Post card from: the cat and fiddle

I’ve ridden the Cat and Fiddle twice; in 2005 in the snow on my 2001 Yamaha R1, and recently with two friends on my BMW S 1000 RR.

I wouldn’t recommend riding it in the snow, and I hadn’t actually planned to, but I was making my way from visiting family in Blackpool. When I got to the Knutsford junction on theM6 I thought, ‘the Cat and Fiddle isn’t far from here,’ and so decided to cut across country. It was only when I got to Macclesfield when the signs leading onto the Cat and Fiddle warned me of the snow. I thought about turning back but I’d come this far so I gingerly carried on. I won’t lie, I was nervous as hell and didn’t enjoy the ride at all. In fact, I was glad to get to Buxton for a nice warm cup of tea. And because of that experience I’ve also wanted to go back and give it a proper go.

So on Easter Monday this year I got my chance as I’d factored in a trip to the Peak District as part of our ‘Epic Adventure’. We had stayed the night in a biker friendly B and B in Whaley Bridge and made our way towards Macclesfield in the morning. The fun really starts from the outskirts of Macclesfield to the Cat and Fiddle Inn at the summit, where you are blessed with an amazing sequence of challenging corners that are an absolute joy when you get them right. The ‘fun’ part is only about nine miles long, but it’s worth a visit – as is a stop at the Cat and Fiddle pub where you can grab a cuppa and hot food is served all day. My only regret about riding the Cat and Fiddle this year was that we didn’t turn around and do it again, it really is that good.