Discover the Peaks
The Peak District has a dual personality - there's the Dark Peak and the White Peak. The division reflects the two different rock types - the Dark Peak, in the north of the area (roughly), is mainly gritstone while the White Peak is limestone.
The names also echo the character of each part, the Dark Peak being quite bleak in places while the White Peak is friendlier. Its stone walls turn the hill fields into chequerboards and its dales are often beautifully wooded and full of wildlife.
Within the White Peak lies the little village of Over Haddon, and the Lathkil Hotel. The village is very attractive without being over-precious, surrounded as it is by working farms. In summer its clear air and wonderful views are almost intoxicating (and that's before you've visited the bar at The Lathkil).
The district is full of fascination. Some of England's greatest stately homes are here, within twenty minutes or so of the hotel - Chatsworth, Haddon Hall, Hardwick Hall.
A mile and a half away is the small market town of Bakewell, a good shopping centre and the home of the delicious Bakewell Pudding, which incidentally has little in common with the Bakewell Tart, its commercial cousin.
In winter, sudden heavy snowfalls (which fortunately disappear equally quickly as a rule) can turn it into something of a dreamscape.
Twelve miles in the other direction is Buxton, with its famous opera house. Buxton is an ancient spa town and you can still drink the water from the original spring.
Local Traditions
There are working water mills, farm museums, tram museums, mining museums, cable cars at Matlock Bath and, in summer, the ancient well-dressing ceremonies - the intricate designs which adorn the wells are made from thousands of individual flower petals.
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