Pub Walks with Chris Morris
Furness Vale to Whaley Bridge

PLEASE REMEMBER: Details accurate at time of writing

I love pubs. I also love a walk in the countryside. It seems obvious then that the very best countryside walks are those involving pubs. You don't have to travel far from the local area to reach some excellent country pubs accessible from some great walks. Using the public transport options at our disposal means you get the freedom to try more beers when you get to the pub! The first pub in this series is reached with an easy three mile walk along the Peak Forest Canal.

The Navigation Inn

Navigation Inn Full of character and charm, the Navigation Inn is a multi-roomed 18th century pub stands next to Bugsworth Basin, and caters for all tastes, with muddy boots welcome. Good value food, a selection of local cask ales and an abundance of history mean sufficient time should be afforded to fully appreciate this gem. When last visited the real ale available was Storm Brewery’s Bosley Cloud and Brainstorm, Howard Town Weisspeak, Timothy Taylor’s Landlord and Black Sheep Best Bitter. Opening times are 11-Midnight Monday to Saturday; 11-11 on Sunday.

Train Information

If catching the train from Stockport, purchase a return ticket to Whaley Bridge. Services for Monday to Saturday run between one and two trains per hour. Services for Sunday are one train per hour. For full timetable information visit www.northernrailway.co.uk

The Walk

It’s an easy three mile walk. The OS Map is OL1 The Peak District (OS app also available).

Get off the train at Furness Vale. On leaving the station, turn right at the road and follow it along down the hill. When you see the canal underneath, cross over and walk down the steps and incline to the canal towpath. Take the towpath to the left, under the bridge you have just walked over. Carry on walking for just under a mile keeping the canal on your right at all times. After walking under bridge number 36 the canal splits in two. You take the left canal which means simply keeping on the same path which bends to the left. After half a mile, you enter Bugsworth Basin passing some public toilets on the left and a long footbridge ahead turning to the right. Ignore this bridge and carry on along the towpath keeping the canal on your right. The path begins to climb leaving the canal below. The route continues over the road with the Navigation Inn on the opposite side.

Construction of the canal was completed in 1805 and enabled limestone to be brought to Manchester and beyond. The canal declined with the coming of the railways and became impassable in places in the 1960s. Much work was undertaken and Bugsworth Basin was finally re-opened to navigation in 2003.

When it is time to leave the pub, the walk back is a simple matter of retracing your steps back to the fork in the canal and bridge number 37. To get to Whaley Bridge, climb up the steps of bridge 37 and over to the other side. You then continue along the towpath as it bends to the left. After one third of a mile the famous Transhipment Warehouse can be seen, marking the end of the canal. Cross the long footbridge, go past the public toilets, and along a track with the warehouse on your right which takes you to a road. The centre of Whaley Bridge is found by turning right onto this road and following the bend to the left.

Whaley Bridge

Known as the "Gateway to the Goyt Valley", Whaley Bridge is a great place to explore charming old ginnels and passageways with many independent shops, cafes and restaurants to be discovered. For those wanting a post-walk pint, you don't have to walk far.

The Goyt Inn is located on Bridge Street and is tucked away around the corner from the Transhipment Warehouse at the end of the walk. This friendly and characterful pub is popular with locals as well as walkers. With a changing range of real ales, it is definitely worthy of a visit.

A few minutes’ walk along Buxton Road and then Old Road brings you to the Shepherds Arms. Originally a farmhouse, it is listed on CAMRA's National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors and has authentic fixed benches, wood burners, flagged floors and scrubbed table tops. A selection of well kept beers from the Marston’s stable is on hand to sample whilst taking in this delightful gem.

For those fancying a post-walk meal, the Cock Pub & Kitchen on Buxton Road welcomes muddy boots and serves good food and cask beer from Robinsons.

The train back to Stockport can be boarded at Whaley Bridge station which is located back in the centre of the town, opposite the Goyt Inn.

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