Bakewell is a historic market town in Derbyshire, with a population of 3,400 in 2024. It's the only sizable town in the Peak District National Park, and the park headquarters are here. It's best known for Bakewell pudding and Bakewell tart, but the big attractions are Chatsworth House and Haddon Hall a few miles out.
Bakewell Visitor Centre is in the Old Market Hall on Bridge St, open daily 10AM-4PM.
Get in
[edit]- "Every fool in Buxton can be at Bakewell in half an hour, and every fool in Bakewell at Buxton."
- - John Ruskin objected to the coming of the railway in 1862.
Map of Bakewell
Buxton is at the junction of A6 (the old London-Manchester-Carlisle coach road), A515 from the Midlands, and A537 from Cheshire. Gout-ridden Georgian gentlemen bumping along in their stagecoaches complained of the road congestion, and this historic feature has been preserved.
The railway closed in 1968 when Dr Beeching finally paid heed to Ruskin. Chesterfield is the nearest station, but Sheffield has more trains and better onward transport.
SY Bus 218 runs every 30 min from Sheffield Interchange, taking an hour via Baslow. M-F alternate buses run via Chatsworth House, Sa Su they all do.
SY Bus 257 is a slower route hourly M-Sa from Sheffield, taking 90 min via Hope, Great Hucklow, Hathersage, Calver, Eyam and Baslow.
Stagecoach Bus 170 runs from Chesterfield, taking a hour via Baslow and Chatsworth House. It's hourly M-Sa, every 2 hours on Sunday.
Transpeak Bus TP1 runs hourly from Derby, taking 90 min via Matlock and continuing to Buxton.
No bus station in Bakewell, the stops are around The Square.
Get around
[edit]The town is compact and walkable, and the bus gets you to Chatsworth.
Taxi firms are Pacman Travel (+44 7971 400015) and Al's (+44 7866 661188).
See
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- 1 Rutland Square is town centre, with handsome Georgian buildings lining the streets. But there's no bypass so it's busy with traffic.
- All Saints Church is 200 yards west of the Square on South Church St. It was founded in 920 AD and has two Saxon crosses in the churchyard. It's open M-Sa 9:30AM-4PM.
- Old House Museum, Cunningham Place DE45 1DD (100 yards west of All Saints), ☏ +44 1629 813642. Apr-Oct daily 11AM-4PM. Small museum in a Tudor house, later converted into mill-workers cottages. Adult £7.50, child £4.50.
- Bakewell Bridge is a medieval 5-arch bridge across the River Wye still open to traffic, as A619 Baslow Road. Lots of traffic, so it's best admired from the nearby riverbanks.
- Bakewell Castle remains only as a faint earthwork on Castle Hill east of the river, reached off Burre Close. It was a motte and bailey, a simple stockade never converted into a stone castle.
- 2 Haddon Hall, Bakewell DE45 1LA (2 miles south of town), ☏ +44 1629 812855. Apr-Oct daily 10:30AM-4PM. A splendid medieval hall, expanded piecemeal over the centuries and restored in the 20th century to its Tudor look. It's spawned several novels and plays, focussing on its Tudor owner Dorothy Vernon (1544 -1584) who supposedly eloped - there's no evidence she did. Adult £29.50, conc £26.65, child free.
- 3 Chatsworth House, Bakewell DE45 1PP (4 miles east of town), ☏ +44 1246 565300. Daily 10AM-4:30PM. Massive, spectacular late-17th-century home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, full of fine art and antique furniture. You view the state apartments and some 25 of the 125 private rooms, plus grand gardens designed by Capability Brown. It's inspired multiple books (starting with Pride and Prejudice in 1813), films and TV sagas. Adult £35, child £10.
