Foolow

Foolow has no hotels of its own, but its position in the White Peak, two miles from Eyam and within easy reach of Tideswell and Bakewell, makes it a good base for finding somewhere to stay nearby. The Bull's Head, the village's 18th-century pub, has a small number of en-suite rooms and a self-catering apartment right on the green, putting guests a few steps from the duck pond and medieval cross that make Foolow one of the prettiest spots in the Peak District. Beyond the village, a scatter of stone-built holiday cottages sit along the lanes around Foolow, many converted from former farmhouses and lead-miners' cottages, offering a quieter alternative to staying in a larger town.

For more choice of hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs, Eyam, Tideswell and Bakewell are all within a short drive and give access to a wider range of places to eat, shop and explore, while remaining close enough for Foolow, Eyam Edge and the surrounding dales to be an easy day's walking. Wherever you stay, the appeal of this part of Derbyshire is the same: limestone villages, dry-stone-walled fields and quiet footpaths connecting some of the best-preserved parts of the White Peak, with Foolow itself as one of its smallest and most photogenic corners.

Foolow itself is small, so most visitors treat it as a base for exploring the wider White Peak. Still, there is real charm in simply spending an hour in the village before heading further afield.

• The village pond and cross — Foolow's centrepiece: a duck-covered mere fed by natural springs, overlooked by a medieval cross with an attached bull-baiting ring, one of the most photographed spots in the Peak District.
• The Bull's Head — a traditional stone-built village pub dating from 1753, sitting opposite the green, serving local ales and hearty British food; a natural focal point for anyone stopping in the village.
• Eyam — the famous "plague village", two miles away, where residents voluntarily quarantined themselves during a 1665-66 outbreak of bubonic plague to stop it spreading further; the museum, plague cottages and Cucklet Delph (where open-air services were held) are well worth the short drive or walk.
• Tideswell — a larger village a few miles north-west, known for its handsome parish church, St John the Baptist, often called the "Cathedral of the Peak", plus a good choice of shops and cafes that Foolow itself lacks.
• Hucklow Edge and Bretton Edge walks — footpaths climb out of Foolow onto these limestone and gritstone edges, giving views across Bretton Clough towards Stanage Edge and down over the patchwork of walled fields around Foolow and Wardlow.
• Great Hucklow — a neighbouring hilltop village reached on foot via Hucklow Edge, home to a long-running amateur theatre and gliding club that make use of the exposed plateau above.
• Silly Dale — a small limestone dale close to the village, part of several circular walking routes that loop out from Foolow and back, a good introduction to the dry valleys typical of this part of the White Peak.

The Bull's Head is Foolow's one and only pub, and it does the job well: oak beams, cask ales, and a menu of freshly cooked British dishes, with a Sunday roast that draws visitors from well beyond the village. There are no shops, cafes or takeaways in Foolow itself, so for anything more than a pub meal, Eyam and Tideswell are the nearest places with a proper choice of cafes, tearooms and restaurants, both within a short drive.

There are no campsites within Foolow itself, but the village's position in the limestone uplands of the White Peak makes it a good starting point for finding a pitch nearby, particularly around Eyam, Tideswell and the wider Hope Valley. As with anywhere else in England, wild camping without the landowner's permission is illegal, so it's worth booking an established site or, where wild camping is genuinely tolerated (as it is on some open fell land in the Dark Peak, though not around Foolow's farmed limestone plateau), always seeking permission first and following Leave No Trace principles.

The ground around Foolow is typical White Peak limestone country: dry-stone-walled fields, thin soils and dry valleys such as nearby Silly Dale, rather than the boggy gritstone moorland found further north around Kinder Scout and Bleaklow. That makes it generally easier walking and better-draining camping country, though conditions can still turn wet and exposed on higher ground such as Hucklow Edge and Bretton Edge above the village, so it pays to come properly equipped whatever the season.

May to September is the best window for camping here, with long daylight hours, drier paths and the surrounding hedgerows and verges at their most colourful; the shoulder months of April and October can still be pleasant but nights turn cold quickly on the exposed plateau. For those who prefer a roof over a tent, glamping pods, shepherd's huts and safari tents have become increasingly common across the Peak District in recent years, offering a comfortable alternative within the same limestone landscape, usually on sites a short drive from Foolow around Eyam, Tideswell or the Hope Valley.