Hope is a great centre for exploring the valley and the further Peak District, and boasts a number of excellent cafes and pubs as well as the brilliant local butchers and deli, ‘Watsons’ on Edale Road.

Castleton, with its world-famous Blue John Caverns, 11^th century Peveril Castle, unique landslide scenery at Mam Tor and charming collection of cafes, pubs and shops. 

Edale, at the start of the Pennine Way, a starting point for many walking adventures and home of the annual Beer Barrel race. 

Hathersage, with its wonderful outdoor swimming pool, access to climbing and abseiling on Stanage Edge, and links to Robin Hood and Jane Eyre.

Across the hill, Derwent Valley offers a beautiful set of reservoirs with fishing, stunning walks and cycle hire.

Further afield the market towns of Bakewell and Buxton provide ample opportunities for shopping, fine dining and relaxation. For those looking for days out, Chatsworth House and Haddon Hall are both within a 30 minute drive of the cottages.

Some of our favourites

By no means exhaustive, below is a list of some of our favourite places and activities around the Hope Valley:

The Wild Kettle Cafe at the Hope Valley Garden Centre in Bamford

Delicious lunches and cakes at sensible prices (recommend their soups!) but gets busy so get there in good time. Free parking at the garden centre. 

The Bird Cafe by the river

Great cakes and lovely small deli and gift shop, but the main attraction is the bird feeding station! Sit next to the windows and watch a wide range of birds while you enjoy your own tasty treats. Bird guide books and binoculars provided.

The Adventure Hub indoor climbing

Great for a rainy day, small but perfectly formed indoor climbing and bouldering spaces. Open to the public 10 – 4 pm Tues to Friday and 1 – 5 pm Saturdays. 

The Cheshire Cheese Inn, Edale Road

Not to be confused with Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese in Castleton (also good, but not just round the corner!), the Cheshire Cheese on Edale Road is a ten minute walk from our cottages and offers real ale, home cooked food and open fires. Dogs and muddy boots welcome.

Hathersage Pool

A proper old-fashioned Lido which has been serving the community for nearly 90 years! Heated to 25 degrees centigrade the pool is a delight in all seasons and has a mix of pre bookable sessions and ‘free flow’ pay on entry sessions.

Haddon Hall

This beautiful mediaeval manor house is well worth a visit, especially for families as children (up to 15) go free. The courtyard will be very familiar to fans of ‘The Princess Bride’!

Upper Derwent Valley reservoirs

Between them, the reservoirs cover almost  200 square kilometres, and are surrounded by the most stunning scenery. The area is superb for walking, cycling and riding, with bike hire available from Derwent Bike Hire.

Stanage Edge, Hathersage

A draw for climbers, abseilers, walkers, paragliders and those who wish to find Robin Hood’s cave, Stanage appeals to everyone.

Little John’s grave, at St Michael and All Angels church, Hathersage

This beautiful church is open to the public most days during daylight hours, but the main is undoubtedly the grave of Little John which lies under a yew tree to the south of the church. Tradition has it that Little John was a Hathersage man and that he died in a small cottage nearby.

Electric bike hire, at the Hope Valley Garden Centre in Bamford

Bikes both standard and electric can be hired to explore the local area from BikeGarage in Bamford.

Treak Cliff cavern, Castleton

All the caverns in Castleton are well worth an explore but if we had to choose one to recommend it would be Treak Cliff. As well as the cavern, a little further up the road you’ll find the post-apocalyptic landscape of the A625 on Mam Tor, where the road was defeated by the landslides and eventually abandoned. Definitely not your standard Peak District landscape but a very interesting one!

Well dressing

Different villages around the Peak District dress their wells at different times of the year, but if you’re up in the summer it’s worth checking out if anywhere locally will be having a display. https://welldressing.com/ gives dates for each village

Castleton Garland Day, 29th May

If you happen to be up on 29th May and fancy seeing a man in a bell made of flowers riding a horse through the streets of Castleton, accompanied by a brass band and a troupe of white-clad children doing a pub crawl with circle dancing, then check out the Castleton Garland Day!

Hope Show, August Bank holiday

Hope Show is held annually on August Bank Holiday Monday at the Hope Showground, Castleton Road. It features events including sheepdog trials, displays of champion cattle, sheep and horses, craft and food tents, horticultural exhibits and many other trade stands.