The Cat and Fiddle Inn is a former

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

in the English

Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...

, close to the border between

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

and

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

. It sits on the A537 road from

Macclesfield Macclesfield () is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East, Cheshire, England. It is sited on the River Bollin and the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east; the town lies south of Ma ...

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the High Peak, Derbyshire, Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Alston, Cumbria also claims this, but lacks a regu ...

, which runs across a high and remote area of moorland. A section of the road is known as the "

Cat and Fiddle Road The Cat and Fiddle is a road in England between Buxton, Derbyshire and Macclesfield, Cheshire, named after the Cat and Fiddle Inn public house at its summit. Formed by parts of the A537, A54 and A53, it is famous for its scenic views across ...

" after the inn. The building is some 1,689 feet (515 m) above sea level, and it was the second-highest public house in Britain before it closed in 2015 (the Tan Hill Inn in Yorkshire is slightly higher). In 2020, it reopened as a distillery, shop and bar.

History

The Cat and Fiddle first opened in 1813. It was for many years the final checkpoint of the

Four Inns Walk The Four Inns was a fell race/hiking event held annually over the high moorlands of the Northern Peak District between 1957 and 2019, by the ''Derbyshire Scouts Association'' (1908-). It took place mainly in Derbyshire (though it started in Yo ...

, an annual fell race organised by the Scout Association. Its future as a pub was cast into doubt after it was shuttered by

Robinsons Brewery Robinsons Brewery is a family-run, regional brewery, founded in 1849 at the Unicorn Inn, Stockport, Cheshire, England. The company owns around 250 pubs, mostly in North West England. History William Robinson purchased the Unicorn Inn from Sam ...

in 2015. It remained empty until 2019, when the Forest Distillery took out a long-term lease on the property. A crowdfunding appeal raised over £50,000 towards the restoration of the building, and it reopened in the summer of 2020 as a shop and bar selling Forest Distillery products. Gin and whisky are also now distilled on site.

References

External links

*{{commons category-inline Pubs in Cheshire Peak District