Three Stags' Heads
Wardlow Mires, Tideswell, Derbyshire,
SK17 8RW, tel 01298 872268, OS Grid Reference: SK 181 756,
GPS: 53.277098^o N, 1.730080^o W (on the A623 between Chapel-en-le-Frith and Baslow, very close to where the B6465 Tees into it)
(CAMRA Good Beer Guide (GBG) 2006, page 113)

The above photos of the exterior of this very special pub, were taken by John White, in March, 2006, as were the others on this Web page, unless indicated otherwise. Note that somewhat unusually for a pub sign, the apostrophe in Stags' is not only present, but in the correct grammatical position for plural stags, c.f. the one incorrectly missed out in most of the pubs called the Kings Head, which should be King's Head, indicating that there is only one King.

Wardlow Mires has under fifty inhabitants. It was formerly part of the Chatsworth estate; Chatsworth House, near Bakewell, DE45 1PP, www.chatsworth-house.co.uk, the home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, is a major tourist attraction which is fairly close by; it gets the maximum three stars (worth a special journey) in the Michelin Green Guide (www.viamichelin.com). Note that Wardlow Mires, should not be confused with Wardlow, which is close by, to the South, on the B6465.

Typically on one Sunday a month, I go for a day's walking in the Yorkshire Dales or the Derbyshire Peak District. I get there on a coach with the "Grimsby Fell Walking And Climbing Club" (beehive.thisisgrimsby.co.uk/fellwalking). People get off at various places, and make their own way or in groups to the designated place for the coach's return journey to Grimsby. A few month's ago, logistics dictated that I be dropped off in a hamlet called Wardlow Mires, in Derbyshire. Opposite where I got off the coach was this place, a pub which I had not heard of. It was not open until Noon, and I had to walk elsewhere for a prearranged get together in Monsal Head, so I was not able to check it out, but it was clear, just from its exterior, that it was no ordinary pub. On getting home, my quick research indicated that it was housed in a Grade II listed building, and that it was an entry in The CAMRA National Inventory. Pub Interiors of Outstanding Historic Interest (NI) (www.heritagepubs.org.uk), and was also featured in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide (GBG). CAMRA (www.camra.org.uk), the Campaign for Real Ale, is the UK's premier beer consumers' organisation. Pubs that are in the National Inventory, do not necessarily have Real Ale, or they may have it, but its quality precludes the place from being included in the GBG, but this pub not only has a little-altered interior, which is of outstanding historic importance, as is declared on the framed declaration from CAMRA displayed alongside the servery, see the photo, below, but it also has Real Ale that is kept in the tip-top condition that fully justifies its inclusion in the GBG.

Thus, I was determined to pay it a visit as soon as I could. Hence, on a walk starting and finishing in Eyam, Derbyshire, I arrived here at lunchtime on a Sunday, in March, 2006. The place far exceeded all expectations (which were very high), as I hope the description which follows shows.

On my March, 2006 visit, there were four beers on handpump, all from the Abbeydale Brewery, Unit 8, Aizlewood Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S8 0YX, tel 0114 281 2712, www.abbeydalebrewery.co.uk. This brewery was set up in 1996, by Patrick Morton, who came from the city's renowned Kelham Island Brewery (www.kelhambrewery.co.uk, White Beer Travels Web page). Abbeydale have a pub in Sheffield: The Rising Sun, 471 Fulwood Road, Nether Green, S10 3QA, tel 0114 230 3855.

The Abbeydale Beers were all very characterful beers, and served in first-class condition, without a sparkler: Matins (3.6%) (£1.60 a pint) (has Muesli in the mash); Brimstone (3.9%); Absolution (5.3%); and Black Lurcher (8%). Despite its strength, the latter is described on its pump clip as the House Beer, and wonderful it is too. It has a secondary, smaller pump clip with the legend "Its Bite is Worse than its Bark". Note that there is no longer a real Black Lurcher in the pub, although there are three whippets! Geoff's deceased Black Lurcher was a cross between a Greyhound and a Greyhound/Collie cross, i.e. it was three quarters Greyhound. Note that Black Lurcher is available elsewhere as Firedog; "Safety Beer. Will not ignite in your pocket" is declared on its pump clip. As you can see, from the photo to the left, the landlord is not fond of Draught/Tap Lager! There is a bottled German Lager available, plus other bottled beers, including Belgian ones and some from the UK, including a couple from St Peter's (www.stpetersbrewery.co.uk, White Beer Travels Web page), in Suffolk, in their distinctive flask-shaped oval bottles.

