A Taste of the
Peak District
Hope, Peak District, Derbyshire Town, B&B, self catering holiday cottage accommodation, hotels, tourist attractions, walking, climbing, mountain biking history, geology, mining, local information, Derbyshire businesses and much more …
The Limestone plateau of the Peak District National Park
is cut by many delightful valleys. However, as you travel north, you approach
the Dark Peak, so called because the rock there is the darker gritstone.
Hope is
situated at the junction of the Carboniferous Limestone and
the Edale Shale and Gritstone group and is surrounded by a magnificent landscape
of dramatic hills and high moorland. To the south lie the low hills of limestone country
with the more mountainous region of the High Peak to the north and
west. Hope gives its name to the wide valley in which it sits. The Hope Valley lies just to the south of the popular Edale valley and the
two mark the
junction between the White Peak and Dark Peak.
Hope lies half way along the Hope Valley in Derbyshire, at the confluence of the River Noe and Peakshole Water. Hope is a great centre for anyone interested in the Outdoors, with some of the best mountain bike routes in Derbyshire (see picture of Hope Cross below - there are a couple of bridleways leading to it from the vicinity of Hope) plus plenty of walking and climbing nearby.
The village is built around the crossroads of the A625 Sheffield
to Chapel-en-le-Frith road and the B6049 which runs northwards from Tideswell
to Edale. This minor road follows roughly the line of the old Portway,
an ancient trading route which ran the length of the county from south
to north. The village probably originated at a point where the Portway
crossed a prehistoric east-west route, which in later medieval times was
used by jaggers driving teams of pack-horses carrying mainly salt and other goods
from Cheshire, as names like Salter Barn, Saltergate Lane and Salto Lane
suggest. Modern day Hope is a typical bustling Peak District small town with tea rooms, pubs, bed and breakfast guest houses, hotels, a Caravan Club site and self catering accommodation. There are also some shops which are fine for the basics, including a branch of Hitch and Hike and a small bike shop which is geared up for mountain bikers in particular.
Close to Hope lies the main source of mass employment in
the Hope Valley - the cement works. This is one of the Peak District’s
major human made landmarks and can be seen for miles around, I have often
sat at the
top of Stanage Edge and Bamford edge, belaying, with the view of the cement
works puffing smoke. Many people hate it, regarding it as unsightly and incongruous,
but it brings employment to the area and was built way before the Peak District
National Park was conceived. Is it any worse than the lead mines and lead
smelting works of past centuries? You make up your own mind.
The town is an ancient settlement and the church has one of the many Saxon
crosses (unfortunately a headless cross) found in the Peak District. At the
time of the Domesday Book, Hope had both a priest and a church, a real privilege
for a Derbyshire town. It is one of the
very few Derbyshire towns or villages to be mentioned prior to the Domesday
Survey of 1086, the earliest surviving record dates from a charter of 926
AD which
tells
that King Athelstan won a battle nearby, and purchased land at Ashford and
Hope from a Dane. Hope is also unusual for having kept its name with the spelling
unchanged for over a thousand years.
Only the font remains of the original church. The reason
for Hope’s importance? It was a key centre in the ‘Royal Forest
of the Peak’, a hunting forest for medieval Royalty. There are two
13th century slabs in the church which carry what are believed to be symbols
of two important forest officials (woodruffes).
Earlier, the Romans had been in the area. About a mile away lie the earthworks
of their fort, Navio. This is sited at Brough and is thought to be a base
used to protect Roman lead mining interests in the Peak District.
Many old buildings survive at Hope, including the Elizabethan Aston Hall,
dating from the late 1500s in a nearby hamlet.
Farming is still important to the Peak District economy, Hope still hosts
a market and annual agricultural show I believe. There is also an old pinfold
still in existence (an enclosure in which stray animals were placed until
the owner could retrieve them), pictured below with Mam Tor, "the shivering
mountain" in the background ...

The popular 16th century Cheshire Cheese Inn on Edale Road about half a mile from the village was so-named because it was an overnight stopping point on the old trade route from Cheshire - and payment for lodging was actually paid in cheese!
There was much housing development around the turn of the last century following the arrival of the Midland Railway in 1894 which brought tourists from Manchester and Sheffield along the Hope Valley line. It also brought an influx of construction workers to the temporary ‘Tin Town’ of Birchinlee in the Upper Derwent Valley to build the Derwent and Howden Dams. Many stayed on after the work was finished and made Hope their home.
Nearby towns and villages include Bamford, Hathersage and Castleton where you can find plenty of accommodation.
Accommodation in the nearby area.
