Matlock Bath and Bakewell
Similar to last year our final adventure for 2023 was spent literally just before Christmas in the Peak District together with Russell and Roza. Unfortunately Flo and Mike had to cancel so it was just the 4 of us this time. Roza had booked an AirBnB in the very centre of Bakewell which was handy for local pubs and restaurants for the two evenings we were there.
Chris and I arrived in Bakewell on the Friday afternoon, the 4 of us did a 14 mile hike on the Saturday and we went home on the Sunday morning which happened to be Christmas Eve! (The hike will be covered in the next post).
Matlock Bath
However this post begins with our journey to the Peak District where Chris and I had lunch in Matlock Bath, similar to last weekend, in another Christmassy pub! Unlike last year we had no snow this time, and our Friday visit to Matlock Bath was grey with a sprinkling of light rain.
Above is The Fishpond, the large and lively pub where we enjoyed a tasty lunch while listening to Christmas music. In front of the pub, unsurprisingly is a fish pond with an unusual large mossy water feature!
Matlock Bath occupies a scenic location along the River Derwent and is called ‘Bath’ due to 3 thermal springs being discovered there back in 1698. The original bath was then produced here, made with wood and lined with lead.
Matlock Bath is just a mile or so from the village of Cromford a place Chris and I visited on a cold but sunny day in February 2022.
The town is also famous for being a ‘seaside’ town. With its promenades, fish and chip shops and amusement arcades, tourists come to Matlock Bath to pretend they are at the seaside.
Matlock Bath is located alongside the River Derwent which is about 50 miles long and is a tributary of the River Trent. The waters were high and steps leading down to the river were submerged.
Matlock Bath is a scenic place and it would be even more so in the spring time in sunny weather, or even in snowy weather. But in grey drizzle it looked a bit… meh…
The Jubilee Bridge at Matlock Bath was built to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Queen Victoria, then then Empress of India, in 1887.
Bakewell
From Matlock Bath, Chris and I continued driving for another 10 miles or so to Bakewell, our base for the weekend.
Bakewell is a market town in the Peak District well known for it’s ‘bakewell tart’ a cake with its pastry base, frangipane (like an almond sponge) and topped with almonds. A tasty variation is the cherry bakewell, a bakewell tart topped with icing and a cherry!
The above photo is of the Bakewell tart enjoyed next to the River Wye during Saturday’s 14 mile hike.
Hebden Court in Bakewell is a little stone courtyard containing small artisan shops and a cafe called the Lavender Tea Rooms.
The Lavender is one of several tea rooms in Bakewell which open for breakfast at either 9 am or 10 am and serve lunch and afternoon tea. We considered this for our Saturday morning pre-hike hearty breakfast but it didn’t open until 10 am.
The River Wye is the 4th longest river in the UK with a length of around 250 km. It begins at its source in mid Wales before it reaches the Severn estuary. The River Wye runs next to Bakewell and at the time of our visit, the levels were high.
Bakewell church was originally founded in 920 while the present church was built in the 12th and 13th centuries.
On the Friday evening, together with Russell and Roza, the 4 of us had dinner in the Castle pub which was a 5 minute walk from our accommodation. Chris and I both had Thai vegetable curry with jasmine rice which was delicious.
We were also pleasantly surprised at the reasonable costs. A large glass of Rioja, for example, was around £7.50! Keeping in with the festive spirit, Russell had ‘Rocking Rudolf’ a dark Christmas ale sold in Greene King pubs.
We finished our evening with a final drink in the Red Lion. Both of these pubs were fairly large and both had friendly and welcoming staff.
For the Saturday evening we had a treat with dinner in a classy French restaurant called Piedaniel, just 5 minutes walk from our accommodation. I had grilled seabass filets served with baby artichokes, roasted cherry tomatoes and white burgundy fish sauce which was really delicious. The 4 of us were given huge bowl of perfectly cooked freshly steamed vegetables to share. This wasn’t the cheapest however we all enjoyed our meals and I would highly recommend this restaurant for any visits to Bakewell.
We finished off a wonderful evening and a lovely day with a ‘Billionaire Martini’ each in the comfortable surroundings of the Rutland Hotel in the centre of Bakewell.
Made with vodka, Kahlua, espresso and salted caramel syrup, Billionaire Martini is a twist on the popular Espresso Martini. This was tasty and not as sweet or sickly as it sounds, I think the bitterness of the coffee counterbalanced the salted caramel syrup!
Accommodation
The AirBnB was called ‘The Stables’ and is also available on Booking.com. It was a cute 2 bedroom stone cottage within the heart of historic Bakewell. The lounge was lovely and cosy with its log burner and under floor heating and the owners had put some tasteful Christmas decorations up.
When Chris and I first arrived, it was so welcoming that we decided not to venture out and look around Bakewell in the drizzle but to sit and relax in front of the fire, something we don’t have at home! Russell and Roza arrived in the early evening in time for our Friday night meal.
Summary
This was another enjoyable break just before Christmas. As always, it was lovely to spend time with Russell and Roza and as well as the walk we had some exciting chats with some cunning plans for future adventures 🙂
We will soon publish another post with information about the 14 mile walk we did on the Saturday.
And as we publish this one on Christmas Eve, the day we got back, we would like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas 🙂
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