Cat and Fiddle Inn
| Cat and Fiddle Inn | |
|
Cheshire | |
|---|---|
 The Cat and Fiddle Inn | |
| Type: | Inn |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SK00127190 |
| Location: | 53°14’39"N, 1°59’59"W |
| History | |
| Built 1813 | |
| Inn | |
| Information | |
| Owned by: | Forest Distillery |
The Cat and Fiddle Inn in Cheshire was for geerations the highest inn in the British Isles after the Tan Hill Inn in the North Riding of Yorkshire. It is now Britain's highest-altitude whisky distillery.
The inn closed in 2015.
The Cat and Fiddle is in the Peak District, within the bounds of the National Park, on the A537 just west of the border of Derbyshire. It is on the western side of Axe Edge Moor, 1,689 feet above sea level.
History and closure
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The pub was built in 1813. It closed in 2015,[1] and its future as a public house was uncertain.[2][3]
The inn was the last on the 45-mile Four Inns Walk fell race/hiking event, which was held annually in spring, mainly over the high moorland to the north. As of 2023, the event is now known as The Kinder Elite.[4]
Re-opening in 2020
In 2019, a long-term lease was taken out on the building by Forest Distillery, who intended to re-open the site in summer 2020 as a destination attraction featuring a distillery, shop and bar.[5][6][7][8] Crowd funding provided over £50,000 of a estimated £250,000 for the restoration.[9][10][8]
In the summer of 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Distillery opened a take-out bottle shop in a section of the building, selling high-end spirits, wines, beers and coffee. Refurbishment was ongoing, with plans for pre-booked tours later in the month and the charging of the stills to produce single malt English whisky. As of 2023 it is now fully open, distilling single malt whisky and Forest Gin on site. There is a bar and shop, and regular distillery tours and events.
Cat and Fiddle Road
The inn gives its name to the Cat and Fiddle Road; a stretch of the A537 road linking Macclesfield to the west with Buxton to the east, which features many sharp corners. This road became notorious for the high number of accidents, particularly among motorcyclists for whom the road is often regarded as an exhilarating technical challenge; an AA survey in 2003 named it as the most dangerous stretch of road in the United Kingdom.[11] A report in 2016 stated that the safety issue is caused by "severe bends, steep falls from the carriageway and edged by dry-stone walls for almost the entirety of the road".[12] There are now speed cameras in place.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Cat and Fiddle Inn) |
References
- ↑ Roper, Danielle (12 January 2016). "Mystery surrounds closure of England's second highest pub". Macclesfield Express. http://www.macclesfield-express.co.uk/news/mystery-surrounds-closure-englands-second-10723880. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
- ↑ "Cat and Fiddle Inn". Robinsons Brewery. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160810135843/https://www.robinsonsbrewery.com/pubs-inns-and-hotels/find-a-pub/a-e/catandfiddle. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ↑ Greer, Stuart (30 September 2016). "The iconic Cat and Fiddle pub to reopen". http://www.macclesfield-express.co.uk/news/iconic-cat-fiddle-pub-reopen-11957864. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- ↑ "Four Inns 2023". https://www.derbyshirescouts.org/fourinns/. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ↑ "The Cat and Fiddle is gaining a weasel". Robinsons Brewery. 21 October 2019. http://www.robinsonsbrewery.com/about-us/latest-news/the-cat-and-fiddle-is-gaining-a-weasel. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ↑ "Cat & Fiddle update". The Goyt Valley. 8 January 2020. https://www.goyt-valley.org.uk/cat-fiddle-update/. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ↑ Dodds, Jonathan (21 October 2019). "Whisky distillery planned for historic Peak District inn". Buxton Advertiser. https://www.buxtonadvertiser.co.uk/news/people/whisky-distillery-planned-for-historic-peak-district-inn-1-10060728. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Jackson, Daisy (2 December 2019). "Derelict Peak District pub to be brought back to life by local gin producer". Manchester Evening News. https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/derelict-peak-district-pub-brought-17348131. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ↑ "Save The Cat and Fiddle (and Weasel!)". Crowdfunder. https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/catandfiddle. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ↑ Jackson, Daisy (5 December 2019). "A distillery has raised over £50,000 to reopen a derelict Peak District pub". Cheshire Live. https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/whats-on/distillery-raised-over-50000-reopen-17370971. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ↑ "Road dubbed most dangerous in UK". BBC. 18 September 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/derbyshire/3121176.stm. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ↑ "A537 Road (Cat and Fiddle)". dangerousroads.org. https://www.dangerousroads.org/europe/england/3844-a537-cat-and-fiddle.html. Retrieved 3 January 2020.