A STRENUOUS WALK FROM MONSAL HEAD

April 2026. Monsal Head. The Peak District.

Mrs RM had been reminding me how little of the Peak District we’d actually done since moving to Sheffield (hardly any new GBG pubs), so I gave her a mystery trip into the heart of the Peak last Thursday.

15 miles south-west of Sheffield, Monsal Dale in the White Peak appears from nowhere,

with that money shot view of the disused rail line that once enraged Ruskin;

“every fool in Buxton can be in Bakewell in half an hour, and every fool in Bakewell at Buxton; which you think a lucrative process of exchange – you Fools everywhere“

Now it’s part of the Monsal Trail, where Helly-Hansen-sunglass-on-head man can commune with nature on an exerting (but flat) 8.5 mile walk.

Or, if you’re wearing inappropriate footwear, you can just get a 99 from Frederick’s Ices,

admire the view,

and say “Oooh, is that a pub ?“.

Actually, it’s two (2) pubs, Mrs RM, the old hotel and the Stable Bar that was in the GBG last time we visited two decades ago.

We enter the stables to stern warning,

and Kings Of Leon. I prefer the stern warning.

Too many beers, you might think, but a quick sip of Mrs RM’s Jaipur confirmed it;

an NBSS 4 pint, cool and crisp, better than at their Bakewell factory down the hill..

As Ian “Mr Bass” Thurman once noted, where (oh where) are the GBG entries in this vast swathe of our National Park ? Just these two Guide pubs in Bakewell between Matlock and Hope Valley.

Nothing in large villages like Tideswell and Hathersage and Youlgr(e)ave, and one glaring ommission just north of Monsal.

But why ?

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Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

11 thoughts on “A STRENUOUS WALK FROM MONSAL HEAD”

  1. Last time we were there, we hired bikes to ride the Monsal trail ( about 2 years ago) Very slightly downhill on way out which seemed like a mountain returning but it was good fun . No pub visit though just a rather pricey lunch at the busy cafe. Pauline

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  2. D I’d never been to the Peak District until this Easter bank holiday weekend, where I managed to accidentally book a table for my MIL’s 80th meal in the restaurant of an upmarket retirement complex in Matlock. Awcks!

    My BIL (I assume you’re familiar with these acronyms from Mumsnet) had booked us a place to stay in Darley Dale, directly opposite the Plough (technically in Two Dales) but, being a contrarian, I walked to Grouse Inn at the other end of the village, as I’d spotted on Real Ale Finder that Boddingtons was on (along with Bass, GK IPA and other “beers you’ve heard of”). It looked like a very well used and appreciated local, the landlord pulling lots of beer through into a jug (and pouring away) before filling my glass. I have vague memories of drinking original Boddies on keg, this was my first on cask, and found it very pleasant.

    https://untp.beer/0nQNQ

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  3. I had forgotten all about Britannia Music Club until seeing it in your linked blog. I was with them for a time. They always maintained they did not receive cancel correspondence so the music kept a-coming.

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  4. Good memory RM, I only just remember that blogpost about living on the fringes of several branches. Re Three Stags it could have been my scores wot dun it. Top tip (but I suspect you’ve ticked it years earlier), the Flying Childers at Stanton in Peak is serving the best cask in my patch.

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    1. I’ll give that a go.

      On 3 Stags, I reckon some folk are scoring the pub, not the beer, which was also my take a while ago. The Monsal Head Stables was the other way round !

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  5. The Red Lion at Litton always used to be in the GBG, but a change of owner (three years ago?) may have been the reason it was dropped, although in my opinion the beer quality was always good enough and is currently shown in the website with three beers glasses. (My scores so far this year average 3.7.)

    The Joiners Arms micro in Bakewell is in the guide, though in my experience their beers are inconsistent and sometimes not cold enough. My go-to pub in Bakewell is the Rutland Hotel, just across the road.

    There are too many Peak District pubs with question marks on the website indicating not enough beer scores – tourists eating food rather than beer tourists scoring beers.

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