We wanted to book a week in Derbyshire with our dog Max and also celebrate my brothers birthday, so we booked this lovely cottage on a working farm in Whaley Bridge. He was going to Manchester to watch two football games so we decided to tie in a little break away in the Peak District at the same time, to save him travelling back and forth. It was the perfect way to spend some time with the family and have a little break in a new part of the country. Also Max hadn’t had a doggy holiday yet with us so it was about time.

I haven’t been to the Peak District before and it was really nice to see some more of our countryside which we always take for granted. It only takes a little bit of time away from your everyday life and from the hustle and bustle, that you really appreciate our landscapes and the wildlife we have around us.

A WEEK IN DERBYSHIRE // STAYING IN A COSY COTTAGE & LOTS OF WALKS

Our cottage Bings Farm Cottage is located on a working farm in Whaley Bridge, which is 16 miles from Manchester and is only a short train journey away from the city. On the working farm there are 2 other cottages with another one currently being refurbished. It is such a cosy cottage with a large living room, kitchen and 3 bedrooms.

It has a utility room and a shower room downstairs with another bathroom upstairs with a walk-in shower. Both the kitchen and the living room have log burners to help keep you cosy on a cold rainy day and the log store outside is stocked up with logs and kindling wood.

READ MORE: Why We Should Appreciate Our British Landscapes More

The cottage has a nicely sized back garden with a patio and table set which overlooks a sheep field. Our dog Max, loved looking out the window at the sheep. There is also an outdoor patio area towards the front of the cottage with seating and a table. In front of the cottage there are a couple of parking spaces as well. You can read more about our cottage in my review post here.

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DAY ONE – 17th FEB:

Walk in Asbourne

We had a long drive from home to get into Derbyshire, I think it took around 4 hours. We stopped half way at a service station to get food and have a break.

Once we arrived, we stopped for a short walk in Ashbourne in Dovedale. It was quite a flat walk to start with but gradually got more incline in it and we had to go over big stepping stones to get across a stream. There was lots of people walking there, enjoying the scenery and sunny weather.

Arrived at the cottage

We arrived at our cosy cottage around 4pm, freshened up and got ourselves unpacked before finding somewhere to have dinner. Mum found a big Tesco’s store in Whaley Bridge and picked up some essentials for breakfast and got Ross a birthday cake as we decided to leave the one we’d already bought at home (it didn’t fit in the car). There was a bit of chaos around Whaley Bridge as they had closed some of the roads for bridge repairs and one of the roads was the main one into the town, so we had to go through some winding residential roads to get there.

Dinner at The Cock Pub

We drove down into Whaley Bridge and tried to get our bearings and found a pub called The Cock which got good reviews and recommendations from people who had stayed in the cottage. They were quite busy and we didn’t make a reservation but they managed to fit us in to a free table. We had drinks by the bar whilst we waited for our table.

I was quite hungry and decided to have their veggie burger with fries which was really yummy. They allowed Max in so he sat under the table whilst we had dinner and they had jars of dog biscuits which he loved.

After dinner, we went back to the cottage to catch up on some sleep and get ready for the next day.

READ MORE: Why Does Nature Inspire Me So Much?

DAY TWO – 18th FEB:

Everyone got up a little bit late as we enjoyed a lie in and then Mum and Dad cooked breakfast for everyone. We decided what to do for the day and Dad had found a walk up Lantern Pike in his hiking book which sounded good.

Walk up Lantern Pike

The walk was a little drive away from the cottage and most of the walks around the Peak District are on the Pennine Way National Trail. The walk took us up through several small villages and fields and up a gradual incline until it reached a rocky path which reminded me of climbing Snowdon. It got quite windy the higher we got so I had to wrap my scarf around my face as a wind break.

Once we reached the top, there was a memorial stone in the centre of the peak which also includes a map of the surrounding areas around the edge of it. There was a massive muddy puddle around it which Max loved playing with the dirty water and got mud all over his face.

Chinese takeaway for dinner

We were absolutely knackered from our walk so we decided to stay in and order a takeaway. The Chinese in Whaley Bridge got good write ups so Dad made the order and went down to collect it. Chinese takeaway is a funny thing, it always sounds like a good idea but it never is.

Weirdly, that night I was feeling funny and kept being sick, which I thought was the takeaway but I think it was the build up from the winding roads around Whaley Bridge. I very rarely suffer from travel sickness in cars, unless the roads are winding and twisty. I said I’d go with Ross to the Man Utd game as his friend dropped out but after feeling so rough and only getting 3 hours sleep, I dropped out and offered the spot to Dad.

DAY THREE – 19th FEB:

Staying in the cottage

Mum and I decided to stay in the cottage on this day so I could recover. Ross and Dad went to Man Utd game against Leicester. We walked along the canal with Max and went shopping in B&M and Tesco to see what we could find. We had some picky bits for lunch and watched the football on my iPad, I was still feeling quite delicate and didn’t want to eat much.

Dinner at The Navigation Inn

The boys came back from the football and we picked them up from the train station and drove to the pub down the hill from our cottage, The Navigation Inn for dinner. I didn’t feel like eating much so I only had a portion of sweet potato fries. We then headed back to the cottage to chill and get an early night.

