After a waterside walk around Tittesworth Water, the only logical next step is a pitstop at The Lazy Trout, in Meerbrook. The country pub is just a five minute walk from the reservoir, where you can enjoy a pint with spectacular views across The Roaches and Hen Cloud.
We’d booked our outdoor table in advance, as weekends at The Lazy Trout can get busy. We’d already paid £5 for all-day parking at Tittesworth, so it made sense to leave the cars there and take a stroll up, because the pubs car park isn’t very big, and between us, we had four cars.
When booking a table, we had the option of booking the front garden – which is just off the road – or the back garden, complete with picnic tables and a beer tent. We chose the back garden so the dogs wouldn’t be bothered by the sound of cars from the road, and they could lie on the cool grass whilst we ate. The Lazy Trout is very dog-friendly, with dogs being allowed both outside and inside the venue, save for a small carpeted area.
On arrival, a member of the party had to pop inside to check us in. We waited outside where there are three sinks on the side of the pub for handwashing. Looking around, it was clear the pub was popular with locals, cyclists and dog walkers alike – with waggy tails underneath many of tables.
We attached Phoebe, Frank and Winston to the legs of the picnic bench, and after the big walk, they were more than happy to sit in the shade under the table. I browsed The Trout Times daily specials menu and ordered a Hello Summer gin spritz, featuring peach gin topped with pink prosecco, garnished with fresh strawberries and rosemary for £7.95 – and it sounded so good that mum ordered the same. From the same menu, Dad ordered a Beartown Brewery Patusto craft beer, made just behind his place of work.
The Lazy Trout is a traditional country pub with a modern feel, where they’re clearly passionate about great food and even better local spirits and beers. There are 40 different gins on offer, of which six are distilled in Staffordshire and Cheshire, with the Peak District’s Wincle Brewery, Burton’s Marston’s, Mobberley Brewhouse, in Cheshire, and a selection of The Lazy Trout’s own ales on the menu.
We’d already had a picnic at Tittesworth, but the food menu looked far too good to not sample the delights. To share, Jake and I had the roast Aberdeen angus beef hot sandwich on ciabatta, served with caramalised onions and a ‘handful’ of chips, as well as a side of Wincle beer battered onion rings. The food smelled amazing, from the beautiful cut of beef to the rich red wine and thyme gravy – and the ‘handful’ of chips was clearly plated by someone with big hands! The onion rings were huge, with crunchy batter made even tastier by the local beer. Now, we didn’t want to leave the dogs out, so we purveyed the menu for something suitable and found Mini Cheddars and Pork Scratchings on the snacks section, so picked up some pork scratchings for the three of them for £1.20.
Meanwhile, mum and dad shared the crumble from the specials desserts menu, which combined apple, rhubarb, strawberry and stem ginger, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. My brother and his partner, who had saved themselves for food, ordered the Greek flatbread with barbecue chicken fillets for £10.95. The prices at the pub were typical of a quality country pub, but the portion sizes are generous, the views – beautiful – and the servers were fast and friendly. It’s in the perfect location for a post-walk pint, with plenty of shaded and sunny seats to suit every member of the family.
