Local facilities | Things to do

Although Wincle feels like a long way from anywhere, it’s actually only minutes away from the local towns of Macclesfield, Buxton, Congleton and Leek which, between them, have all the shops and services you might need.

There is a great selection of eating and drinking places in the area serving local beers and freshly prepared food. We will be happy to book tables at local pubs or restaurants, and trout fishing at the local trout lake. You can let us know if you would like a delivery of papers and milk.

Shopping
Groceries can be bought at the Sutton Post Office (4 miles) or in Macclesfield or Buxton (Tesco, Sainsbury's, M&S etc – 6 miles). Tesco and Waitrose (through Ocado) also deliver locally – if you have an account already you could set up a delivery before you leave home.

There are also regular farmers’ markets in the surrounding area, including Butterlands Farm in Wincle every second Saturday in the month with a lot of organic and local produce, fresh fish from the trout farm and home-made ice cream from Blaze Farm just up the road.

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Eating out

There is a wide variety of eating places within a walk or short drive from Clough Brook Cottage.

The Ship Inn The Ship Inn in Danebridge, Wincle is the nearest local, and most definitely the best. It tends to be in all the major good pub guides and so can be busy, so it’s worth booking a week in advance for weekends, and 2 or 3 days for weekdays. It serves a good range of guest beers and excellent food.

The Cragg Inn Just a mile from the cottage in the hamlet of Wildboarclough – ideal for lunch after a walk through the beautiful valley.

The Wild Boar Inn On the Congleton to Buxton road less than five minutes from us, where they serve good food and beers.

The Hanging Gate Inn Beautifully situated high up on the moors between Wincle and Macclesfield with panoramic views over the Cheshire Plain - serves great food, wines and beers.

Macclesfield A wide selection of restaurants including European, Indian, Chinese, Thai, Spanish tapas and Mexican.

Leek A quite special Indian restaurant (Bolaka Spice) good for vegetarian dishes, No.64 has an excellent reputation for modern innovative cooking in beautiful surroundings, and also a coffee shop and wine bar. Café Davide offers modern Mediterranean food in a stylish setting, and there is also a Belgian beer bar and restaurant, Den Engel.

The Swan in Leek has regular major folk music acts in the function room (Dylan Project, Fairport Convention etc.) for afters.

Alderley Edge Our favourite, the Wizard, right on the Edge, and Est Est Est, a bustling Italian.

Wilmslow A profusion of wine bars and casual eating places including a Japanese restaurant.

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If it’s fine, you have the whole of the Peak District at your disposal. And if not, the number of stately homes, museums, interesting town centres and cosy country pubs should keep you occupied!

Close to Clough Brook Cottage

Walking
You really are spoilt for choice. There are any number of excellent walks within a 10 minute drive to suit everyone from long-distance ramblers to Sunday strollers, including the Wildboarclough Valley, the Roaches, Lud Church, Shutlingsloe, Macclesfield Forest, Tittesworth Reservoir, Rudyard Lake, Three Shires Head and many more. Numerous guide books are available, some based on pubs and tearooms in case you need sustenance en route.

Danebridge Trout Farm
Serious fishing and ‘catch your own tea’ for children with rods supplied.

Blaze Farm
Dairy farm with nature trail, tearooms and home-made ice cream.

Buxton
Buxton was originally settled by the Romans nearly 2000 years ago as a Spa town, but most of Buxton's architecture comes from the Georgian era when Buxton's curative waters came back into vogue. Buxton hosts various festivals such as International Festival and the Buxton Jazz Festival in July and the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in August. Buxton’s cultural heart is the beautiful Opera House, designed and built in 1903 by Frank Matcham, one of Britain's finest theatre architects. It stands in 25 acres of ornamental gardens in the heart of Buxton, and was fully restored between 1999 and 2001.

Macclesfield
Macclesfield was named in the Doomsday Book as Macklesfeld but it grew into an important market town providing access from the North to the Midlands and London, whilst the East-West route allowed travel between Derbyshire and Chester. Macclesfield has been famous for silk manufacturing for over 400 years, but it wasn't until 1743 that Charles Roe built the first powered silk mill which revolutionised the industry in Macclesfield. Two years later, the town was occupied twice by Bonnie Prince Charlie and his Jacobite army - once on thier way south to Derby, and the second time during their retreat back to Scotland.

Macclesfield is still a thriving market town with an attractive centre, a silk museum and wide selection of shops including most well known High Street names, and many bars, restaurants and tea and coffee shops.

The nearby village of Bollington has an arts festival every four years, attracting surprisingly high-profile guests such as Ken Dodd.

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© Gary Rogers

© Universal Pictures, photo by Alec Bailey

Further afield

Chatsworth House, Park and Gardens
Chatsworth House is reputedly the finest stately home in Britain, conceived on a grand scale and placed in a stunning setting in lush green parkland. It was orginally built by Bess of Hardwick in the late 16th Century, but the existing house was the work of the first Duke of Devonshire between 1686 and 1707, with the Library and North Wing added by the 6th Duke between 1790 and 1858.

