Directions to Peak District Retreat at Shawbottom Farm

Address

Shawbottom
Hazelwood Road
Upper Hulme
LEEK
ST13 8UQ

We're about a mile off the A53 between Leek and Buxton.

The postal name is 'Shawbottom' but it is also known as 'Shaw Bottom Farm'.

Map references

what3words: ///indulges.unfit.chuckling

Google 'Plus code': 9C5W52C8+CQ7

Latitude, Longditude: 53°10'15.5"N+1°59'00.3"W 53.170972,-1.9845043

OS Grid reference: SK 01221 63760

Driving

Putting the postcode ST13 8UQ in your satnav will get you to the general area but maybe not all the way as the postcode covers a large area. Study/print the maps above to guide you once you reach this area. The road to our entrance gate is called Hazelwood Road, but on most maps this road is not named.

From the farm gate at the roadside a track runs north for about 0.4 mile to take you down to the farmhouse. The track is in quite good condition - the first half up to the cattle grid has a few potholes, then the second half has tarmac.

If you have difficulty finding us you could phone, though you may have difficulty finding a signal for your mobile. You could drive back to the A53 and phone us from the layby just before the A53 or (if it is open) from the Winking Man pub car park.

Trains

The nearest mainline railway stations are Macclesfield and Stoke-on-Trent, both of which provide fast links from most parts of the country.

From these stations you could proceed either by taxi all the way to Shawbottom, or use buses to reach Leek or Buxton and take a shorter/cheaper taxi ride from there.

Buxton station is closer but probably of relevance only to those travelling from Manchester Piccadilly or from east of the Peak district e.g. from Sheffield.

If your route includes Sheffield you may find the Sheffield-Buxton bus service more convenient than the train option.

Coaches

As an alternative to trains, you could consider using the National Express coach service to Hanley bus station (Stoke-on-Trent). From there you could take a bus to Leek and then a taxi to Shawbottom. Unfortunately on the current timetable (at the time of writing) the coaches from London arrive at Stoke-on-Trent too late in the evening to be useful.

An alternative might be to take a coach (e.g. from London) to Sheffield, arriving in Sheffield at lunchtime. From there you could take the number 65 Stagecoach bus to Buxton (approx 90 minute journey) and then use a taxi to complete your journey to Shawbottom.

Taxis

Based in Leek, Leeklink taxis have serviced Shawbottom in the past. There are other taxi companies in Leek but we have no experience of them.

A web search will find you several taxi companies in Buxton, Macclesfield and Stoke-on-Trent but we have no experience of them.

As we are in a rural area with no road name signs, and not all maps and satnav show our road name, taxis may have difficulty finding us. If you plan to use a taxi please screenshot or print the map and directions on this page in case you need to help your taxi driver to find us but are unable to find a mobile signal.

Local Buses

Local bus service 108 operates between Buxton and Leek (on Saturdays only) as a "hail and ride" service. i.e. our nearest bus stop at the Winking Man pub is not an official stop on this route but on request the bus may put down or pick up there. This may be subject to change so please confirm this with the bus operator DGBUS before relying on it. From the Winking man pub it is about 1.5 mile walk to Shawbottom.

Unfortunately bus service 16 between Leek and Buxton no longer stops near Shawbottom.

Manchester Airport

The nearest airport is Manchester airport (MAN), about 25 miles away.

There are options for transferring from Manchester airport to Shawbottom.

• The most direct would be to take a taxi from the airport to Shawbottom. It is about an hour's drive and costs in the region of £80 (2022 prices)

• A cheaper but slower alternative would be to take the bus service which runs from the airport to Buxton (fare £6.20 one-way in 2022), and then take a shorter taxi ride from Buxton to Shawbottom (about £20 at 2022 prices).

Other Airports

Other airports may offer additional flight options but are further away and will incur more cost and delay in transferring to Shawbottom. Note that train fares in the UK are higher than in many other countries.

East Midlands airport (EMA) is about 55 miles away but does not have convenient transfer options other than taxi.

Birmingham airport (BHX) is about 75 miles away and has a railway station which could transport you to Stoke-on-Trent, from where you could proceed by bus/taxi.

London airports are about 150-200 miles away and so choosing to land in London will incur significant delay and additional cost in transferring to Shawbottom, but may offer cheaper tickets or more choices of direct flights.