Hartington

Hartington sits in the White Peak, the limestone half of the Peak District where the ground is riddled with dry valleys, dales and disused quarries rather than the darker gritstone moors further north. The village itself is small and handsome: a sloping market place, a cluster of honey-grey stone cottages, and a duck pond that has been the unofficial centre of village life for as long as anyone can remember. It grew up as a market town in medieval times, and although the market charter is long gone, the wide market place it left behind still gives Hartington a sense of scale well beyond its population of a few hundred.

What draws people here now is the combination of the village itself and the country that surrounds it. The River Dove rises nearby and flows south past Hartington through some of the most celebrated limestone scenery in England, cutting Beresford Dale and Wolfscote Dale into steep, wooded gorges before continuing on to the more famous Dovedale a few miles downstream. Hartington makes an obvious, quieter base for exploring all of it, close enough to Dovedale's crowds to enjoy them for an afternoon and far enough away to escape them again by evening.

Top things to do in Hartington

Hartington rewards slow visits as much as active ones, with excellent walking on the doorstep and a couple of genuinely distinctive attractions in the village itself.

• Hartington Cheese Shop — a stone shop overlooking the duck pond that has sold Hartington Stilton and other local cheeses for more than thirty years, and the reason many people first hear of the village at all.
• Hartington Hall — a 17th-century manor house, once home to the Bateman family, that has operated as a youth hostel since 1934; its gardens and grounds are worth a look even if you are not staying.
• Beresford Dale and Charles Cotton's Fishing House — a short walk south of the village along the Dove leads to this steep-sided dale and the small stone fishing lodge built in 1674 by the writer Charles Cotton, marked with the entwined initials of Cotton and his friend Izaak Walton over the door.
• Wolfscote Dale — a longer, quieter limestone gorge north of Beresford Dale, popular with walkers looking for river scenery without Dovedale's footfall.
• Dovedale — a short drive or a longer walk away, with its stepping stones and the dramatic outcrop of Thorpe Cloud; best tackled early or out of season.
• St Giles' Church — a 12th-century parish church with a western tower and a reredos carved from local Derbyshire marble.
• Tissington Trail — a former railway line converted to a traffic-free path for walking and cycling, with an access point a few miles from Hartington.

Getting to Hartington

Hartington lies just off the B5054 between Newhaven and Longnor, roughly midway between Buxton and Ashbourne. By car it is about nine miles from Buxton and twelve from Ashbourne, with the A515 useful for approaches from Derby or the south. There is no railway station in the village — the nearest mainline stations are at Buxton and Matlock — so most visitors arrive by car, though a limited local bus service connects Hartington to Buxton and Ashbourne. Parking in the village is limited, particularly around the market place and duck pond, so arriving early on weekends and bank holidays is worthwhile.

Best time to visit Hartington

Hartington is at its best from late spring to early autumn, when the dales are green, the Dove runs clear, and the longer days suit a full day out on foot. May and June bring wildflowers to the limestone verges, while September and October give sharper light and quieter paths as the summer crowds thin. Winter has its own appeal for a shorter visit, with the pond, the cheese shop and a warm pub fire a fair reward for a bracing walk, though some dale paths can be muddy or icy underfoot and days are short.

Where to stay in Hartington

Accommodation in and around Hartington leans towards small guesthouses, farmhouse B&Bs and self-catering cottages, in keeping with the village's scale. Hartington Hall's youth hostel offers a budget option in a historic building right in the village, while a scattering of traditional stone cottages in Hartington and the surrounding hamlets suit couples and families wanting a base for walking. Buxton and Ashbourne, both under half an hour away, offer a wider range of hotels for anyone who prefers a larger town nearby.

Food and drink in Hartington

The Devonshire Arms on the market place is the village's long-standing pub, serving food and local ales in a stone-flagged setting near the pond. The Charles Cotton Hotel, named after the Beresford Dale writer, offers another village option for a meal or a drink. For provisions and something to take home, Hartington Cheese Shop remains the obvious stop, selling Hartington Stilton alongside other local and regional cheeses, and a village bakery and general stores cover picnic supplies for a day out in the dales.