• Home
• Peak District Accommodation
  • Peak District Bed and Breakfast
  • Peak District Self Catering
  • More Self catering
  • Peak District Hotels
  • Derbyshire Holiday Cottages
  • Specialist Holidays
  • Cotswolds Accommodation
  • Staffordshire Accommodation
  • Lake District Accommodation
• Peak District Activities
  • Lindley Educational Trust
  • Peak District Walks and Walking
  • Climbing Crags and Routes in the Peak
  • Peak District Cycling
  • Mountain Biking and mtb Routes
  • Peak District Bike Shops
  • Peak District Bike Hire
  • Peak District Angling
• Peak District Places
  • Places A to D >>
    • Alport
    • Ashford-in-the-Water
    • Ashover
    • Ashbourne
    • Bakewell
    • Bamford
    • Baslow
    • Belper
    • Beeley
    • Birchover
    • Bonsall
    • Buxton
    • Cromford
    • Castleton
    • Dovedale
    • Darley Dale
  • Places E to L >>
    • Edale
    • Elton
    • Eyam
    • Glossop
    • Hathersage
    • Hartington
    • Hope
    • Hope Valley
    • Ilam
    • Lathkill Dale
    • Longnor
  • Places M to Y >>
    • Monyash
    • Rowsley
    • Stanton-in-Peak
    • Tissington
    • Wensley
    • Winster
    • Wirksworth
    • Youlgrave
• Peak District Attractions
  • Peak District Tourist Information Centres
  • Peak District Stately Homes
  • Railways of the Peak District
  • Art Galleries, Museums
  • Derbyshire Show Caves
  • Peak District Industrial Heritage
• General Information
  • Peak District Archaeology
  • Geology of the Peak District
  • Peak District Mining
  • Derbyshire Wildlife and Flowers
  • Peak District Pubs
  • Eating Out

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. It is geologically situated at the junction of the Carboniferous Limestone and the Edale Shale and Gritstone and is surrounded by a magnificent landscape of dramatic hills and high moorland with the low hills of the White Peak to the south and the mountainous region of the High Peak to the north and west. The Hope Valley lies just to the south of the Edale valley and the two mark the junction between the White 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 10,11,12,13,14,15,16 Large 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..

Hope Cottage, Self-Catering, Castleton - NW of the Peak District sleeps 4,5,6 Hope cottage in Castleton is a beautifully renovated 4 star detached property with its own terraced garden and is ideally placed for exploring... More information or visit Hope Cottage web site..

Willow Cottage, Self-Catering, Hathersage - NE of the Peak District sleeps 1,2,3,4 Retaining many beams, Willow Cottage provides the ideal accommodaton for exploring all the Peak District has to offer. Hathersage boasts wonderful ... More information or visit Willow Cottage web site..

The Old Hall Barn Cottages, Self-Catering, Hope - NE of the Peak District sleeps 1,2,3,4 Barn conversion conveniently situated in the heart of the Peak District in the village of Hope ... More information or visit The Old Hall Barn Cottages web site..

Glider View Cottage, Self-Catering, Little Hucklow - NW of the Peak District sleeps 1 or 2 Rural 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 District Situated 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 District Pioneer 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 District The 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 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 Stone 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 District A 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..

Cracken Cottage, Self-Catering, Hayfield - NW of the Peak District sleeps 3,4,5,6 A charming, 19th century, stone built holiday cottage in Hayfield village. More information or visit Cracken Cottage web site..

Hey Cottage, Self-Catering, Hayfield - NW of the Peak District sleeps 3,4,5,6 A charming 3 bedroomed semi-detached Victorian cottage situated at the base of Kinder Scout ... More information or visit Hey Cottage web site..

Victoria Lodge, Self-Catering, Buxton - NW of the Peak District sleeps 4 to 16 A 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 7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 Spacious, 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 District Luxury hotel for business use or individuals, close to Manchester and the Peak District ... More information or visit Barceló Shrigley Hall Hotel web site..

Farlands Cottage, Self-Catering, Kinder, near Hayfield - NE of the Peak District sleeps 1,2,3,4, Farlands Cottage is a walker’s delight. Next to the owner’s home, it offers comfortable accommodation, peace, seclusion and walking opportunities for the casual and the serious walker ... More information or visit Farlands Cottage web site..

Fern Cottage, B&B, Hotel, Castleton - SE of the Peak District A stone built bed and breakfast in the heart of the tourist town of Castleton ... More information or visit Fern Cottage web site..

Cherry Tree Cottage, Self-Catering, Castleton - NW of the Peak District sleeps 2,3,4 This beautifully renovated, beamed 18th-century cottage stands conveniently in the village square of the popular Peak District tourist town of Castleton ... More information or visit Cherry Tree Cottage web site..

Total number of accommodation listings: 21

Condensed in part from Tom Bates Villages leaflets, which are available through local retailers