Derbyshire Dales

The Derbyshire Dales has a habit of surprising people at the table. Market towns here still hold proper butchers and bakers alongside newer kitchens, and villages that look like they exist purely for the view usually have a pub worth the walk. It's a landscape of limestone dales, drystone walls and rivers running clear over gravel beds, and the food and drink follows the same pattern: rooted, unfussy, and better than the setting sometimes lets on.

Staying here usually means a cottage rather than a hotel, and the choice runs from characterful conversions to properties built for a group. The Farmhouse and The Garden House suit those wanting a bit of land and a kitchen worth cooking in, while The Gatehouse Barn and The Hollies work well for families wanting space to spread out after a day outdoors. For something smaller, The Hideaway Loft and The Lookout Loft are built for couples or solo travellers, tucked away with views over the surrounding hills, and The Haven Lodge sits somewhere between the two, comfortable for a longer stay.

Days out here tend to be spent on foot or by the water. The dales themselves - dramatic limestone gorges cut by rivers - offer walking for every ability, from gentle riverside strolls to proper scrambles up onto the tops. Market towns give a change of pace, with independent shops, antique dealers and the kind of high streets that reward slow browsing, while the wider Peak District setting means moorland, cycling routes and stately homes are never far off.

Evenings tend to settle around a pub table, whether that's a quiet meal after a long walk or a livelier night in one of the market towns. Cottage kitchens get plenty of use too, stocked from farm shops and butchers along the way, and it's not unusual to end a stay having eaten better than planned - a proper Dales dinner, followed by an early night before doing it all again the next day.