THE HIDDEN PLACES OF THE PEAK DISTRICT AND DERBYSHIRE By Mike Gerrard © Travel Publishing Ltd Published by: Regional Hidden Places Travel Publishing Ltd Airport Business Centre, 10 Thornbury Road, Cornwall Estover, Plymouth PL6 7PP Devon Dorset, Hants & Isle of Wight ISBN13 9781904434993 East Anglia Lake District & Cumbria Northumberland & Durham Peak District and Derbyshire © Travel Publishing Ltd Yorkshire National Hidden Places England Ireland First Published: 1991 Second Edition: 1994 Scotland Third Edition: 1997 Fourth Edition: 1999 Wales Fifth Edition: 2002 Sixth Edition: 2005 Country Pubs and Inns Seventh Edition: 2007 Eighth Edition: 2009 Ninth Edition: 2010 Cornwall Devon Wales Yorkshire Country Living Rural Guides Please Note: East Anglia Heart of England All advertisements in this publication have been accepted in Ireland good faith by Travel Publishing. North East of England All information is included by the publishers in good faith and North West of England is believed to be correct at the time of going to press. No Scotland responsibility can be accepted for errors. South South East Editor: Mike Gerrard Wales Printing by: Latimer Trend, Plymouth West Country Location Maps: © Maps in Minutes TM (2010) Other Guides © Collins Bartholomews 2010 All rights reserved. Off the Motorway Cover Photo: Stanage Edge, Peak District Garden Centres and Nurseries © James Osmond/Alamy of Britain Text Photos: See page 220 This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not by way of trade or otherwise be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that which it is published and without similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchase. Foreword This is the 9th edition of the Hidden Places of the Peak District and Derbyshire which has an attractive new cover and redesigned page layouts. The changes will significantly improve the usefulness, accessibility and appeal of the guide. We do hope you like the new look. Editorially, the new style will continue Travel Publishing’s commitment to exploring the more interesting, unusual or unique places of interest in The Peak District and Derbyshire. In this respect we would like to thank the Tourist Information Centres who helped us update the editorial content of the book. The Peak District National Park was the very first of Britain’s National Parks covering an area of 540 square miles. The Dark Peak covering north Derbyshire and small parts of Cheshire and South Yorkshire is an area of windswept moorland, steep river valleys and impressive crags. Futher south is the White Peak a limestone-based undulating green landscape criss-crossed by miles of dry stone walls and gently flowing rivers whilst to the west can be found the beautiful valleys and rivers of the Dales as well as the Staffordshire Moorlands. In contrast the rest of Derbyshire offers the visitor an intriguing mix of villages and towns packed with cultural and industrial heritage and should certainly not be missed. The Hidden Places of the Peak District and Derbyshire contains a wealth of information on the history, culture and the hundreds of interesting places to be found within the National Park and the county of Derbyshire. But it also promotes the more secluded and little known visitor attractions and advertises places to stay, eat and drink many of which are easy to miss unless you know exactly where you are going. These are cross-referenced to more detailed information contained in a separate, easy-to-use section to the rear of the book. This section is also available as a free supplement from the local Tourist Information Offices. We include hotels, bed & breakfasts, restaurants, pubs, bars, teashops and cafes as well as historic houses, museums, gardens and many other attractions throughout the Peak District and Derbyshire, all of which are comprehensively indexed. Many places are accompanied by an attractive photograph and are easily located by using the map at the beginning of each chapter. We do not award merit marks or rankings but concentrate on describing the more interesting, unusual or unique features of each place with the aim of making the reader’s stay in the local area an enjoyable and stimulating experience. Whether you are travelling around the Peak District and Derbyshire on business or for pleasure we do hope that you enjoy reading and using this book. We are always interested in what readers think of places covered (or not covered) in our guides so please do not hesitate to use the reader reaction form provided to give us your considered comments. We also welcome any general comments which will help us improve the guides themselves. Finally if you are planning to visit any other corner of the British Isles we would like to refer you to the list of other