My first ever visit to the Ring o' Bells in Marple was during an epic canal trip from Lapworth (south of Birmingham) to Manchester and back, in a fortnight. This wasn't the first time that our narrowboat Emma Jane had been to Marple; that was back in 1989 when the boat was being moved up north. At that time I was living in Australia so was unable to partake of the delights of the Ring o' Bells.
This picture was taken on a lunchtime stop on Friday 1st September 2000. I don't remember too much about the interior apart from the fact that it was full of canal memorabilia and served good food.
Although we repeated this journey in 2010, we didn't stop in Marple so it wasn't until lunchtime on Tuesday 24th June 2014 that we next stopped in Marple.
It's amazing what tricks the mind will play on you, especially after 14 years. We moored our hire boat by Marple Junction and expected to see the Ring o' Bells just by the bridge there...but there was no pub! At somewhat of a loss to understand why such a good pub would have disappeared we wandered into the centre of Marple, had lunch and a bit of a pub crawl and headed back to the canal only to find the Ring o' Bells where it had always been - by the bridge 200 yards BEFORE the junction - doh!
On this occasion we didn't venture inside, but we rectified that situation a few months later when we popped in and had a very good meal in what is still a lovely canal themed, old style pub!
Unsurprisingly, over the 14 years the pub has been completely redecorated on the outside, now in Robinson's Grey. (Is that a shade you can get from Dulux?)
If ever you are passing through Marple, the Ring o' Bells is a pub well worth a visit for its traditional feel and good food. The website is here.
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