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With dramatic ridges, famous film locations and gorgeous villages galore, the Peak District is weekend escape gold. Centrally-located, it’s easy to get to from pretty much anywhere (you can be up a hill channelling Keira Knightley in Pride & Prejudice within a couple of hours from London) and, covering a whopping 555 square miles, there’s plenty of space for everyone.

Whether you’re coming for an outdoorsy escape yomping in the hills or a romantic retreat, we’ve got the local intel on the best places to do it (and some insider secrets for lesser-known gems).

PEAK VILLAGES

The pretty, characterful villages that pepper the Peak District are well worth a visit, whether as a pitstop or as a start/finish point for a winter yomp. Many of the national park’s best walks pass through one of these quaint spots and Muddy has a few firm favourites.

Ashford-in-the-Water tops my list. Not one of the most well-known, it’s nevertheless a real beauty, with pretty stone houses,13th-century church and ancient bridge over the River Wye. You can do a lovely circular six-mile walk via Monsal Dale from here, with pub and tearoom at the halfway mark at Monsal Head (and it’s cow-free – always a bonus in my book). Another chocolate-box beauty, Tissington is an idyllic, unspoilt estate village of limestone cottages and ancient lime trees surrounding Tissington Hall. It’s just off the popular cycling and walking route, The Tissington Trail, it’s a great picnic spot by the duckpond or pop into Herbert’s Tearooms to refuel.

If it’s dramatic Peak scenery you’re looking for, probably the most perfectly-located village is lovely Castleton. Nestled in the Hope Valley surrounded by spectacular peaks and dales, it’s a mecca for walkers and outdoorsy types. The village itself is lined with quant stone cottages, inns and cafés. Mam Tor is within easy reach for hikers and a post-walk cake in Rose Cottage café gazing back at the great ridge is a must. Looking to bed down nearby? Bike & Boot (3 miles away) is brilliant for muddy boots, bikes and paws.

Eyam (pronounced ‘eem’) is another chocolate-box-pretty place with a fascinating history. Known as the ‘plague village’ because villagers took it upon themselves to isolate after the Black Death to contain an outbreak of the plague. Quirky Café Village Green is a top spot for a cuppa, or head to Stella’s Kitchen for authentic Afro-Caribbean dishes (you can even book a cooking class with Stella herself).

COUNTRY HOUSES & GARDENS

No trip to the Peak District is complete without a trip to swoon-worthy Chatsworth House and Gardens or the wider estate. Swerve the crowds and the entry fee (tickets to house and garden/farmyard are £35 for adults and a tenner for kids at peak times) and spend a day walking, picnicking and admiring the views of the handsome house roaming across the free-to-explore estate. The House and gorgeous gardens are totally worth a look though and there are some fabulous family events (like the Country Fair at the end of August) and brilliant creative workshops on throughout the summer.

Fancy somewhere more intimate? Just 2km outside Bakewell Haddon Hall (below) is a beautiful 900-year-old stately home with exquisite Elizabethan walled gardens. The house and gardens are open until 30 Sept for visits, guided walks and a lively programme of Sunday musical performances.

Another ancient beauty, Peveril Castle sits high above the picturesque village of Castleton and is one of England’s earliest Norman fortresses. Worth a visit for the jaw-dropping views across to Mam Tor alone, there’s also a visitor centre and ruins to explore. Further east, Elizabethan masterpiece Hardwick Hall is another Peak favourite filled with opulent furnishings and tapestries.

SCOFF & QUAFF

Beautiful Bakewell – a Muddy Best Places to Live winner and birthplace of the Bakewell pud – is a lovely place for weekend mooching. Take a walk along the River Wye or explore its independent shops and cafés in the town’s grand stone buildings. The Bakewell Tart Shop dishes up one of the best tarts, and the Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop is a local institution.

Tart or pudding I hear you ask? The pud is the original, created as a happy accident in the 1800s when the cook at a local inn misunderstood the recipe for a strawberry tart and topped hers with a soft set almond custard. The more common Bakewell Tart is a popular offshoot of the pud with shortcrust pastry, layered with seedless strawberry jam and finished with fluffy frangipane sponge filling.

