Guess who lives in Glossop, at one end of the Snake Pass ?

The "... small hotel at the foot of the Snake Pass" might be either the "Royal Oak", a pub/bed and breakfast on the main road itself, or the "Wind in the Willows", a residential two-star place opposite the Golf Course, about half a mile from the main road on a lane known locally as the "Derbyshire Level" (it follows the 600' contour line).

The Snake Pass incidentally (also referred to as the A57), got its name from a pub near to the Glossop end; the "Snake Inn" was named from the coat of arms of the Cavendish family, which featured a snake, and the road was historically the "Snake Inn Pass". Over time, the road has become known as "The Snake" and the inn as the "Snake Pass Inn". It does run through some of the best scenery in England. (No part of England compares with any in Wales).

The name implies a tortuous winding road. In fact, it is not too bad, but parts of it traverse active landslide surfaces, and the road develops cracks and sudden dips and "ski jumps". It is a never-ending job maintaining the road about a mile east of the inn; there is a veritable stratigraphy of layers of tarmac and hasty patches.