Some advice, to start: don't miss the turning for the car park.
The tight country lane which Hare & Hounds sits on, overlooking Marple, Stockport and - if you concentrate and squint a little bit - Manchester, allows little room for manoeuvre.
So in a bid to turn around and get back on track we are forced up an ever-narrowing staircase of a road on a dark, dark evening, typically pouring with rain.
Our 'modest' Skoda Fabia, working long into its retirement years with quiet and solemn dignity, desperately struggles up the lane's harsh bumps, peaks and valleys and we get the feeling that we shouldn't be here.
As we continue to climb we are eventually confronted with a hand-written sign on the right hand side of the road which looks like it has been scrawled in the font of a title card for a Simpsons Treehouse of Horror special.
It reads: "Turn around now."
We check our phones - no signal.
At this point we are convinced this is some sort of late Halloween stitch-up organised by our Manchester Evening News colleagues who sent us to review the pub.
Thankfully, by the sign there is a public footpath which finally allows us the room to turn around and slowly but surely make our way to the pub's car park.
After finally making our way into the Hare & Hounds we are met by warm staff and a roaring open fire to shake off the mishap of a journey.
It's 6pm on a Wednesday in November, so it's quiet but a few blokes are gathered at the pub making small talk with one another and the bar staff as they watch the BBC news bulletin and discuss how they 'cannot believe we are having another f***ing election'.
This is every inch a postcard British setting.
The pub and the people inside offer warmth and shelter after a long day of work, rubbish traffic and even worse weather.
Why, then, does it have such a cold, stuffy website that insists the venue allows only 'well-behaved children', or says that dogs are only welcome if 'no other diners object'?
You're either a dog-friendly pub, or you aren't - but don't be put off.
The reality once inside is that adorable dogs roam freely and are gleefully greeted by diners and drinkers alike, children are welcome to laugh and cry as loudly as they want without objection (adults, too) and everyone just gets on with it as the evening approaches 8pm and the place gets packed.
What’s cooking?
Every Wednesday and Thursday evening and Friday lunchtime, the pub offers a brilliant value 'grazing' menu including an appetiser - which during this visit was a curried pumpkin and poppy seed broth - alongside a starter, main and dessert for £16.95.
While we're tempted by the varied main menu, which includes a Wensleydale and cranberry pie (£14.95), and a duck breast, lychee salsa, fennel and onion bhaji (£19.95), we decide to take advantage of the weeknight offer.
For starter we opt for the salt and pepper chicken and the soup of the day - a Stilton and broccoli soup which suits the mood perfectly as we're still covered in rain.
The salt and pepper chicken is chaperoned by a wasabi mayo which, alongside the gang of chopped chilli, gives it a memorable and moreish kick.
It was a tough decision to decline the third option - a halloumi salad - but we were more than content with our choices.
You're also offered three options for mains - calves' liver, fish and chips and a vegetable tagine.
We swerve the liver and while the fish and chips - accompanied by a small mountain of tartar sauce the size of which I'd probably serve myself at home when no-one was watching - was hearty, the well-presented tagine was dull and forgettable. One to avoid in the future.
Should I save room for pudding?
Oh yes.
For dessert we opt for the sticky toffee pudding and chocolate brownie, which is served with blobs of a citrus sauce and has a broken Terry's Chocolate Orange slice situated on top.
It's heaven - especially when paired with a pint of Robinson's Cascade, a deep golden IPA. These two were meant to be together.
Meanwhile the sticky toffee pudding, crowned with a dollop of vanilla ice cream and swimming in a pool of toffee sauce, is excellent - though it's rare to come across one that isn't. What's not to love?
However it does play only a supporting role to the chocolate brownie which was worth the visit alone.
A selection of Cheshire Farm ice cream was also an option.
Can I get a decent pint?
It's a Robinson's pub, so you have some excellent options.
A few delicious pints of Dizzy Blonde and Cascade and you're reminded why the brewery is so successfully holding its own against the hoppy hipster IPA onslaught in Stockport.
Are you being served?
The cosy and comforting environment is bolstered by staff who attentively check in on how the open fire is doing every 30 minutes or so.
As it dims, one of the younger staff members approaches with a long, black fireplace poker.
"No one has shown me how to do this," he admits.
"I think I'm just meant to jab at it."
His efforts eventually provoke the fire back into life, and he's congratulated by a table of elderly diners sat by the open fire who have only just arrived, covered in rain.
What’s the damage?
£48.70, which includes four courses each for two, two pints of Dizzy Blonde, one pint of Cascade, a pint of Coke and a cup of tea.
The verdict:
A perfect destination for Stopfordians who want to try something cosy off the beaten track, or for Greater Mancunians enjoying a Sunday stroll 'in the countryside' with their family in Marple.
It offers excellent food at great value if you choose the right time to visit, alongside welcoming and warm locals and traditional pub surroundings for those weary of the hip eateries dominating the area.
The Hare & Hounds, 19 Mill Brow, Marple Bridge, Stockport SK6 5LW. http://www.hareandhoundsmillbrow.co.uk. 0161 427 4042.
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