MINI GUIDE
Outdoors Peak District
COMPILED BY LORNA PARKES, WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM CATHERINE LE NEVEZ. PHOTOGRAPHS: RICHARD WHEELER/ALAMY, ROBBIE SHONE/SHONEPHOTOGRAPHY.COM, FRANK FELL/AGEFOTOSTOCK, TRAVELLINGLIGHT/ALAMY, STONECROFT PHOTO/HIGH PEAK PHOTOGRAPHY, THE OLD ORIGINAL BAKEWELL PUDDING SHOP/PHOTO MARC BARKERPeak District essentials The know-how
FURTHER READING
Lonely Planet’s
England
(US$24.99)
covers the Peak
District in its
Birmingham,
the Midlands &
the Marches chapter, which
can also be downloaded
individually (US$4.95) at
lonelyplanet.com. Pride &
Prejudice (US$6; Penguin
Classics) is possibly Jane
Austen’s finest novel, much
of it set against a backdrop
of Peak District countryside.
For detailed information on
walks, visit the Walking
Englishman
(walkingenglishman.com/
peakdistrict.htm), packed
with comprehensive trail
reviews and photographs.THE BAKEWELL PUDDING
The Peak District’s famous
dessert was invented following
an accidental misreading of a
recipe around 1820. Rich and
delicious, it makes a great
post-hike treat and there are
two shops in Bakewell that
claim to be the creator:
l The Old Original Bakewell
Pudding Shop has a quaint
first-floor tearoom with
exposed beams where you can
sit down and try the pudding
with lashings of custard, or as
part of an afternoon tea
(bakewellpuddingshop.co.uk).
l There’s no sit-down dining in
Bloomers of Bakewell, set in a
17th-century stone building. If
you don’t make it here in person,
it’s possible to order a Bakewell
pudding online and have it
posted to your door
(bloomersofbakewell.co.uk).TRANSPORT
Head to London first on British
Airways from Singapore or Kuala
Lumpur (from US$758; ba.com).
Matlock and Bakewell are the
area’s two main transport hubs,
but neither town is connected
directly to London by train (you
need to change at Stockport).
Many National Express London-
Manchester buses stop at
Matlock, Bakewell and Buxton
(London to Bakewell from
US$43; nationalexpress.com).
The Peak Plus is a handy pass
offering all-day travel on most
High Peak buses (US$9.25;
highpeakbuses.com).Stonecroft’s Back Tor Room has
views over the Edale ValleyActivities Tours Sights SleepingWHERE TO STAY
Handsome two-room b&b
Stonecroft lies in an enchanting
cluster of houses surrounded by
majestic country. Host Julia is an
award-winning chef; her packed
lunches (US$7.50) are available on
request (stonecroftguesthouse.co.
uk; Edale; from US$122).In a Hope Valley village near
Castleton, Samuel Fox is an
enchanting inn owned by chef
James Duckett. The gorgeous
pastel-shaded guestrooms
upstairs come with a sumptuous
breakfast (samuelfox.co.uk;
Bradwell; from US$160).
Within rolling distance of the
famed pudding shops, Rutland
Arms is an aristocratic-looking old
coaching inn with 33 rooms and
lots of Victorian flourishes. Jane
Austen is said to have stayed
(rutlandarmsbakewell.co.uk;
Bakewell; from US$190).