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Bakewell
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Lovely Bakewell setting

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Bakewell's bridge over the river Wye!

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Bustling Bakewell has everything for tourists and locals alike!

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One of the 'original' Bakewell Pudding shops!

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We hope you'll bring plenty of bread for the ducks!

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Plenty of shops to help you spend your money in Bakewell!

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Time for refreshment at one of Bakewell's several good pubs!

Location: Bakewell
County: Derbyshire
Telephone - please mention Let's Stay Peak District: (Tourist information - brochures etc) - 01629 813227
Send email: To find out more about advertising on the Bakewell section of this website - please click here
Website: http://www.peakdistrict-nationalpark.com/tourist/Bakewell.html

Area Guides:
Bakewell


Details: Bakewell Holiday accommodation and town guide - this Bakewell holiday accommodation, town guide and tourist information page has links to Bakewell hotels, Bakewell holiday cottages, Bakewell b&b, pubs, campsites, restaurants and much more.

BAKEWELL HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION
- ALL Bakewell holiday accommodation>
- Bakewell Hotels
- Holiday Cottages in Bakewell
- Bakewell B&Bs
Interested in advertising your Bakewell holiday accommodation or tourist related business?
- To find out more about advertising on the Bakewell section of this website please call Mike Cummins on 01246 828833 or click the following link ...Advertising your Bakewell holiday accommodation with Let's Stay Peak District

BAKEWELL HOLIDAY & TOWN GUIDE
Copyright - Let's Stay Peak District - 2007

- No town has a better claim than bustling Bakewell to be considered the capital of the Peak. Its delightful situation, surrounded by fields and wooded hills, its riverside walks, and its cluster of stone built shops and houses, filling the valley and climbing steeply up to join the historic parish church - combine to make Bakewell one of the busiest and prettiest market towns in England.

Bakewell and the surrounding area perfectly demonstrate the softer face of the Peak National Park - a series of hills and dales dotted with charming gritstone villages which nestle out of the wind below impressive rock edges.

Sparkling, trout-filled rivers run through the valley bottoms, crossed by ancient bridges and in copses of silver birch, tough moorland sheep find a meal amongst the rocks and the heather.

This area of Derbyshire has for generations been valued by the aristocracy for its fine scenery, high quality agriculture and good hunting, and the most perfect locations were selected and developed centuries ago. Magnificent Chatsworth House and Haddon Hall - a veritable medieval time-capsule - are but a few minutes drive from the centre of Bakewell.

Bakewell enjoys a wonderful setting
Warm springs first attracted the Romans to Bakewell and today a warm Derbyshire welcome continues to attract thousands of visitors to this lovely Peak District town.

Long after the Romans had left, Bakewell developed around a thriving market and its beautiful thirteenth century bridge shows it has long been a community of considerable importance.

The recently redeveloped livestock market ensures Bakewell is still one of the major agricultural centres of the county, and the point is proved every year at the Bakewell Show - a splendid two-day event which draws farmers, provisioners, craftspeople, competitive riders, and hundreds of spectators from far and wide.

Puddings......not tarts!

Without doubt the town's greatest claim to fame is a unique culinary delight which bears its name - and beware! Don't offend the inhabitants by asking for a Bakewell tart. The correct term is, always was, and always will be 'Bakewell Pudding'.
And they're ever so tasty.....!

Legend has it that the original pudding was created accidentally after a mix up in the kitchens of the fine Georgian coaching house which is now the Rutland Arms Hotel. Bakewell Pudding makers and retailers in the centre of the town will be pleased to sell you a pudding to their secret recipe, or to mail one for you to a lucky friend, anywhere in the world!

A hundred reasons to stay in Bakewell....
There are a hundred reasons to base yourself in Bakewell, on your visit. If you have children you'll be pleased that the Peak National Park's largest town has more to offer than most in the way of general and special interest shopping, and there are good selection of places to eat, from up market wine bars to friendly food pubs.

You'll find plenty of pubs in Bakewell!..
You'll also find art galleries and antique dealers, both stocking items with a strong local flavour - and speaking of local flavour, be sure to drive or bus out of Bakewell to the nearby village of Pilsley.

Here you will find the renowned Chatsworth Farm Shop which supplies the most fascinating and tempting range of local produce and speciality foods both here, in the converted stables of what was the Duke of Devonshire's shire horse stud farm, and from its new location in London's Belgravia!

