Boutique hotels in Peak District
-
The Peacock at Rowsley
- Style
- Chic manor house
- Setting
- Deep-in-Derbyshire riverside
Peak District
Eating, drinking and dancing
We've tracked down the best cafés for people-watching, the bars with the coolest cocktails, the most accomplished restaurants and the liveliest local nightlife in Peak District.
Restaurants
(+44 (0)1629 733518)
The Peacock at Rowsley
A restaurant with rooms of unimpeachable quality, where you might eat Arctic char with crab risotto or first-class beef fillet with snails. The dining room is formal, the sitting room classily comfortable, and the bar a malt-whisky fan’s nemesis.
Bakewell Road, Rowsley, Derbyshire DE4 2EB
(+44 (0)1246 583259)
Fischer’s at Baslow Hall
Super-swank country-house restaurant with a ‘no jeans or trainers’ policy and elements such as ‘chef’s surprise savoury’ at dinner. Lunch here is a bargain, at between £20 and £24 a head, but there's also there’s an excellent six-course Prestige Menu of tasting dishes for dinner. Reservations advisable.
Calver Road, Baslow, Derbyshire DE45 1RR
(+44 (0)1433 630856)
The Barrel Inn
Lots of space in this high-perched turnpike inn on Eyam Edge, with country paraphernalia and views over five counties, makes it a good stop for Sunday lunch with children, or a pint of bitter by the fire (www.thebarrelinn.co.uk).
Bretton, Eyam, Derbyshire S32 5QD
(+44 (0)1629 733259)
Devonshire Arms
The vegetarian choice at this Chatsworth Estate village pub was particularly good when we visited, with dishes such as mushroom crumble, stilton and walnut salad, and slow-roasted vegetable risotto. There's also a sweet little brasserie and a bar.
Devonshire Square, Beeley, near Matlock, Derbyshire DE4 2NR
(+44 (0)1629 540448)
Ye Olde Gate Inn
Ghost stories, black beams from an Armada ship, and antique settles and pews make this ivy-covered inn near Carsington Water irresistibly atmospheric. Food such as clam chowder and cajun-spiced chicken betray the landlady’s Connecticut origins.
Well Street, Brassington, Derbyshire DE4 4HJ
(+44 (0)1260 252238)
Hanging Gate
A three-roomed drover’s inn up on a ridge with sweeping views. The good food includes Thai fishcakes and steak, the beers are from Hydes Brewery in Manchester. It gets busy, so if you’re out walking, ring ahead for a table if you want to eat there.
Meg Lane, Higher Sutton, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK11 0NG
(+44 (0)1457 872566)
White Hart
Excellent brasserie food is served in the contemporary-styled dining rooms at this stone inn at the edge of Saddleworth Moor: perhaps terrine of ham shank followed by haddock in beer batter. Well-kept beer, and some 15 wines by the glass.
Stockport Road, Lydgate, Lancashire OL4 4JJ
Cafés
(+44 (0)1246 582283)
Post Office Tea Room
Pronounced ‘Ensor’, the Chatsworth village of Edensor is among the prettiest on the estate. Inside its post office and shop, you’ll find soups and cream teas with ingredients that have never been anything but ‘locally sourced’.
Japp Lane, Edensor, Derbyshire DE45 1PH
Bassett Wood Farm
If there are many tearooms on this planet with windows for cow-watching, we want to know about them! This is an unbeatable family destination, with farm tours, a pets paddock and renowned kitchens (www.bassettwoodfarm.co.uk).
Tissington, Ashbourne, Derbyshire DE6 1RD
(+44 (0)1433 620472)
Rose Cottage Café
A pretty, traditional tearoom serving fine sandwiches, home-made cakes and good coffee, in the gateway village for Mam Tor, Speedwell Caves and Peveril Castle.
Cross Street, Castleton, Derbyshire S33 8WH
(+44 (0)1629 812193)
The Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop
Does exactly what it says on the sign above the door… see www.bakewellpuddingshop.co.uk if you still don’t get it.
The Square, Bakewell, Derbyshire DE45 1BT
Pubs
(+44 (0)1433 650319)
The Plough
Emphatically a food pub – try pig’s trotter and crab patties with chorizo basil oil – this 16th-century inn has a garden rolling down to the River Derwent. Log fires and some 30 whiskies and brandies add warmth in wintertime.
Leadmill Bridge, Hathersage, Derbyshire S32 1BA
(+44 (0)1433 630231)
The Chequers Inn
The good food at this busy pub includes super sausage and mash, calf’s liver and tandoori-chicken salad: book to get a table in the country-cottage interior or the ‘secret’ garden (www.chequers-froggatt.com). Reservations advisable.
Froggatt Edge, Hope Valley, Derbyshire S23 3ZJ
(+44 (0)1298 871458)
Red Lion
A tiny, friendly pub, all beams and uneven stone flags, with rabbit casserole and good steak ’n’ kidney pie on its menu. The beers on tap include seasonal offerings from local microbreweries.
Main Street, Litton, nr Tideswell, Derbyshire SK17 8QU
(+44 (0)1298 872268)
Three Stags’ Heads
Could this be the best ‘old man’s pub’ in the world? With home-made food served on plates from the pottery next door, Brimstone and ruddy strong Black Lurcher on tap, and dogs snoozing by the fire, we think so. All’s right with the world over a pint in this pub.
Wardlow Mires, Tideswell, Derbyshire SK17 8RW
(+44 (0)1629 822585)
The Bear
Open fires, grandfather clocks and talking parrots are among the attractions in this popular but unpretentious dining pub. Book a table to eat pork and black-pudding sausages or monkfish tails in Thai curry sauce. If you're lucky, you'll approach the pub from Jackass Lane, giving your 'lunch at the Bear' recollections a little extra mileage.
Alderwasley, Belper, Derbyshire DE56 2RD
(+44 (0)1260 227217)
Ship Inn
A walkers’ pub with its very own book of walks, £3, the Ship Inn is worth booking in advance for its home-made gnocchi or lamb shank in red wine.
Barlow Hill, Wincle, Congleton, Cheshire SK11 0QE
(+44 (0)1457 820902)
Church Inn
This own-brew moorside pub is rife with eccentricities, such as its menagerie of rabbits, geese, horses, dogs and rescued cats, an annual gurning championship, and Thursday night morris dancing. The dozen real ales are a big draw; the bar food is great value.
Church Lane, Uppermill, Oldham, Lancashire OL3 6LW
(+44 (0)1629 650302)
The Druid Inn
A creeper-clad, child-friendly pub near the Nine Ladies stone circle, with a terrace and garden seats – perfect for enjoying a leisurely Sunday lunch.
Main Street, Birchover, Matlock, Derbyshire DE4 2BL
(+44 (0)1629 812931)
The Bull’s Head
This former coaching inn in a pretty village near the banks of the River Wye has an acclaimed menu and remarkable puddings.
Church Street, Ashford-in-the-Water, Bakewell, Derbyshire DE45 1QB
