Cat and Fiddle Inn
The
Cat and Fiddle Inn is the second-highest inn or
public house in
England (behind the
Tan Hill Inn). 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 1690ft (515m) above sea level (though a recent measurement commissioned by the landlord suggested a figure of 540m, which would surpass that of the Tan Hill Inn
[Highest inn, The Angry Corrie, no. 54]).
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
'Four Inns' walk, held annually in Spring, mainly over the high moorland to the North.
The inn gives its name to the
Cat and Fiddle Pass: 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 motor-cyclists 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
[Road dubbed most dangerous in UK, BBC website].
