The Windmill Inn

If you fancy working up to, or walking off, what is likely to be a substantial dinner at The Windmill, then the leafy lanes near this excellent gastropub are delightfully winding with verges abounding in wildflowers.

Wander along to the worn stone steps of Bridge 25 on the old Macclesfield Canal, take a short downward hop and you’re on the towpath, where fluffy ducklings in springtime and tangled brambles heaped with blackberries in late summer make this walk a favourite with children.

The Windmill itself serves hearty, well-cooked fare with superb meat sourced from local fourth-generation butchers JJJ Heathcote. Fish is spankingly fresh, chips are admirably chunky, and puddings are moaningly good.