Hartington

Why base here

Hartington is a White Peak village built around a duck pond and a market hall, close enough to the head of Dovedale to use its dales without sharing its crowds. The River Dove rises nearby and runs south past the village through Beresford Dale and Wolfscote Dale on its way to the honeypot of Dovedale itself, so a walk out of Hartington reaches quiet limestone scenery within minutes. The village had its own creamery from the 1870s, one of only three makers of proper Stilton, until it closed in 2009; a smaller creamery reopened in 2014, and Hartington still trades heavily on cheese. Hartington Hall, a 17th-century house, now runs as a youth hostel close to Parsley Hay, where the Tissington and High Peak Trails meet.

On foot versus by car

Wolfscote Dale and Beresford Dale start on foot from the village centre and need no car at all; the walk down the Dove and back is a day out from the front door. The Tissington Trail, a flat former railway open to walkers and cyclists, passes through Hartington’s old station, about 1.5 miles east of the village. Dovedale’s stepping stones, the most photographed spot on the river, sit further downstream near Thorpe and Ilam and are more easily reached by car. Parsley Hay, where the Tissington and High Peak Trails join, is a few miles north.

Practicalities

Hartington has had no railway station since the passenger service ended in 1954 and the line closed for good in 1963; the old signal box is now a small seasonal visitor centre on the Tissington Trail. Parking is free on the street near the duck pond, or in the pay and display car park at Parsons Field, which fills on summer weekends. The village has a few pubs, cafes, a well-stocked cheese shop and a small Co-op, enough for a self-catering week without a long drive for supplies.

With children

Hartington’s own duck pond, at the centre of the village, is the easiest family stop on this list: level ground, free to reach, and enough entertainment to fill the gap before or after a walk. The Tissington Trail extends that ease considerably. Its surface is crushed limestone, flat enough for a wheelchair or a mobility scooter, let alone a pushchair, and it climbs so gradually toward Parsley Hay that the effort barely registers; bike hire is available along the way for families who would rather ride than walk. Wolfscote Dale, south along the River Dove through Beresford Dale, is the better walk but the harder one to manage with a buggy: several stiles interrupt the route, including one squeeze stile too narrow for anything on wheels, so it suits children old enough to climb over a stile unaided rather than be lifted over one. Neither of Hartington’s dales offers the stepping-stone paddling of Dovedale further downstream, so a child promised a splash in the river needs Thorpe and Ilam instead.