Jane Austen wrote there is no finer
county in England than Derbyshire. We've traveled to the historic market
town of Bakewell famed for its pudding and wonderful scenery let's find out what
makes it such a special place to visit. The rolling hills and green pastures of the
Peak District National Park, the first to be designated a National Park in England in 1951.
Bakewell is in the heart of Derbyshire, the only town within the boundaries of the Peak District.
The river Wye runs right through the settlement, full of charming 17th and 18th century stone
buildings that draw in painters, photographers, ramblers and tourists all wanting to spend
some time in this wonderful market town. From the parking area, we crossed the
medieval Bakewell bridge that spans the river dating from the 14th century, it was widened in
the 19th to accommodate larger modern vehicles. It's around 9am when we start our walk through the
streets. a peaceful tranquil time to visit before many of the shops start to open, and everyone
descends to browse have breakfast, coffees and explore the lanes and quaint side streets. As
the day goes on it will become a whole lot busier. Some of the streets are pedestrianized
at certain times which make them very nice to walk around away from the traffic noise. The bakers and coffee shops are the first to
open and some of the produce is very tempting. Huntsman's pie, delicious layers of pork and
chicken topped with sage stuffing, all in a hot water crust pastry. With stomachs grumbling and
having had no breakfast we popped into the Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop to have a hearty
breakfast to set us up for the day, a good cup of tea and of course we had to try the Bakewell
pudding even at this early hour of the day. The story goes a cook made a mistake in a recipe
for a strawberry tart and instead of stirring the egg mixture into the pastry, she pops it on
top of the jam. The result was a success and a Mrs Wilson spotted an opportunity, bought the
recipe set up this shop and the rest is history. There are many variations now but the
Bakewell pudding is the original to have when here. It's quite nice, that it's warm. I
think I prefer it when warm to being cold but it's an unusual taste, I think it's a bit of an acquired taste. I'm used to having a Bakewell tart, you know with the icing
on top, I think that's much nicer. Nevertheless, it was all eaten. There are other pudding shops in the town
so if you can't get into the original, you can try one of them. Off Water Street is Portland Square
with more cafes and shops that later were heaving as the sun rose up
and flooded this area with warmth. Behind me is the Rutland Arms, it's believed
that Jane Austen travelled here in 1811 and stayed in room two. It's the window on
the middle floor far left. It's claimed she reworked parts of Pride and Prejudice here,
based on her experience at the Chatsworth House. William Wordsworth spent the night in
Bakewell in November 1830 perhaps at the Rutland Arms before heading to Chatsworth
House, writing two poems about the property. Rutland Square and the hotel is a delightful
garden, maintained by the local council. Bath Gardens is a little park with paths
between colourful borders and green lawns. The fountain which I failed to get a
picture of is fed by Bakewell spring water and it's also the former site
of a bathhouse built in 1697 and later part of an attempt to establish Bakewell
as a spa resort to rival Buxton and Matlock. In the distance overlooking the
town, we see All Saints Church in peaceful and beautiful surroundings
just off of North Church Street. Bakewell is said to date back to Anglo-Saxon times
with settlers being attracted by the warm springs. A church now a grade one listed building has stood
here since 920 AD, it was replaced by the current church originally constructed in the 12th and 13th
centuries but very few areas of that remain now. As it became dilapidated and dangerous
resulting in it being virtually rebuilt in the 1840s by William Flockton. It's still an
impressive and important part of the town today offering wonderful views over the parish. If you continue up the hill, past the church
and turn right eventually you'll find Cunningham Place. Apart from the lovely quaint houses
and gardens, we arrive at "The Old House". This Tudor dwelling built at the time of Henry
VIII was a tax collector's cottage. During the industrial revolution, it became a mill workers
cottage for the nearby Lumford cotton mill. There is an eclectic mix of historic
objects as well as the surviving features of the property to view
inside. Details can be found here. Walking back down onto North Church
Street are the most adorable homes. The residents really take pride in showing off
their properties and this was our favourite street to walk along the most beautiful
views as we headed down to Rutland Square. Head up King Street adjacent to
Rutland Square, nearing the top is an interesting building which I believe was
the original town hall. It's currently empty. There are some cosy cottages
next to it and the King's Court, head through the arch and be delighted
by a wonderful courtyard with coffee shops and antique shops selling 18th to
20th-century furniture and decorative items. Continue up the hill onto South Church Street, we
see the St John's Hospital Bakewell Almshouses. The plaque reads that the word hospital used to
mean lodging house, a place where hospitality was provided. John Manners a prominent figure
in Bakewell provided the building in 1602. The current structure dates from
1709 providing six houses for the poor and unfortunate. Complete restoration in
the early 2000s converted them into three homes. Let's get away from the busy streets and take
a walk down by the river Wye, a limestone river running through the Peak District, just a
few hundred meters from the town centre. As you can see a number of bridges span the river, we've already seen the Bakewell bridge and this
is the lovelock bridge, for obvious reasons. There are plenty of walks to do around Bakewell
and we picked a short river walk that would take about 45 minutes to complete. Starting from
Bakewell bridge we head north of the town passing the back of some of the old stone
properties and along the river towpath. If you have plenty of time then consider the
Monsal trail. It's very famous. Walk or cycle along old railway tracks over viaducts and
through tunnels. It's nine miles long and you can join it almost at the start from the old
Bakewell station. A stunning hike that we'll have to experience another time. We'll put a link in
the description for more information on this. During our walk, we pass some lovely
properties ending up at the holmes bridge where we walk across
and turn back into town. The bridge was built in 1664. it's a packhorse
bridge and a grade one listed structure. Rivers were obstacles for trade routes
and this one would have allowed the movement of goods on horseback over the
river carried in panniers or side bags. At this location, you can also see a
lovely set of properties painted white and named Lumford cottages these were the
cotton mill workers houses and unbeknown at the time had we walked just a little way further
on we could have seen the original Lumford mill, built by Richard Arkwright in 1777. We
missed out but you won't if you ever visit. Next time we'll head just three
miles away to the grand impressive Chatsworth House and Gardens and see what
Jane Austen created as Pemberley House in Pride and Prejudice, so do join us
next week and subscribe to our channel if you haven't done so already. Thanks very
much for watching and see you again soon!