The pub is housed in a farmhouse, dating from the 17th Century, and there is an active farm directly behind it. Geoff and Pat, acquired the place in 1988; prior to this, it had been owned by the same family since 1839. Geoff stated that records showed that it was a pub from 1760; in 1720, the former turnpike road on which it stands was built, the place being right by one of its toll gates; it is likely that the place became a pub at this time, or soon after. Locals still refer to the road as the turnpike, rather than the A623. Note that whilst turnpike is today a commonly used word for "toll road" in the USA, it is not used in the UK to describe present-day toll roads. Whilst building the turnpike, seventeen stone coffins, with human remains in them, made of stone from a nearby quarry, were found; one of the coffins' stone slabs is outside the pub. In 1815, Anthony Lingard murdered the keeper of the toll booth, Mrs Hannah Oliver, and after being hanged in Derby, he was gibbeted, in chains, close to the scene of the crime, as was the custom, opposite the pub, at Gibbet Croft. Note that some sources say that this gibbeting took place at Peter's Stone (called locally the "Kitchen House and Parlour"), which is a short walk away (the footpath is shown on OS maps), but this is not the case. Anthony Lingard's public gibbeting was the last in Derbyshire.

In an adjoining, former barn, reached by the steps in the left foreground in the photo above, is a pottery, the plates, mugs, and figurines, in the rack, in the main bar, in the photo, above left, being examples of its products. These are made by the landlord, Geoff Fuller and his wife Pat; Geoff mainly does Ceramics and Earthenware, whilst Pat does Salt Glaze; Geoff does the decoration for both his own and his wife's work; they are for sale, and the place's excellent food is served up on the plates, and their makers drink their tea/coffee from the mugs. Geoff is, in fact, a highly regarded Potter and Ceramic Artist, who has works featured in both temporary exhibitions and permanent collections, for example, the ceramic figurine shown in the photo, above right, by Geoffrey Fuller (1936-) (as Geoff is typically referred to in the art world), is in the permanent collection of Yr Ysgol Gelf (School of Art), Prifysgol Cymru (University of Wales), Aberystwyth (www.aber.ac.uk/art). I obtained the photo from a website called "Casglu'r Tlysau. Y wefan sy'n cynnwys hanes diwylliannol Cymru" (Gathering the Jewels. The website for Welsh cultural history), www.gtj.org.uk. The figurine, which dates from 1990, is entitled "Man, Woman, Tree and Bird".

The photo, above left, featuring a much contented yours truly, John White, was taken by Joyce White, in March, 2006. I am seated on a stool like the one to its right, which is known as a Little Master's Stool. As you can see, the floor is made of flagstones.

On my March, 2006 Sunday lunchtime visit, I had come to this place, without any plans to eat in it (I had a pack-up in my rucksack), having only heard of its interior and unusual beers. However, there was a blackboard with the following dishes listed: Mussels in Wine at £5.50; Salmon & Scrambled Eggs at £5.50; Chicken Wings at £4.50; Shearling Broth at £3.50; Pea & Ham Soup at £3.50; Rabbit in Chocolate & Tomato at £8.50; Steak & Kidney Pie at £7.50; Stuffed Chicken Breast at £7.50; and Cottage Pie at £5.50. Clearly, these are not your typical, formulaic Brewers Unfayre dishes.

I ordered the Shearling Broth, after learning from Geoff that a Shearling is a year-old Sheep that has been sheared just once. It was absolutely superb. My wife, Joyce, ordered the Rabbit dish, and my grandson, Jack Skinner (1997-), ordered the Mussels; Joyce and Jack and the three dishes are featured in the photo, above left, which has the main bar's wonderful log fire in the background. This fire, or rather range, is more prominent, in the photo to its right, which features landlord Geoff reading The Sunday Times. I had a taste of Joyce and Jack's dishes and was stunned by their quality. I was amazed that one could come across food so good by chance. It transpired that the ever-changing menu is the creation of Pat Fuller, who is clearly very interested in cooking. Pat got the Rabbit dish, which is based on local Wild Rabbit, rather than the normal, inferior farmed variety, from a book that she showed me, the game cookbook, by Clarissa Dickson Wright & Johnny Scott (2004, Kyle Cathie Ltd, ISBN 856265293). The recipe uses 74% Cacao Dark Chocolate; Pat used a brand called Fin Carré from the budget supermarket, Lidl, which she had found to be every bit as good as far more expensive equivalents. The Rabbit itself was the best I have ever tasted, and it came with a marvellous selection of interesting vegetables.

