Boutique hotels
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The Peacock at Rowsley
- Style
- Trad manor, modern twist
- Setting
- Deep-in-Derbyshire riverside
Peak District Eating, drinking and dancing
Restaurants
(+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)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)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)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 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)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
(+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
Cafés
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)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
(+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
