Peak District hotel pubs close to home where you can spend the night
A few weeks ago I did what turned out to be rather a well-received column plugging a few places further afield where you could stay the night but they also sold good beer. At the time, I promised a follow-up column picking out a few much nearer to home but at which you could still feel like you were “away” without the long trip to get to them. What with one thing or another, it’s taken a while but here is that column.
Now, unlike the ones further afield, all of which I’d stayed in at least once, I can only claim to have stayed in one of these but I have most definitely enjoyed a beer or three – and a meal – in all of them, and it’s my view that they’re all excellently-run establishments. As ever, these half-dozen are not in any particular order.
Miner’s Arms, Eyam: I’ve always found it a bit of an event visiting Eyam. Were it not for its fame as the plague village, it would be just another pretty Peak District village, with annual well dressings, pretty cottages and a pub. But you can’t extricate Eyam from a history that is suitably embraced and commemorated. Should you drink it all in with a stay at the Miner’s Arms, you’ll find down-to-earth rooms and food. And unlike most, they have a lower rate for singles. Guest ales at the pub are often from Eyam Brewery, where owner Gervaise Dawson also embraces the history with the names of his ales: Mompesson’s Calling is a plum porter that can come at both 5.5% and a monster 11%; Ring o’ Roses is a session IPA. You get the picture. www.theminersarmseyam.co.uk/accommodation
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Greyhound Inn, Warslow: Lee and Jenni Wilson-Hart’s project at the Greyhound, a stone’s throw over the Staffordshire border, west of Hartington, shows no signs of letting up. They’ve attracted plenty of national publicity, not least on breakfast TV when they reopened after lockdown, but they get the basics right – a warm welcome, cracking food and beer from, among others, their own on-site brewery, Wilson’s of Warslow. The list of amenities extends to six en-suite rooms. As if all of the Peak District isn’t, the Greyhound is especially good as a walking base. www.thegreyhoundinnwarslow.co.uk
Ye Olde Bowling Green Inn, Bradwell: I’ve one or two enduring memories of the Bowling Green, not least a Camra coach trip many years ago when the bus could not get up the narrow lane to the pub. Torrential rain immediately greeted us running up the hill for a drink. Happily, so did a roaring open fire, which folk gathered around, literally steaming themselves dry.
The pub has not changed much, a classic village local dating from 1577 with seating areas on two levels. There are five letting rooms and usually a couple of good beers available, often from Timothy Taylor’s. www.yeoldebowlinggreenbradwell.co.uk
Lathkil Hotel, Over Haddon: The Lathkil, an inn that draws me back again and again to the village of Over Haddon, near Bakewell, often repeats the claim that it has the best view from a pub window in Derbyshire. Naturally, there’s a lot of competition for such a claim but the big, wide windows in both the bar and restaurant help to show off the sweeping vista over Lathkill Dale towards Youlgreave. Two of the four letting rooms also have this view. Beers are from a range of local breweries, with Whim Ales usually featured. www.lathkil.co.uk/rooms/
Jug & Glass, Lea: Former Derby County and Burton Albion footballer Jake Buxton is getting his feet under the table at the Jug & Glass at Lea since taking over his local (he lives at nearby Dethick) after it had closed. With the vastly-experienced Dave and Lorraine Mountford coming over from the Boat at Cromford to help, Jake is building a reputation for good food and beer and simply trying to recreate the sort of pub he would want to visit. Jake opened up in April and the next stage of the project has been to open some letting rooms, too. www.jugandglasslea.uk
The Old Dog, Thorpe: It’s also a recent addition to the services offered by the Old Dog that they have two flats available for hire. This is a little different to the individual rooms offered by the others in the list, as the two flats (one has one bedroom, one has two) can only be booked for long weekends from Friday to Monday. But that might just be exactly what some people are looking for. The food and drink offer at the Old Dog is outstanding and the proximity to the Tissington Trail ensures good walking country. www.theolddog.co.uk/accomodation
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