And what about Jack's "Mussels in Wine"? The latter is often the English translation of the classic Moules Marinières, which I have had on many occasions in France and in Belgium, but the dish here was not the same as these, which tend not to have a sauce that I would spoon up once the Mussels were gone. But Pat's Sauce, accompanying magnificent Mussels, was a creamy wonder, that would have made for a great dish in its own right, which I, indeed, made it; I soon twigged why the cutlery delivered with the Mussels included the same ancient-looking large spoon that also came with my Broth. In conclusion, the food in the Three Stags' Heads is stunningly good, and is made to the maximum extent possible with local ingredients from top-class sources. The Salmon featured on the menu, on my March, 2006 visit, was that most rare of commodities, Wild Salmon, which is vastly superior (a different animal) to the ubiquitous Farmed Salmon. It was donated by a regular, so it will likely not be on the menu on a subsequent visit, but I am confident that something equivalent will have taken its place. Even if you are not a beer drinker, you must come here for the food.

Mobile phones (cell phones) are frowned upon. There is usually impromptu live music on a Saturday night.

As you enter the pub, you first of all start in a room with a number 2 on the door, this being the main bar, i.e. the one with the servery featured in the bulk of the photos on this Web page. However, to the left, is a room, with a number 3 on its door, and one to the right, with a number 1 on its door. Room 1 is featured in the photo to the left. Like the main bar, rooms 1 and 3 have real fires, hence the three chimneys that can be seen in the photo of the exterior above. I thought at first that the number 2 was the street number, but Geoff Fuller, the landlord, explained that the numbering was for excise reasons.

The Three Stags' Heads is open on Friday evening and during normal pub hours on Saturday and Sunday and on National Holidays. Food is available from 12.30pm to 4pm, and from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.

How to get to Wardlow Mires

If you plug the post code for the Three Stags' Heads, SK17 8RW, into www.streetmap.co.uk, you will get a location map, as does the more versatile maps.google.co.uk.The best option for getting to it, other than by private coach, is by car, so the next section has some accommodation options within walking distance. Just up the road toward Stoney Middleton and Chesterfield, there is a bus stop named "Wardlow Mires", which is served by: the number 193 bus, which runs between Tideswell and Buxton (Monday to Saturday): the number 65, which runs between Buxton and Sheffield and Meadowhall; and the number 67, which runs between Chesterfield and Manchester. These buses are not very frequent. For timetables, see www.tmtravel.co.uk/timetables. The nearest railway station is six miles (ten kilometres) away, in Grindleford, which is on the main line between Sheffield and Manchester (for train times see www.nationalrail.co.uk). The just-mentioned number 65 bus can be taken from Grindleford to get to Wardlow Mires.

Accommodation

Accommodation within walking distance (less than two miles/three kilometres) includes two B&Bs: Housley Cottage, Housley, Foolow, S32 5QB, tel 01433 631505, housley.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk (a mile East on the A623 from the pub, by the first signed junction reached for Foolow, GPS: 53.280152^o N, 1.711637^o W); and Beacon House, Litton, SK17 8QP, tel 01298 871752, www.beaconhse.co.uk. Also in Litton, The Red Lion (Main Street, SK17 8QU, tel 01298 871458, GBG 2006, GBG 2007 page 107) provides B&B. The Bull's Head, in Foolow, S32 5QR, tel 01433 630873, also has accommodation (and Black Sheep Best Bitter on handpump). There is also rudimentary camping possible in the farm behind the Three Stags' Head, and one can park your car in the Wardlow Mires Service Station, which is opposite the Three Stags' Heads. This rather utilitarian filling station has an atmospheric café, Mires Café (tel 01298 872880), that even has a handpumped Real Ale.

About five miles (eight kilometres) away is Monsal Head, a spectacular spot, which is easily reached by heading South on the B6465, which Tees into the A623 very close to the Three Stags' Head. At Monsal Head there is a very good pub/restaurant/hotel, the Monsal Head Hotel, DE45 1NL, www.monsalhead.com, GBG 2006, GBG 2007 page 108; click here for a White Beer Travels Web page covering it, and another nice hotel nearby, which is also on the B6465, the Cliffe House Hotel, DE45 1NL, www.cliffehousehotel.co.uk.