The Holmes Barn, Self-Catering, Tideswell Moor, Buxton - NW of the Peak District sleeps 10,11,12,13,14,15,16Large holiday cottage close to Buxton, giving you convenient access to the Peak District. It is situated in about 10 acres of grounds and offers high standard, comfortable accommodation ... More
information or visit The Holmes Barn web
site.. |
Cherry Tree Cottage, Self-Catering, Castleton - NW of the Peak District sleeps 2,3,4Cherry Tree Cottage in Castleton is a cosy 18th century cottage situated at the heart of Castleton giving easy access to ... More
information or visit Cherry Tree Cottage web
site.. |
Bank Cottage, Self-Catering, Grindleford - NE of the Peak District sleeps 1,2,3,4,5.6This delightful holiday cottage, one of a row, has been totally refurbished, yet retains the original character. Situated in an elevated position ... More
information or visit Bank Cottage web
site.. |
The Old Hall Barn Cottages - Winhill View Cottage, Self-Catering, Hope - NE of the Peak District sleeps 1,2,3,4Barn conversion conveniently situated in the heart of the Peak District in the village of Hope ... More
information or visit The Old Hall Barn Cottages - Winhill View Cottage web
site.. |
The Old Hall Barn Cottages - The Old Hall Barn, Self-Catering, Hope - NE of the Peak District sleeps 1,2,3,4Barn conversion conveniently situated in the heart of the Peak District in the village of Hope ... More
information or visit The Old Hall Barn Cottages - The Old Hall Barn web
site.. |
Glider View Cottage, Self-Catering, Little Hucklow - NW of the Peak District sleeps 1 or 2Rural tranquility for two in the heart of the Peak District National Park ... More
information or visit Glider View Cottage web
site.. |
Cannon Croft, B&B, Hathersage - NE of the Peak DistrictSituated in the village of Hathersage, close to some of the wildest and picturesque areas of the Peak District ... More
information or visit Cannon Croft web
site.. |
Pioneer House, B&B, Bamford - NE of the Peak DistrictPioneer House offers luxury B&B for sightseers and outdoors enthusiasts at the heart of the Dark Peak in the village of Bamford, Hope Valley ... More
information or visit Pioneer House web
site.. |
Old Hall Hotel, B and B Hope - NW of the Peak DistrictThe Old Hall Hotel offers good pub food and a comfortable night's sleep in the heart of the Peak District ... More
information or visit Old Hall Hotel web
site.. |
Brookcliff House and Cottage, Self-Catering, Chapel-en-le-Frith - NE of the Peak District sleeps 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16Stone built large self-catering holiday cottage in a conservation village ... More
information or visit Brookcliff House and Cottage web
site.. |
Losehill House Hotel & Spa, B&B, Hotel, Hope - NW of the Peak DistrictA gem of a Peak District hotel, along a leafy lane, nestled into the hillside, peaceful and quiet location ... More
information or visit Losehill House Hotel & Spa web
site.. |
Victoria Lodge, Self-Catering, Buxton - NW of the Peak District sleeps 4 to 16A large property in the spa town of Buxton, Derbyshire ... More
information or visit Victoria Lodge web
site.. |
Sladen Lodge, Self-Catering, Hathersage - NE of the Peak District sleeps 7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16Spacious, contemporary accommodation in a superb location. More
information or visit Sladen Lodge web
site.. |
Barceló Shrigley Hall Hotel, B&B, Hotel, Chinley - NW of the Peak DistrictLuxury hotel for business use or individuals, close to Manchester and the Peak District ... More
information or visit Barceló Shrigley Hall Hotel web
site.. |
The Coach House, Self-Catering, Chapel-en-le-Frith - NE of the Peak District sleeps 1,2,3,4,3 star graded character coach house conversion in a fabulous setting, close to Buxton and Castleton ... More
information or visit The Coach House web
site.. |
Fern Cottage, B&B, Hotel, Castleton - SE of the Peak DistrictA stone built bed and breakfast in the heart of the tourist town of Castleton ... More
information or visit Fern Cottage web
site.. |
Jericho Farm - Poppies Court, Self-Catering, Earl Sterndale, Buxton - NW of the Peak District sleeps 1,2,3,4These quality and characterful barn conversions are set in striking "White Peak" scenery and each enjoys one of the most breathtaking views in the Peak Park, across to the jagged and dramatic ... More
information or visit Jericho Farm - Poppies Court web
site.. |
Bank Top Cottage, Self-Catering, Hathersage - NE of the Peak District Sleeps 2,3,4This pretty, detached holiday cottage stands in the oldest part of Hathersage with lovely views over gently undulating hills ... More
information or visit Bank Top Cottage web
site.. |
Total number of accommodation listings: 19
Condensed in part from Tom Bates Villages leaflets, which are available through local retailers



