Cat and Fiddle Road, Peak District

About this drive

The A537 between Macclesfield and Buxton crosses the southern edge of the Peak District on a road that has been simultaneously admired by drivers and feared by statisticians since records have been kept. The "Cat and Fiddle" name comes from the pub near the summit — at 515 metres, one of the highest pubs in England — which has served as the route's landmark since the road was turnpiked in the early nineteenth century. The road climbs quickly from Macclesfield through the last of the Cheshire lowlands before emerging onto the high moorland plateau. The landscape here is deeply English: treeless heather moor, drystone walls, sudden mist, and an A-road alignment laid out by drovers long before cars existed. The descent into Buxton is faster and straighter, passing through the limestone edge country where the Peak District shifts from gritstone to a lighter, more open character. Buxton at the southern end is a Georgian spa town worth a proper stop — the Crescent, the Opera House, and the natural spring water available free from a stone fountain in the town centre are all worth the time.

Stops along the way

• 📍 The Cat and Fiddle · Other

  The site of England's second-highest pub, marking the road's exposed high point.