Pomeroy

Hotel choice directly in Pomeroy is essentially non-existent, since this is a scattered farming hamlet rather than a village with its own facilities, but the surrounding White Peak more than makes up for it. Buxton, a short drive north-west, is the obvious base for anyone wanting a proper choice of places to stay: its Georgian heritage means there are handsome townhouse hotels close to the Crescent and the Pavilion Gardens, alongside smaller independent guesthouses and B&Bs suited to walkers and cyclists using the High Peak Trail. Ashbourne, to the south-east, offers a similar mix on a smaller scale, with traditional coaching inns and characterful B&Bs that work well as a base for exploring Dovedale, Tissington and the southern Peak District.

Further afield, Bakewell and the Chatsworth estate area have a range of country house hotels and boutique stays if you want a touch more indulgence after a day on the trails, while smaller villages throughout the White Peak often have a pub with rooms or a farmhouse B&B tucked away. Wherever you choose to stay, Pomeroy's position on the A515 means you are rarely more than 20-30 minutes from any of them, making it a genuinely central spot for touring the wider Peak District rather than a destination with accommodation of its own.

Pomeroy's real appeal is what surrounds it. Within a short drive or ride are some of the Peak District's best-loved attractions.

• High Peak Trail — a former railway line converted into a walking and cycling route running close to Pomeroy itself, linking up with the Tissington Trail for miles of traffic-free, gently graded routes across the limestone plateau.
• Buxton — England's highest market town, with the restored Georgian Crescent, the Pavilion Gardens, an opera house, and Poole's Cavern show cave on its southern edge.
• Ashbourne — a handsome Georgian market town known as the southern gateway to the Peak District, with independent shops, a striking parish church spire and the start of the Tissington Trail nearby.
• Chatsworth House — the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire's stately home near Bakewell, with its garden, farmyard and extensive parkland, a popular day out from anywhere on the White Peak.
• Bakewell — home of the Bakewell pudding, a Monday market, and the Monsal Trail for walking and cycling through former railway tunnels and viaducts.
• Castleton — set beneath Mam Tor and Peveril Castle, with show caverns including Blue John Cavern and Peak Cavern, a classic Peak District village further into the Hope Valley.
• Tissington — an estate village famed for its well-dressing tradition, sitting at the southern end of the Tissington Trail.

There is no pub or café in Pomeroy itself, though the Duke of York, historically associated with the hamlet's founding, sits nearby on the A515. For a proper meal or a pint, Buxton and Ashbourne both have a decent choice of pubs, cafés and restaurants, and Bakewell is the obvious stop for anyone wanting to try a genuine Bakewell pudding from one of the town's long-established bakeries. Pomeroy Farm Park's onsite shop sells its own artisan ice cream, made using milk from the farm's dairy herd, which is worth seeking out if you are passing.

Wild camping without the landowner's permission is illegal in England, so anywhere you pitch up around Pomeroy needs to be an established, permission-based site. Fortunately the immediate area is well served by exactly that: Pomeroy Farm Park, based at Street House Farm in the hamlet itself, is a small family-run dairy farm offering caravan, motorhome, campervan, trailer-tent and tent pitches, many with electric hook-up, alongside a shop selling its own artisan ice cream made from milk produced on the farm. Its location gives direct access onto the High Peak Trail without needing to use the road, which makes it a genuinely practical base for cyclists and walkers as well as families after a straightforward countryside stay.

The wider White Peak plateau is limestone grassland at real altitude, and Pomeroy itself sits around 375 metres up, so conditions can change quickly even in summer; exposed, breezy weather is normal, and warm layers are worth packing whatever the season. The best time to camp here is from late spring through to early autumn, when the dry-stone-walled fields are at their greenest and the trails are driest underfoot; winter camping is a much harder prospect at this altitude, with the potential for snow, ice and genuinely cold nights on open ground. For those who would rather have a roof over their heads without giving up the outdoor feel, glamping options — from static caravans to more elaborate pods and shepherd's huts — can be found at sites throughout the surrounding Peak District, particularly around Buxton, Bakewell and the Hope Valley, offering an easier introduction to this high, open corner of Derbyshire.