Travel & Tourism

The award-winning gastropub an hour from Manchester at the end of a beautiful valley walk

What a perfect Sunday

Daisy Jackson - 11th June 2026

Sundays don’t come much better than a beautiful walk in the countryside followed by a top roast dinner – and there’s an award-winning pub less than an hour from Manchester that should hit the spot.

Head across to this route in West Yorkshire and you’ll find yourself strolling through surprisingly varied and very green countryside, with stunning valley views, before resting your weary legs beneath the table of one of the UK’s top gastropubs.

If you haven’t guessed it yet – we’re off to the Shibden Valley, just outside Halifax, where your gentle hike will lead you straight to the warm embrace of the Shibden Mill Inn.

The walk begins in the car park beside the pub, but don’t get tempted in for a pint just yet.

There’s an easy-moderate 5.6km circular that will lead you along a country lane, dropping down to cross a brook, then heading back up a gentle incline towards the top of the valley.

The views along the Shibden Valley from here are beautiful – lush green fields dotted with trees as far as the eye can see.

Then the route takes you along some wide open fields, with plenty of wildlife to spot along the way, before heading into peaceful woodlands.

You can take a break here to paddle in the stream before continuing on through farmland, with friendly horses to say hello to.

Then you’ll find yourself back at the Shibden Mill Inn, a pub that’s consistently finding itself in the prestigious Top 50 Gastropubs list.

Dating back to the 17th century, it’s a pretty white building converted from a former mill, with ivy climbing all up its walls.

There’s a sizeable beer garden – with a live musician playing when we popped in – but it’s hard to resist the cosy charm of the pub’s interior, where staff have to duck beneath the low ceiling beams and no surface feels totally straight.

The Shibden Mill Inn’s Sunday roast offering does a set menu, with two courses for £40 or three for £45, changing seasonally.

You’ll find pub classics on the starters, like chicken liver parfait and homemade soup, before delving into the main event – the Sunday roast.

We love a pub that gives you both mashed AND roasted potatoes, which the Shibden Mill Inn does, along with roast seasonal veg and a towering Yorkshire pudding.

There’s roasted salt-aged sirloin of beef, cooked perfectly pink (though they’re happy to give it a bit longer if you prefer your meat to not be blushing); or an excellent wedge of belly pork with crispy crackling.

And on the side, a portion of cauliflower cheese that is actually more cheese than cauliflower. Perfect.

Puddings are a nice mix of heavy winter favourites and lighter, fruitier desserts – but we go full stodge, with a chocolate fondant dessert topped with torched marshmallow, salted caramel, and sugared pecans, and have no regrets.

If you want to replicate this Sunday walk and roast, you can see the full circular route here.

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Featured image: The Hoot Leeds