Just up the hill, Chatsworth Estate Farm Shop is worth a browse, with delicious local food and drink packing the shelves. Chefs at its café create seasonal recipes using as much local produce from the farm shop as possible (it’s got sweeping Peak views too). The monthly supper clubs are lovely. For fine dining try Lovage in Bakewell, which serves modern British food with a laid-back country feel. Muddy fave the Garden Room Restaurant at The Cavendish, is a reliable spot for delicious lunches, showcases the best of the Chatsworth Estate’s produce in show-stopping dishes (it also dishes up decadent afternoon teas and has a fabulous terrace with sweeping views for al fresco drinking and dining).

Nearby The Peacock at Rowsley is a gastronomic gem, with three AA rosettes and a mention in the Michelin Guide and serves an indulgent, reliably-delicious menu. Higher up in the hills, with fab views over the moors, don’t miss rustic stone pub The Blind Bull in Hucklow, with a Michelin-mentioned menu offering punchy, flavourful classics and a brilliant vegetarian spread.

Other top spots for foodies include two AA rosette Rafters at Riverside House, recently-opened The Ashford Arms is worth a look (as is the stand-out food at sister hotel The Maynard in Grindleford) and high end country house hotel Fischer’s in Baslow has just opened its lovely terrace for al fresco dining.

Looking for a great gastro stop-offs en route from the south? The Cow, just shy of the Peak District, is a lovely spot that (unusually for land-locked Derbyshire) specialises in fish. Slightly further south is The Boot at Repton, an AA* gastropub with a fabulous reputation for great food at good prices (with some gorgeous boutique rooms to break the journey).

Gin connoisseur or whisky afficionado? Don’t miss a tour around White Peak Distillery in Ambergate, a cool craft distillery which makes small-batch spirits. Go behind the scenes to soak up the atmosphere, heat and smells of the distillery, before heading back to the tasting room to try a few tipples.

OUTDOORS

From dramatic rocky ridges to pretty riverside trails, the Peak District has it all when it comes to walks – and it’s one of the biggest reasons visit. Only got a weekend? Get the big views in with a hike up to the top of Mam Tor, a Peak classic that can be adapted to any ability. If you’re tight on time, or have a band of toddlers in tow, the quickest route up (and a really easy win for photo-opp views) is to park at the NT car park and hotfoot it 20 minutes to the trig point at the top. Prefer a proper day’s hike? Start from pretty Edale and do a circular eight miles that showcases the best of the Hope Valley.

A lesser-known gem of a walk with equally dramatic views is from Ilam (park at the NT car park) up Bunster Hill. It’s a steep hike up, but totally doable with children. My three kids have been doing this one since they could walk and it’s a firm favourite – you can even fossil-hunt en route. Once at the top the views are stunning. Drink it in as you walk along the ridge, often without passing anyone else, and smugly watch the tourist hoardes teetering atop the more well-known Thorpe Cloud opposite.

CULTURE

Spot of opera while you’re in the Peaks? Head to beautiful Buxton Opera House where you’ll be spoilt for choice, especially with the Buxton International Festival on the horizon from 4-21 July.

Bookworms should definitely make a stop at the High Peak Bookstore and Café on the A515 just before you reach Buxton. Cool and quirky, it offers an eclectic range of bargains (the books are all new but nearly always half-price and you’ll never know what you’ll find). The café is fantastic and worth the trip alone, serving delicious food and some of the best coffee in the region.

For a family a day out that combines fascinating history, stunning architecture and a splash of VR fun, head to the Buxton Crescent Heritage Experience. Packed with eye-opening stories and interactive fun, it’s based inside the Grade I-listed Crescent (ask to take a peek in the stunning Assembly Room) so you’ll get a first-hand look at what the Georgians fell in love with back in the 18th-century. Pop into Muddy Award winner, neighbouring Jarva Fine Art while you’re there. Owner and professional artist Lyndsey Selley has quite the eye and there are some beautiful picks.

Also worth a look is David Mellor Design near lovely Hathersage, where you’ll find a museum, the cutlery factory (in a cool architectural beauty of a round house), plus shop and contemporary  café. Factory tours are fun and run on Sundays.

WELLBEING

If all that Peak District nature has given you a taste for a spot of de-stressing and self care, there are some brilliant wellbeing workshops new to the Ashbourne area this summer. The super-sculpting bespoke Barre classes at Wildhive have a big focus on breathwork and the transformative power of movement to music. Or how about a spot of soul healing Sound Therapy in the calming Coach House? Dove Retreat‘s popular bespoke reiki workshops are also worth a look for some me-time over at Yeldersley Hall, Ashbourne.