For the price of a couple of sausage rolls (and a Bakewell pudding, of course) walk out of the town over the ancient bridge and turn left through the stile. Here the Wye winds through quiet water meadows which make a perfect picnic venue.

Alternatively, having picked up a map from the Tourist Information Centre in the town, turn right once over the bridge and walk uphill to the old Bakewell railway station. The defunct line has been converted to become a quiet and sheltered walk to nearby Hassop and beyond, renamed the Monsal Trail.

A few ideas for you when you're in the town...
A short drive or a splendid walk away across Chatsworth Park, the village of Baslow is thought of by many as the gateway to the Chatsworth Estate.

Boasting a good crop of food pubs and restaurants, in addition to one of the area's finest hotels, the Cavendish, Baslow is also an excellent starting and ending point for any number of circular walks taking in the sculpted pastures of Chatsworth or, to the north of the A619, the slightly more demanding walking of Baslow Edge.

The ancient packhorse route to nearby Chesterfield is the easiest route along the back of the edge, and will lead you to Wellington's Monument, with its magnificent views over Chatsworth. From here a rocky farm track winds pleasantly back down into the village.

In and around the area...
Follow the Derwent upstream from Baslow, on foot or by road, and explore Calver (pronounced Carver) and Curbar, both villages giving excellent access to the edges above.

Still further upstream (or, if you happen to be in a car, up the road!) Hathersage is a gateway to the north of the Peak Park with its wild and glorious moorlands. Hathersage itself, though not a commercial centre in the way of Bakewell, is larger than its neighbouring villages and offers plenty of opportunity for midday refreshments or evening meals.

Don't visit Hathersage without taking the slight diversion into Eyam (pronounced Eem) - the renowned 'plague village' which cut itself off from the world in order to avoid spreading the deadly infection that ravaged Britain in the Middle Ages.

The villagers' heroism cost them nearly three hundred lives. Eyam is in many ways little changed since those days and the village, Eyam Hall and the parish church all provide fascinating access to a unique piece of history.

South-west of Bakewell the gritstone of the northern Peak gives way to the limestone of the south and the villages are of a slightly altered character.

Youlgrave offers a wonderfully huddled collection of leadminers' cottages and gives access to riverside walks in Bradford Dale, whilst Monyash and Over Haddon will both feed and rest you, and lead you into the dramatic cleft of Lathkil Dale.

A particular treasure of the area is picturesque and much-photographed Ashford-in-the-Water, gained by following the Wye upstream out of Bakewell along the A6 to Buxton.

The area around its famous Sheepwash Bridge provides a picnic venue par excellence and there is superb walking to the west through Shacklow Wood to Sheldon, and via Monsal Head into Monsal Dale.

Local knowledge
Take the Monyash road out of Bakewell until you see the signs taking you upwards and left to Over Haddon where a craft centre and the marvellously situated Lathkil Hotel await you.

There are breathtaking views down the dale and ample opportunity for some reasonably easy walking, though the walk back up into Over Haddon can be a little demanding if you have a tired four year old on your shoulders!

Don't overlook the old lead mining hamlet of Sheldon (along the A6 towards Buxton) boasting a recently-opened pub (Cock & Pullet in 1995) and very attractive houses in a pretty setting. Flagg can be found just up the road and holds an annual Spring point to point race.

(See separate village article for Sheldon now online)

ANNUAL BAKEWELL SHOW
Always a marvellous spectacle!
A traditional country show, Bakewell Show offers a whole host of attractions and events that make it popular with visitors of all ages and interests.

For more information contact:
Clare Fletcher
The Showground
Bakewell
Derbyshire

tel:-01629 812 736 fax:-01629 813 597

In addition to the popular livestock classes, regular features include rural crafts, prizewinning fruit and veg, floral art, antiques, a 'fisherman's walk', Village Green and hundreds of trade stands... as well as the country pursuits and a mini fairground for the youngsters.

The popular British Food & Farming Exhibition has its own demonstration theatre, with a running programme of cheese making, meat cutting and cookery demonstrations. Other sections, like the horticultural exhibition, feature their own events such as the successful Gardeners' Question Time which was launched a few years ago.

Arena attractions include international showjumping, the military band of the Yorkshire Volunteers and the Grand Parade of Champions at the climax of each day.

The Show - which annually attracts around 50,000 visitors over two days - takes place at Bakewell's own picturesque showground on the banks of the River Wye.

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Another Peak District Tourist Guide listing created by Let's Stay Peak District - Tel: 01629 640 640.