There are 26 magnificent rooms open to the public in the main house include the Great Dining Room, where the first meal served was for the Princess (later Queen) Victoria in 1832. The Scots Rooms were used to keep Mary Queen of Scots, who was placed in the custody of the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, Bess of Hardwick's 4th husband, by Queen Elizabeth I. The original chapel was built between 1688 and 1693, and the 1,000 acre park, open throughout the year, was designed and landscaped by Capability Brown in the mid 18th Century. The 105 acre garden with 5 miles of walks with rare trees and shrubs, and the Emperor Fountain which emits a jet of water 90 metres into the air.

There is also a children’s farm area with small animals and rare breeds, gift shops and an excellent restaurant. Just down the road is Chatsworth Farm Shop owned and run by the estate – foodie heaven!

And not forgetting, of course, that the house and grounds were used as one of the locations in the recent film version of Pride and Prejudice!

Eyam Village
Eyam Village is known as the Plague Village after it put itself into voluntary quarantine in 1665 after the great plague was imported from London in a bundle of cloth. The Rector at the time, William Mompesson, persuaded the villagers to stay rather than flee and spread the deady disease to surrounding villages. Out of a population of around 350, 257 died. There is a small exhibition, and Eyam Hall is also worth a visit, as is the only pub in the village - The Miner's Arms - which is reputedly one of the most haunted buildings in Derbyshire.

Haddon Hall
Haddon Hall has been the home of the Dukes of Rutland and their forebears since 1153. It is a beautiful medieval Tudor manor house with Norman and Saxon origins. After the Norman Conquest, William Peverel, illegitimate son of William the Conqueror, was awarded the manor. Much of the current building dates from 1370 when Richard de Vernon started major building work - the Great Hall, the kitchens and the chapel all date from that period. The gardens at Haddon Hall date from the early Twentieth Century, and owe their beauty to Her Grace the 9th Duchess of Rutland, who undertook massive clearance and renovation work. They are now known as among the most romantic gardens in the country.

Peveril Castle
Peveril Castle was named after the same William Peveril, who was granted the title of bailiff of the Royal Manors of the Peak after the Norman Conquest. Peveril created Castleton and in 1080 he fortified the site of the present castle and constructed a wooden keep. Later, these buildings were converted into stone. However, Peveril's son (also called William) became too independent for Henry I, and in 1155 the King confiscated the Peveril estates and the castle has belonged to the Crown or the Duchy of Lancaster ever since. The castle fell into disuse in Tudor times, and the present restoration work dates from the Twentieth Century. The Castle was the inspiration for the novel "Peveril of the Peak" by Sir Walter Scott, published in 1822.

Chaplain to the Duke of Buckingham. (Sir Walter Scott: Peveril of the Peak.)
"Why,' said the duke, 'I had caused my little Quodling to go through his oration thus: That whatever evil reports had passed current during the lifetime of the worthy matron whom they had restored to dust that day, Malice herself could not deny that she was born well, married well, lived well, and died well; since she was born in Shadwell, married to Cresswell, lived in Camberwell and died in Bridewell." - Peveril of the Peak, chap. xliv.

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Hardwick Hall
Hardwick Hall, which dates from 1552 is one of Britain's finest Elizabethan houses built for Elizabeth, Dowager Countess of Shrewsbury. Bess of Hardwick, as she has been recorded in history, rose from humble origins to become on of the most powerful people in the court of Queen Elizabeth 1st and was for many years responsible, together with her fourth husband the Earl of Shrewsbury, for the guardianship of Mary Queen of Scots.

Mam Tor
Mam Tor - the Shivering Mountain. It's structure consists of alternating layers of gritstone and shale which results in the area below the face shifting whenever there is heavy rain. It is this unusual geological feature which gives the mountain its evocative nickname.

Alton Towers
If the countryside seems too quiet, spend a day at Alton Towers (about an hour’s drive) and try the famous rides such as Oblivion, Nemesis and Air - and new for 2005, Rita - Queen of Speed. There are also beautiful gardens to wander round when it all gets too much!

Jodrell Bank
Visit the famous telescopes on the Cheshire Plain (clearly visible from the hills nearby on a good day), the Arboretum and the small science museum (a little old-fashioned now but still interesting).

Peak district towns
There are many attractive towns throughout the Peak District National Park, all with attractive historical centres and most close to good walking and within an hour’s drive.

Leek – William Morris connections, antiques and market days
Ashbourne – Historic market town
Bakewell – Market town with a lot of charm, and the famous puddings!
Matlock Bath – Britain’s only inland ‘seaside prom’, industrial revolution connections and funicular railway
Stone – Canal boating centre

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