RedWillow, Buxton

RedWillow is the sister pub to RedWillow Brewery’s other pub in Macclesfield, which somehow I’ve managed to bypass during my crawls around the town. This pub is a bank conversion that comes with lots of Victorian finery, including an ornate snug in the right front corner at the bottom of the serving counter that runs up the right-hand wall. The four hand pumps were all drawing RW beers and a crafty selection was available from fonts along the back bar. I went for half a Cryo Citra that was served by a very friendly barmaid who informed me of the Macclesfield connection. The seating is open plan with small high tables and green topped stools up the centre and green banquettes up the left-hand wall. At the rear is a mezzanine level with seating and bookcase patterned wallpaper. I liked it in here so would have no problem returning.

As if the two taprooms and pavillion bar from Buxton Brewery weren't enough for this small market town, another top notch brewery, Red Willow, has opened this beautiful bank conversion in the town centre. Inside, you find a smart, bare boarded room with dark wood panels, etched glass windows and the servery along the back wall. The bar has a mosaic tile counter front with a high shelved bar back dominated by a central metal keg tap dispensary. Long button backed banquettes run along the front wall with basic chairs in support, whilst high tables and stools fill a central space opposite the bar. A drinking ledge to the right of the entrance has a row of bar stools and a small padded bench booth at the far end. The pub's finest feature can be found at one end of the bar, where a small side room has been converted into an amazing little snug, with curved glass frontage, a detailed decorative doorway and plenty of etched glasswork. There's room in here for a couple of tables and I can only presume it occupies the old bank manager's office. To the rear are some stairs leading up to a mezzanine area with plenty of extra seating looking down into the main bar area. Potted plants are in plentiful supply around the room and a fridge to the left of the entrance is full of tempting looking Red Willow cans. A decent indie and pop soundtrack played during my visit and there was a handful of mainly older customers in, on what was admittedly a freezing cold, snowy Winter's day. Red Willow beers obviously dominate the handpulls, with options comprising Headless, Feckless, Wreckless and Breakfast Stout, supplimented by an extensive craft keg range including plenty more Red Willow brews. A very friendly barmaid served me a top quality pint of the Headless, which slipped down so quickly that I ended up at my next pub before it had even opened! I really liked this conversion, which has kept a beautiful building in the public domain, and thought the beer was in great condition. However, something felt a bit lacking and didn't fully click for me - maybe it was drinking in such a grand interior with so few other customers. Still well worth a look as part of any crawl around town though. Date of visit - 17th January 2024

Lovely old bank building taken over by RedWillow brewery, frosted glass and dark wood bits are either original or rescued from elsewhere and knitted together in a convincing way. Four cask beers and a selection of kegs. Furnished in traditional manner but the beers are shown on a laser display screen. There’s a mezzanine floor with seating above but the majority of the bar is at ground level with the counter against one side wall.

Table service is now a thing of the past. In fact the service here was very friendly. 3 of their own beers on cask - Headless, Wreckless and Pale Bitter. The 2 I tried were excellent (£4). A decent choice on keg also with a Cider and a couple of lagers. This place ticks the boxes for me on the beer front, add that to a nice bank conversion and it's a must do in Buxton.

For some reason this bar is still insisting on table service, the only pub we visited in Buxton that was doing. It was also the only pub that was dead as a post. I think there may be some correlation there. I went to the bar anyway, just to see what they had on. I got told off for doing so as the barman said that they would supply a beer list to the table. They did, it was wrong. It had 5 cask beers listed, but they only had 2 on. I ended up with a pint of their own Simcoe/Strata, which was a nice pint. No atmosphere, slightly snotty bar staff, not impressed at all on this visit. What a shame. we love their bar in Macclesfield, so we were very disappointed with this one.