'Constant Woodhead Pass closures could force our country pub to close down'

In the 21st century, drivers and motorcyclists will stop in the Dog and Partridge on the Woodhead Pass for a meal and a drink.

But after centuries of history, this historic pub is at risk of shutting for good over the continued road closures on the pass between Sheffield and Manchester.

Andrea and Richard Punshon bought the Dog and Partridge with family members Stephen and Audrey 26 years ago.

“We saw a vision in it and we’ve tried our hardest to develop it for food, drink, and now we’ve got 10 rooms,” Andrea told The Yorkshire Post. “We are constantly at a loss with the road being shut down.”

They say this year will be the 14th in a row when the road has been shut for significant periods.

“We employ around 16 members of staff, all local, but it is becoming increasingly difficult,” Andrea continued.

"Even customers don’t know where they’re going. They haven’t a clue as to whether we are open, we’re closed.

“It’s just a nightmare. We’ve built it up year on year and every time we build it up, we get knocked back.”

Sometimes it will be closed completely, other times the pass will be open up to the pub - however it is unclear for customers whether they can access it.

In 2025, the road was shut every evening from Monday to Thursday over the entire summer due to roadworks. This summer wildfires have led to even longer closures, with maintenance work going as well.

“We had loads of passing trade as the pub has beautiful surroundings, fantastic views, great walks and cycling.

"It’s just perfect, but if they don’t know how to get to us, the road is always closed or there are permanent diversions.”

After two full weekends closed earlier in the summer for works, the pub will now be hit with regular closures until December.

“It feels like we would be better off not here because they would not need to ask our permission for everything they need to do to get maintenance done,” Andrea added.

Needless to say this impacts the future of the business. “We don’t take any more staff on, we have to do more ourselves,” she said.

“We have to work longer and harder - every industry is very difficult at the minute. We have a good relationship between two local colleges so we have a good relationship with students who come and do their qualifications and placements.

"But they’ve got to get here, the road has got to be open for us to provide that.”

“We have to ask staff who have got commitments to do less hours - it’s very hard,” Richard explained.

“Sometimes we’re having to look at our own pocket, which isn’t very deep, to keep the business ticking over.”

He added: “First of all we had foot and mouth, then there’s the financial crisis and then we had Covid.

“We battled through that, trying to get the business built back up, and then you’re battling against road closures. You think, why haven’t you done this during Covid.”

Part of the reason for the amount of road maintenance is the Woodhead and Snake passes are the most direct route between Manchester and Sheffield.

That means lorries and trucks are using them, instead of taking the M62 to Leeds and going around the Peak District.

There have long been suggestions of turning an old railway tunnel into a road, however that has still not materialised.

However, the state of the roads and the paucity of other transport options has caught the eye of the Prime Minister.

The Yorkshire Post spoke to him in Sheffield after he had driven over the Snake Pass for an event. The Woodhead Pass was, of course, shut.

“Manchester and Sheffield have a lot of complimentary industry, there’s lots of ties between the two cities and it’s ridiculous actually that we have a couple of winding roads and a creaky rail service,” the new Prime Minister said.

“It’s got to be better than that. It cannot be right that the Woodhead Pass and the Snake Pass are managed as just local roads that are crumbling and not available for large parts of the year, we need to do better that.

“All of those issues are in scope. I’ll work with the local authorities concerned, but Manchester-Sheffield connectivity needs to be much better than it is.”

South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard is hopeful that his former Greater Manchester counterpart will act to solve some of the connectivity issues.

“He is somebody that understands the challenges that I face,” the Labour mayor told this paper, “and also what the opportunity looks like of unlocking that connectivity between the two fastest growing core cities in the whole of the country.

“We know that the economies of Sheffield and of Manchester are worth over £130bn combined - that’s 4.3m people.

“We know that with better road links, rail links, with better transport connectivity, it’s going to unlock a larger labour market and more growth, more opportunity and increased private investment.

“Yet as anybody that lives in South Yorkshire or Greater Manchester will tell you - getting between the two places is a joke.”

Mr Coppard’s primary focus is securing a third fast train every hour between Sheffield and Manchester, which is set to be one of the first parts of the Northern Powerhouse Rail project.

But that will require comprehensive work on both Sheffield Midland and Manchester Piccadilly stations.

Like Mr Burnham, he also wants to see National Highways take over the running of the Snake Pass and he is exploring options for a new proposal to turn the old Woodhead rail tunnel into a road.

“It is incredibly difficult to rely on the transport network to get between Sheffield and Manchester in particular, either on the road network by the Woodhead and Snake or via Leeds over on the M62, which is slower but more reliable,” he added.

“Then you’ve got the train connectivity, which as we’ve seen over recent weeks is not reliable in hot weather and also when we face wintery conditions.

“What we need is a more reliable, more robust and more appropriate level of transport connection between the two fastest growing cities in the country.

“We know there are limited ways to improve that connectivity, but it has to be improved.”