On 16th May 2026, Malcolm Dixon organised his final Rambale after years of sterling service to the idea of walking and drinking good beers (not at the same time though!).
Assisted as ever by his wife Jenny, this last one was a walk through the Peak District, with the walk commencing at Stanton in Peak at the Flying Childers pub there. To get there, we met at Sheffield Interchange for the 218 bus to Bakewell and changed there onto the 172 Matlock bus, which meanders through the villages, including Stanton.
As the weather forecast was not the best, only five hardy souls took the risk, but we all brought the appropriate clothing, just in case.
The 172 dropped us outside the Flying Childers, one of only three pubs in England named after the racehorse of the same name from the early 1700’s. A very cosy pub with a choice of Draught Bass and Abbeydale Deception. I chose the lesser ABV’d Deception to start the day, but the Bass got the thumbs up from the others.
Then on to the walk, immediately very much uphill at first to the footpath over the moor, where it thankfully levelled out. This area of the peak has several stone circles and the first we passed was the North Circle, although it was off the main path and hidden in the trees. The weather had held so far, just a few spots of rain in the moderate breeze. After the rigours of the initial hill climb, it was actually quite welcome. The remoteness of the landscape up on the top of the moor was highlighted by the sound of cuckoos not too distant in the trees. It seems a long time since any of us had heard that sound. The next circle was the most well known of them, the Nine Ladies. Nine stones, around two feet high, stand in a circle of about eleven metres diameter. It dates from between 3300 to 900 BCE, and the purpose of the monument is unknown, but is quite evocative.
Walking more or less south now towards Birchover, we also passed the Central and South Circles, although, again, these were not particularly visible from the main path. The views across the Derwent valley here are nothing short of spectacular, even given the less than perfect weather on the day. As the path neared Birchover, it became more downhill and extremely uneven. Very difficult to negotiate, but luckily this section was quite short and we soon found the road above Birchover and walked down the hill to the next hostelry. Always on the lookout for local wildlife, we actually saw an alpaca and a well preserved Robin on the way down!
The hostelry in question was the Red Lion and also home to Birchover Brewery, all the cask choice being from there. I chose their Wiggly Walker, which was very apt by now, but an extremely pleasant 4.6%, and definitely quenched the thirst.
With the weather looking as if it was closing in, it was unanimously agreed that, instead of walking the last section to Darley Bridge, it would be prudent to catch the 172 bus, which stopped right outside, with enough time to enjoy the refreshments beforehand. The bus took us all the way to the Three Stags Heads at Darley Bridge, and we were luckily inside by the time the rain started to come down heavier. Appropriately, one of the cask selection was Abbeydale’s Dr Morton’s VAR (4.1%), as the second half of the FA Cup Final was just getting underway on the TV in the corner, so it seemed the right choice, and very nice too.
As the weather seemed now to have set in, another change of plan was to catch the next 172 bus into Matlock and then the X17 back to Sheffield. This left just enough time for a swift half of Butt Heads Brew Co’s Black Hops Rising, a 4.6% Black IPA. This was a new one to me, but local to Matlock apparently, and very good.
Back in Sheffield, my bus home was still 45 minutes away, so a pint of Tapped Brew Co’s Sheaf Street (4.5%) in the Sheffield Tap filled that gap.
Despite the weather cutting short Malcolm’s last Rambale, it nevertheless was a very enjoyable day and no-one went home feeling anything but that it was extremely interesting and satisfactory. We may have missed out on some of the walking bit, but not the pubs!
Many thanks to Malcolm and Jenny for this and all their previous Rambales, and I sincerely hope that I can continue the legacy, and that they join us for the future ones.