DAY FOUR – 20th FEB:

Walk around Chatsworth House Gardens

It was a beautiful day and after breakfast, we drove to Baslow to walk around the gardens of Chatsworth House. Mum stopped in a sweet shop at the edge of the car park and picked up some sweets for the walk. We didn’t go into the manor house as we had done that a while ago and it was really expensive. But we walked around the grounds and a little village nearby that had a lovely stall of home-made products including jams and Victoria sponge slices for sale made by the residents.

There was lots of deer around the grounds with their young and even some little lambs strolling around with their parents, which was so cute to see and a sign spring was on it’s way. I wish I’d picked up a slice of Victoria sponge cake!

Late lunch at The Devonshire Arms

After the walk we stopped to have a late lunch at The Devonshire Arms. It was a lovely and cosy restaurant and we sat down in the bar area for a light bite to eat. Their menu had so many delicious things on it, it was really hard to chose what to have. I decided to have their cheese and tomato toasted sandwich and we shared their Korean fried cauliflower bites.

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NAVIGATE YOUR WAY AROUND WHALEY BRIDGE…

Open this map up on your phone to help navigate your way around the Peak District and Derbyshire. Hit the star so you can use it in the future…

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DAY FIVE – 21st FEB:

Walk around the Ladybower Reservoir and Win Hill

We drove to Ladybower Reservoir which is where the Dambusters practised. It was about a 30 minute drive from our cottage. The reservoir walk has lots of different paths which incline and decline first through the wooded areas, they are not only great for walking and running but also if you have mountain bikes as well. There are certain parts of the walk that are steeper than the rest of it. It took us through the woodland area and out into a field with sheep that connects to Win Hill which has beautiful views of the River Derwent and the surrounding areas.

As we were coming back, it was a little bit scary in places for me and I was scared of falling. We went into the Ladybower Inn pub for a quick drink and some crisps afterwards before heading home.

Dinner at The Old Hall Inn

As it was my brothers birthday, we had got a table at the Old Hall Inn which looked really good and had a great menu. Unfortunately, I was feeling rough again so I didn’t eat much – I had ordered their focaccia that I really enjoyed and managed to eat that.

DAY SIX – 22nd FEB:

Bakewell

I was starting to feel a little bit better and picked up some travel sickness medication to help me with the winding roads the day before in the hopes it would help. Bakewell is the birth place of the Bakewell tart and Bakewell pudding and has lots of quaint coffee shops and bakeries to check out and try them. Bakewell tart is a lot nicer than the pudding! I annoyingly didn’t buy any Bakewell tart which I should have.

There are lots of shops in Bakewell if you need to do some shopping especially for hiking gear and there is a lovely pet shop there as well which sells everything your pet might need.

We popped into The Honey Bun Cafe for something to eat, I ordered their vegan sausage roll and some apple juice. It’s a lovely quaint tea room that has so much lovely food on the menu and lots of hot and cold drinks to choose from.

Dinner at The Paper Mill Inn

We were feeling quite hungry after our walk around Bakewell, so we decided to have pizza at The Paper Mill Inn which got good reviews and is also connected to the Old Hall Inn. They are a short walk from each other and you can use the car park in the Old Hall Inn which does get filled up quite quickly. I had their roasted squash, spinach and feta pizza and watched Man City v RB Leipzig’s Champions League game.

DAY SEVEN – 23rd FEB:

Walk at Edale

We parked up at Edale Car Park and walked past a little cafe and a really cool map of Edale made from wooden fencing panels and there was also little fairy houses in the wooded area. It took us under a bridge and past some houses and a pub which also has a B&B.

Before our walk in Edale, we stopped at Newfold Farm Cafe to pick up a hot drink which I got a hot chocolate. We had a little talk with the lady behind the counter about our love for dogs and the local area.

As our walk started, we walked past The Old Nags Head which is the official start of the Pennine Way – the walk goes from the rocky spine of The Peak District right up into the Scottish border – it can take 19 days to walk.

The walk in Edale is flat to start with but gets quite rocky towards the end and you are scrambling over rocks. We didn’t complete the walk fully as we were so worried about Max’s feet and him getting injured, so we turned around once it got too hard for everyone. Dads walking book didn’t exactly explain how bad the walk can get which was quite funny.

We headed back towards the start and stopped for lunch at The Old Nags Head. We needed a refreshing drink and something to eat which we ordered scampi and chips to share. After the walk, we dropped Ross at the station so he could get into Manchester for their game against Barcelona in the Europa League.

Dinner at The Old Hall Inn

We headed back to the cottage to get changed and went straight out for dinner. I had a bit more of an appetite, so I was able to eat something more substantial and chose their fish finger sandwich which was delicious and definitely what I needed.

After dinner, we walked round to The Paper Mill Inn and watched the Man Utd v Barcelona game and had a few drinks. It was really busy that night so we stood and watched a bit downstairs by the bar until upstairs was free and we sat on comfy chairs and watched the rest of the game.

DAY EIGHT – 24th FEB:

Leaving the cottage and heading home

We had to get up quite early to get ready and pack everything up to head home. It was a long journey back home but we stopped at the services and got a late lunch for the way back.

Images used in this post are my own and from the cottage listing on Cottages.com.

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