- 4 Thornbridge Hall, Baslow Road, Ashford in the Water DE45 1NZ (Enter via A6020), ☏ +44 1629 640617. Daily 10AM-4PM. The hall dates back to the 12th century but was rebuilt in the 1870s in cod-Jacobean style. Much of the furniture comes from the demolished Clumber Hall in Sherwood Forest. It was a teacher training college from 1945 but refurbished as a family home from 1997. The Italianate gardens are sometimes closed off as a wedding venue. Garden adult £6.71, child £3.36, House adult £12.58, child £6.29.
- 5 Monsal Dale Viaduct carried the old Monsal railway over the deep dale of the River Wye. The route is paved and suitable for hiking and cycling.
- 6 Magpie Mine is the gaunt ruins of a lead mine, active from the 17th century but rebuilt in its present form from 1840. In 1833 its miners deliberately lit a fire that suffocated three miners down the rival Maypitt Mine: 24 were tried for murder but the prosecution failed to convict. The mine closed in 1958: the easiest approach is from Grin Low the lane to the south.
Do
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- Hiking: best map is OS Outdoor Leisure 24 "White Peak" (yellow covers, scale 1:25,000).
- Monsal Trail is an 8.5 mile path between Bakewell and Buxton along a former railway. It's paved and suitable for cycling.
- Golf: Bakewell GC is on Station Rd half a mile east of town. White tees 5244 yards, par 68.
- Chatsworth GC is on B6012 half a mile west of the House.
Buy
[edit]- Central Coop is on Market St, open M-Sa 8AM-10PM, Su 10AM-4PM.
- Aldi supermarket is on Ashford Rd, open M-Sa 8AM-10PM, Su 10AM-4PM.
- Bakewell Market is held M 9AM-4PM on Market Place and Granby Road.
- Farmers Market is last Saturday of the month at the Agricultural Business Centre east riverbank.
- Chatsworth Estate Farm Shop is in Pilsley DE45 1UF near the House. Pricey, but most visitors reckon the quality is worth it. It's open M-Sa 9AM-5:30PM, Su 10AM-5PM.
Eat
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- Bakewell pudding is first documented in 1836. It has a flaky pastry base with a layer of sieved jam and is topped with a filling of egg and almond paste.
- Bakewell tart evolved from Bakewell pudding some time in the mid 19th century. It has a shortcrust pastry shell filled with raspberry jam and frangipane (a sweet almond-flavoured custard) and is topped with flaked almonds.
- Several places vie for recognition as the origins of these desserts.
Budget
[edit]- The Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop, The Square DE45 1BT, ☏ +44 1629 812193. Daily 8:30AM-6PM. Good menu range beyond the inevitable pudding. Touristy but slick service.
- Pizzuti Kitchen is a small pizzeria west end of The Square open Th-Sa 5-8PM.
- Matlock Street south from The Square has Graze Cafe, Bakewell Tart Shop (below), Lavender Tea Rooms, Summat and Catch 22 fish & chips.
- The Bakewell Tart Shop, 18 Matlock Street DE45 1EE (100 yards south of The Square), ☏ +44 1629 814692. Daily 9:30AM-4PM. Coffee shop, great place to try the tarts.
- Secret Garden is a cafe on Water St open daily 9:30AM-6PM.
- Honey Bun Café, 1 Water Street DE45 1EW, ☏ +44 7774 742542. M-W F Sa 10AM-3:30PM. Dog-friendly cafe.
- Bakewell Pudding Parlour, Wye House, Water Street DE45 1EW, ☏ +44 1629 815107. Daily 9AM-5PM. Good range of light bites.
- River & Roast Upstairs Café, 3 Market Street DE5 2HG, ☏ +44 1629 815567. Small friendly cafe opposite the Co-op.
- Riverside Fish and Chips (formerly Wye Plaice) is a sit-in cafe on Granby Rd, open Su M 11AM-6PM, Tu-Sa 11AM-9PM.
Mid-range
[edit]- 1 Piedaniels Restaurant, Bath Street DE45 1BX, ☏ +44 1629 812687. W-Sa noon-3:30PM, 7-11PM. Rave reviews for this classy French restaurant.
