A fun family day in Bakewell

Although the weather hasn’t been particularly great of late, we’ve been making a real effort to get out and about at weekends. We find being in the house with all the kids can be a little testing at times! We don’t live very far from Derbyshire, so we’ve been trying to take advantage of the lovely countryside it has to offer. A couple of weeks ago, we decided to visit Bakewell for the day.

If I’m completely honest, the biggest lure was the prospect of savouring a nice Bakewell tart – one of my fave cakes. I soon discovered that in Bakewell, it’s actually referred to as ‘Bakewell pudding’, and is a little different from the iced cake with a cherry on top!

Bakewell is about an hour from us. We parked in one of the numerous car parks in the town and went for a little wander. I was really surprised by how pretty it was.

We popped into the local Information Centre and got some information about local walks. We decided to take a walk along the Monsal trail. Before we set off we decided to have a little snack in one of the lovely little cafes, which is where I sampled my first Bakewell pudding. It was served warm with clotted cream and was absolutely delicious!

After our snack, we set off on our walk. The first part of the trail takes you along a pretty track, which is perfect for bikes too. It was quite busy and Simon was a little disappointed as he likes his walks a bit more challenging, but me a the kids really enjoyed it. After a couple of miles the kids started moaning a little, but thankfully there’s a gorgeous little cafe, so we stopped for crisps and a drink. The kids loved playing on the outdoor play area too (so much for needing a rest!).

The second half of the walk was across some fields, which made Simon happier. We had to walk through fields of cows, which was a little scary (for me!), the kids thought it was great fun though!

The walk leads you back into Bakewell and is around four miles. We were certainly ready to get back and the kids were all tired out. We’d worked up an appetite, so we decided to have dinner in one of the local pubs. There are plenty of restaurants and pubs to choose from, so even though it was a Sunday we managed to get in somewhere.

Before heading home, we picked up a few Bakewell tarts (some shops do sell the more well-known variety) to eat later.

We had a great day. It was relatively cheap, we spent quality time as a family, we enjoyed some lovely food and also got a decent amount of exercise! Plus, the kids were all shattered and went straight to sleep at bedtime.

We loved it so much that we’ve decided to go back for the Bakewell Baking Festival in August, which we are planning to camp at for two nights. I’m not really much of a camper, so it will be an interesting experience!

J xx