Hidden Places titles to be found to the rear of the book and to the Travel Publishing website. Travel Publishing Did you know that you can also search our website for details of thousands of places to see, stay, eat or drink throughout Britain and Ireland? Our site has become increasingly popular and now receives hundreds of thousands of visits. Try it! website: www.findsomewhere.co.uk Contents iii Foreword iv Regional Map 1 Contents GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS: 3 Chapter 1: Buxton and the Dark Peak 31 Chapter 2: Bakewell, Matlock and the White Peak 61 Chapter 3: Dovedale and the Staffordshire Moorlands 83 Chapter 4: The Trent Valley 101 Chapter 5: The Amber Valley and Erewash 123 Chapter 6: Derbyshire Coal Mines ADVERTISEMENTS: 138 Peak District and Derbyshire Advertisements INDEXES AND LISTS: 219 List of Tourist Information Centres 220 Image Copyright Holders 222 Order Forms 223 Reader Comment Forms 229 Index of Towns, Villages and Places of Interest 235 List of Advertisers Hidden Places of LOCATION MAP 3 S Denby Middleton A635 Dale Holmfirth A629 15 37 Oldham Dodworth 19 20 21 Barnsley 22 Mossley Penistone Wombwell A670 A616 M60 Woodhead 36 The Peak District The Peak Langsett 23 Stocksbridge 3 MANCHESTER A628 Chapeltown35 24 1 3 13 Glossop Denton Hyde 14 M60 S. YORKSHIRE 25 Romiley Peak 12 Brookhouses Snake Pass Inn 3 5 1 A57 Stockport 10 District Hazel New Hayfield Cheadle 11 Grove Mills A 6 2 4 20 21 SHEFFIELD Buxton and the Dark Peak Hope Wilmslow A6 9 16 17 22 Hathersage Poynton 7 18 19 25 23 8 26 Alderley A523 29 Bradwell 24 Edge Whaley Dronfield 30 Bridge Bollington 1 2 A623 Grindleford 31 3 4 Prestbury A537 Buxton 5 6 Tideswell 27 A621 A61 Macclesfield DERBYSHIRE Chesterfield A 28 619 A34 A54 Bakewell Morridge Youlgreave Top A515 Longnor Clay Congleton A53 Cross Hartington Newhaven Matlock Accommodation Accommodation 2 The Devonshire Arms, Buxton pg 5, 139 26 The Little John Inn, Hathersage, 3 Nat’s Kitchen, Buxton pg 5, 140 Hope Valley pg 22, 158 5 Alpine Lodge Guest House, Buxton pg 6, 142 28 The Ryles Arms, Higher Sutton, 8 The Roebuck Inn, Chapel-en-le-Frith pg 9, 143 Macclesfield pg 26, 160 10 The Sportsman, Hayfield, High Peak pg 13, 145 31 The Church House Inn, Bollington pg 28, 162 13 The Star Inn, Glossop pg 14, 147 16 Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Inn, Castleton, Food & Drink Hope Valley pg 17, 150 18 Denewood, Castleton, Hope Valley pg 18, 152 1 Cheshire Cheese, Buxton pg 5, 139 19 Causeway House, Castleton, Hope Valley pg 18, 153 2 The Devonshire Arms, Buxton pg 5, 139 21 The Old Hall Hotel, Hope, Hope Valley pg 19, 154 3 Nat’s Kitchen, Buxton pg 5, 140 23 Ye Olde Bowling Green Inn, Bradwell, 4 The Tradesman’s Entrance, Buxton pg 5, 141 Hope Valley pg 20, 155 7 In a Pickle, Chapel-en-le-Frith pg 9, 143 24 Stoney Ridge, Bradwell, Hope Valley pg 20, 156 8 The Roebuck Inn, Chapel-en-le-Frith pg 9, 143 25 Elliotts Coffee Shop & Bistro, Hathersage, 9 The Lamb Inn, Chinley, High Peak pg 10, 144 Hope Valley pg 22, 157 10 The Sportsman, Hayfield, High Peak pg 13, 145 2 BUXTON AND THE DARK PEAK Hidden Places of The Peak District is a truly topographically diverse tract of land in the Southern Apennine Range, also known as the ‘Backbone of England’. It divides the rugged north from the softer District The Peak pastoral countryside of the south and lies mostly in the county of Derbyshire but extends its reaches into the neighbouring counties of Staffordshire, Cheshire, South Yorkshire, and as far north as West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester. At its hub is the Peak District National Park – the first in Britain - Pennine Way, Peak District Buxton and the Dark Peak covers an area of 555 square miles (1,438-km). The land itself is divided into two distinct regions that take their sandstone and shale. The rugged millstone names from the underlying rocks: the Dark grit moorland and crags enclose the softer Peak and the White Peak. The contrast could limestone plateau of the White Peak like a not be more marked, and it gives the Peak horseshoe. The ancient, originally pagan District a unique, dual personality which is custom of well-dressing and the mysterious constantly changing, yet as comfortably Castleton Garlanding Ceremony are found enduring as the rocks themselves. mainly in these limestone areas of The northern area of the Peak District Derbyshire, where the streams frequently National Park, known as the Dark Peak or disappear through the porous rock. High Peak, is a landscape of moorland and There are spectacular rock formations, deep valleys edged with escarpments of dark picturesque villages and historic churches and Food & Drink Food & Drink 11 The Pack Horse, Hayfield, High Peak pg 13, 146 26 The Little John Inn,