- Rajas, Bridge Street DE45 1DS, ☏ +44 1629 814336. Daily 4:30-11PM. Mixed reports for this Indian restaurant by the bridge.
- 2 Devonshire Arms, High St, Pilsley DE45 1UL, ☏ +44 1246 582551. This village inn near Chatsworth gets great reviews for its food. They also have rooms.
Drink
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- Water from the tap is "hard" from the limestone content but safe and quaffable. Bakewell's chalybeate spa water is no longer available, you'll have to make do with Buxton water.
- The Red Lion, The Square DE45 1BT, ☏ +44 1629 701262. Very central, with good food and comfy rooms.
- The Manners, Haddon Road DE45 1EP (200 yards south of The Square), ☏ +44 1629 812756. Dog-friendly pub, so-so meals. They have rooms, and camper vans can stay overnight in the car park.
- The Wheatsheaf, Bridge Street DE45 1DS, ☏ +44 1629 813600. Daily 9:30AM-11PM. Friendly pub with good grub.
- Queen's Arms, Bridge Street DE45 1DS, ☏ +44 1629 814586. Daily noon-11:30PM. Trad pub in a 300 year old building.
- Cheese & Wine Bar is next to H Hotel on Water St.
- Thornbridge Brewery is a mile north of town on Buxton Rd. The taproom is open Su-Th noon-9PM, F Sa noon-11PM.
Sleep
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- Rutland Arms Hotel, The Square DE45 1BT, ☏ +44 1629 812812. Dead centre of town, a charming hotel of character with good dining. B&B double £200.
- H Hotel, Water St DE45 1EW (100 yards east of The Square), ☏ +44 1629 812033. Smart central hotel, large peaceful rooms. B&B double £200.
- 1 The Peacock, Old Market Hall, Bridge St DE45 1DS, ☏ +44 1629 813635. Central pub with rooms, indifferent food. B&B double £130.
- 2 Castle Inn, Castle Street DE45 1DU, ☏ +44 1629 812103. Comfy rooms in a pub by the river bridge. B&B double £120.
- Bagshaw Hall is upmarket self-catering in a mansion built 1684. It's on Bagshaw Hill 200 yards north of All Saints.
- 3 Bolehill Farm Cottages, Monyash Road, Bakewell DE45 1QW, ☏ +44 1629 812359. Eight self-catering cottages in converted farm buildings 2 miles from Bakewell.
- 4 The Cavendish, Church Lane, Baslow DE45 1SP, ☏ +44 1246 582311. Stylish hotel on the Chatsworth Estate, a 30 min walk to the House. Great comfort, service and cuisine. Assistance dogs only. B&B double £300.
- Chatsworth Estate also has self-catering accommodation.
- 5 Fischer's Baslow Hall, Calver Rd, Baslow DE45 1RR, ☏ +44 1246 583259. Gorgeous hotel in an Edwardian manor, great style and cuisine. No dogs. B&B double £270.
- 6 The Peacock at Rowsley, Bakewell Rd, Rowsley DE4 2EB, ☏ +44 1629 733518. Hotel in a 17th-century manor house, part of the Haddon Hall estate. Occasional lapses in the cuisine but mostly to a high standard. B&B double £400.
- Grouse & Claret is a pub with rooms opposite the Peacock in Rowsley.
- They also run a caravan park across the river.
Connect
[edit]As of May 2026, Bakewell and its approach roads have 4G from O2, Three and Vodafone, and 5G from EE.
Go next
[edit]- Matlock together with Matlock Bath is 8 miles south. It's another former spa town, with a heritage tramway, and cable-car up Abraham's Heights.
- Cromford is a mile beyond Matlock Bath. Its main draw is Arkwright's Mill from the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.
- Buxton 12 miles west has a Georgian centre and is still in the spa business.
- Eyam 7 miles north is the village that was struck by plague in 1655 and isolated itself to prevent further spread. It probably made no difference.
| Routes through Bakewell |
| Manchester ← Buxton ← | W  SE
|
→ Matlock → Derby |