The Red Lion Inn, Buxton

Facebook page of The Red Lion Inn - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Red Lion Inn - www.facebook.com

This is an attractive, stone-built pub situated on the village green in this pleasant little Peak District village. On a warm afternoon, most customers had spilled outside onto a large tarmac area at the front of the pub which has been given over to many picnic benches and garden tables and chairs, a few of which extend out onto the grass area beyond, where latecomers lay in the grass under the shade of a couple of large trees. A beer board was propped next to the front door, negating the need for customers to enter the pub to check the ale range, which seemed like a smart move given the Covid restrictions in place at the time. If you do manage to venture inside, the pub has a nice, traditional multi-room layout, with a few seating areas available from a central, quarry stone floored corridor. The largest of these is the main bar area, which appear midway down the left side of the corridor. The bar has a nice dark wood counter and matching bar back and there was a decent amount of seating in the spaces around the servery, making this probably the liveliest part of the pub when the restrictions are no longer in place. The other seating spaces felt a little more formal, with one looking like it might be used primarily for dining. Each room seemed to have a fireplace and traditional pub décor including paintings, breweriana and old photos. A rear garden area had a marquee which had presumably been set-up for the period when customers had to sit outside, but the whole area was a bit cramped and the seats to the front of the pub were far nicer. The beer board listed four cask ales – Bradfield Farmers Blonde, Bakewell Best Bitter, Howard Town Dark Peak and Abbeydale Absolution – alongside a Kingstone Press cider. A friendly barmaid took our order and returned in no time with a very well-kept pint of the Farmers Blonde that didn’t last very long as we sat out soaking up the sun. The staff all seemed very helpful and welcoming and there was a good post-lunch crowd comprising a mix of day-trippers, walkers, cyclists and locals. This is a cracking rural pub in an idyllic setting that is well worth seeking out if you should find yourself in this part of the world. We really enjoyed our stop off here and thought the pub had plenty of character that would certainly merit a return visit once the restrictions were relaxed, so that it could be properly explored.

An attractive, homely stonebuilt pub in a little terrace facing the village green in a village popular with walkers. A passage leads into the pub, with spaces either side:to the left an antechamber with open fire leads into the bar, again, an open fire, some tables and chairs and a dogbed, where the barman’s dog held court.Going further into the pub is another area laid up for dining and some kind of games room. Our visit was mid afternoon on a Monday early in December, so the pub was fairly quiet:even so a few drinkers and belated diners created a busy atmosphere. The food was generous-I think burgers were in order that day, and the beer list was equally suitable: Abbeydale’s Absolution, Barnsley Bitter from Oakwell Brewery, and Bradfield Farmer’s Blonde from West Yorkshire.I’m old enough to remember the controversy surrounding the closure of the original Oakwell Brewery,though I was never fortunate enough to try the famous Barnsley Bitter in its fighting heyday. The present manifestation is a very pleasant berry rich session beer that I would be pleased to be able to drink on a regular basis. The Red Lion is a cracking little pub in an area well blessed with good pubs: good beer and a late opening kitchen make it a friend to walkers and locals alike. We would definitely return if back in the area.

A rare example of a former restaurant converted back to a pub but still with a strong food influence (table bookings recommended). 3 rooms, the largest being the bar area, but tight inside and low doorways. Plenty of tables to sit outside in a very pleasant setting on the village green. On handpull there was Buxton Kinder Sunset, Abbeydale Absolution, Oakwell Barnsley Bitter and Blue Monkey BG Sips.