The Cavendish Hotel – Baslow, Derbyshire

For a warm Derbyshire welcome and a delightful setting with panoramic views, this 250-year-old coaching inn-cum-country house hotel on the Chatsworth Estate ticks all the boxes. Guests can walk across parkland and fields dotted with Limousin cattle towards Chatsworth House, resplendent after its 10-year restoration with gleaming sandstone, gilded windows and carvings. The Cavendish maintains the personal touch: interiors overseen by the Duchess of Devonshire, supremely comfortable bedrooms, walls crammed with artwork and a thrilling dining experience, especially at the chef’s table amid the bustle of the kitchen, and even marmalade to take home. The sublime cooking of head chef Adam Harper, served in the elegant Gallery restaurant and open-all-day Garden Room, is matched by a much lauded wine list. One thing’s for certain, once you’ve soaked up the views and feeling of complete tranquillity and relaxation, you won’t want to leave.

SEE

Walk across parkland to Chatsworth, home to the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire and the jewel in Derbyshire’s crown,  just two minutes by car. Nearby is the Duke of Rutland’s stunning English Tudor Haddon Hall, described as one of England’s finest medieval manor houses. The Peak District National Park is sheer heaven for nature lovers with dramatic gritstone ridges, moorland plateaus with vast panoramic vistas, deep valleys and pretty villages.

EAT

You’re spoilt for choice at the hotel which serves breakfast until noon and afternoon tea served from noon until 5.30pm, plus lunch and dinner, or order a Champagne hamper to enjoy a picnic in the park at Chatsworth. Tuck into a Bakewell pudding at the Original Bakewell Pudding Shop.

BUY

Choose from a wide range of gifts, books and clothing from the Stables shop at Chatsworth.  Independent shops in Baslow and the nearby village of Pilsley offer designer clothing, interiors and artwork, and local produce from the renowned Chatsworth Farm Shop.