Within a year that brewery had closed leading to the micro changing hands and becoming 'The Nook'.
It's a pleasant little two-roomer with comfy seating, an impressive keg list and a friendly welcome.
Two of the four hand pumps were in action serving Little Critters 'Roar' and the house beer from Abbeydale: 'Wendy's House'.

Okay there's an overkill of decorative signage, but I was impressed by the collection of seaside postcards in the WC - the best I've seen since visiting micros on the Kent coast. 

As befits a pub called the Nook, the back room, which occasionally plays host to musicians, is named 'The Crannie'.

We only stayed for the one in the micro, keeping an eye on train times.
A fine day out, with a good walk and a variety of pubs.  And we were going to do it all over again the following day with a couple of different stops on the same railway line.