Bakewell Area, Peak District

History
Walkers
Cyclists
Ghost Hunters!
Well Dressing
Movie and Literary Trail
Pudding lovers!

A small market town famous for being the home of the Bakewell Pudding. Located on the River Wye this town has charming tea shops, traditional stone buildings and is surrounded by beautiful countryside. It’s also a town on our ghost trail and Movie and Literary Trail.

Bakewell Highlights

The Town and Shops

Bakewell is an attractive town with a good choice of independent shops, a traditional market (on Mondays), a thriving agriculture market and charming tearooms set in attractive courtyards. It is also home to a great selection of traditional English Pubs and restaurants, a picturesque ancient bridge and a Grade I listed church. When visiting it’s easy to see why Bakewell attracts many domestic and international visitors each year.

Sampling the Famous Bakewell Pudding

You cannot leave Bakewell without trying one of it’s famous puddings and Bakewell is one of the only towns where you can try the original recipe of the pastry dessert. Two shops in Bakewell “Bloomers Old and Only Original” and “The Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop” both offer what they both claim to be the original recipe! Many other teashops sell the pudding and also the icing coated ‘tart’ version (which tastes very different to the original Bakewell pudding). If you have an absent loved one you think would also enjoy the culinary delights of Bakewell then go to The Bakewell Pudding shop where you can post a pudding to anywhere in the world!

Haddon Hall – A must see on our Movie and Literary Trail and Ghost Trail

Haddon Hall, located located on the River Wye at Bakewell, is a beautiful example of an English Country House and is often described as being the most complete and interesting house of it’s period. The medieval manor house dates from the 11th century and was one of the seats of the Duke of Rutland and is occupied by Lord Edward Manners and his family.

Haddon Hall has also been used for the setting of Thornfield Hall in film and television versions of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre (Franco Zeffirelli’s 1996 film of Jane Eyre and Diederick Santer’s BBC version). The film also featured in the 1998 film Elizabeth and the 2005 version of Pride & Prejudice. Please see our Movie and Literary Trail for more details. The house is also reputedly haunted with many supernatural sightings reported, please see our Ghost Trail for more details.

Follow in Jane Austen’s footsteps

Bakewell itself has some interesting literary connections. The Rutland Arms pub (overlooking the town square) was built in 1804 and it was thought that Jane Austen stayed here in 1811. Also in her famous classic novel Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet stops here to meet the Darcy’s and Mr Bingley. Please see our Movie and Literary Trail for more details. You can also book a stay here yourself through our accommodation search (The Rutland Arms can be found through searching for the area Bakewell and then Hotels).

The Old House Museum

Bakewell has an interesting museum housed in one of the few genuinely medieval buildings of the area (the building dates back to 1543). The ‘Old House Museum’ has a large costume collection and display rooms set out as a schoolroom and a kitchen. It also has historical artifacts donated by local people.

The surrounding countryside

The countryside surrounding Bakewell is outstanding and very popular with walkers and cyclists. Haddon Hall is nestled on the picturesque River Wye in beautiful unspoilt countryside. The more ambitious walkers head a little further out to nearby beauty spots of Monsal Dale and Chatsworth House Estate. Less ambitious walkers and families staying in Bakewell might enjoy gentler walks along the River Wye from the bridge in the centre of town. Please see our Walks Guide for a circular 6 mile walk starting from Bakewell and also circular walks through Monsal Dale, Monsal Head, Great Longstone and Chatsworth Estate (which are all located near the Bakewell area).

Bakewell History

Bakewell was founded by the Romans at a crossing of the River Wye. In Saxon times Edward the Elder built a fort here.

Interesting Facts

1. One theory of the origins of the Bakewell Pudding is that it was made accidentally by a chef of the White Horse Inn (now the Rutland Arms). The ‘accident’ tasted so good they decided to keep it and it went on to become a very popular dish. Commercial variations (usually with icing sugar on top) has spread the name making it famous.
2. Bakewell was also crowned the scariest ‘Most Haunted’ live episode ever as two corpses of unknown men buried in soil were uncovered. See our Ghost Trail for more details.
3. Bakewell has one of the oldest markets in the area (dating from at least 1300).