Cat and Fiddle Inn

Coordinates: 53°14′32.78″N 1°59′48.51″W / 53.2424389°N 1.9968083°W / 53.2424389; -1.9968083

For the nursery rhyme, see Hey Diddle Diddle.

From the south

Plaque by the entrance

The Cat and Fiddle Inn is the second-highest inn or public house in England (the Tan Hill Inn being the highest). The inn is situated on the eastern fringes of Cheshire in the Peak District National Park on the A537 road just west of the Derbyshire/Cheshire county boundary, on the western side of Axe Edge Moor. It is at an elevation of about 1,690 feet (520 m) above sea level (although a recent measurement commissioned by the landlord suggested a figure of 1,772 feet (540 m), which would surpass that of the Tan Hill Inn^[1]).

There are a number of pubs of this name in the United Kingdom. Various etymologies are claimed: some believe it is a corruption of le chat fidele ('the faithful cat'); others (including Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable) that it comes from 'Caton le Fidele' (a former governor of Calais); a third theory is that it derives from 'Catherine la Fidele' (Catherine of Aragon).

The inn is the last on the 45-mile (72 km) Four Inns Walk, held annually in Spring, mainly over the high moorland to the North.

Cat and Fiddle Road

The inn gives its name to the Cat and Fiddle Road: a stretch of the A537 road, linking Macclesfield to the west with Buxton to the east, which features many sharp corners. This road became notorious for the high number of accidents, particularly among motorcyclists for whom the road is often regarded as an exhilarating technical challenge; an AA survey in 2003 named it as the most dangerous stretch of road in the United Kingdom ^[2].

See also

Cat and Fiddle Road

References

1. ^ Highest inn, The Angry Corrie, no. 54
2. ^ Road dubbed most dangerous in UK, BBC website