4 circular Bakewell walks that start from the town centre

Synonymous with delicious tarts and puddings, Bakewell is a bustling market town in the heart of the White Peak and a superb base for a family walk. With Chatsworth House and Haddon Hall on the doorstep, as well as the Monsal Trail, there are some lovely circular Bakewell walks that start and end in the town centre; meaning your walk can be bookended with a pub or a café stop. Indeed, Bakewell offers some lovely Peak District pub walks.

So if you’re looking for walks around Bakewell, you’ve come to the right place. Here we share our top four circular Bakewell walks that have all been tried and tested by us (we live in Bakewell!), these include short Bakewell walks suitable for little legs. Links to full walk guides are provided, which includes our usual step-by-step guides with photos as well as a map and pdf to download.

Make sure you also check out our guide for things to do in Bakewell.

1. Bakewell pram-friendly walk – 3.8km

Read the full details of the Bakewell pram-friendly walk
Click here for start point
Printable walk guide

This easy-going, pram-friendly walk starts in Bakewell town centre by Weir Bridge and leads you up to the very start of the Monsal Trail and along to Bakewell station (disused), before returning back into town.

You can extend the walk at Bakewell Station and continue along the Monsal Trail to Hassop Station (also disused), where there is a lovely café and small play area. This adds 3.4km, there and back, to the total distance of this walk.

The route is a mix of tarmac and gravel paths, suitable for pushchairs. Although, please be mindful of cars along Coombs Road (the quiet lane that leads you up from Bakewell to the Monsal Trail) and then of bikes when you’re on the Monsal Trail (keep to the left, especially on busy weekend and school holiday days).

Once back in Bakewell, you can perhaps finish with a Bakewell Pudding or a pint of local ale in one of Bakewell’s (no less than) nine pubs.

2. Bakewell to Ashford in the Water – 7km

Bakewell to Ashford-in-the-Water walk guide
Click here for start point
Printable download

This pretty Peak District family walk, starts from All Saints Church in the historical market town of Bakewell, and follows the River Wye to the picture-perfect village of Ashford-in-the-Water. It then leads you up into the hills along a quiet track for superb views down into the village, to then cross open meadows back to Bakewell.

It’s worth timing your walk with a pub lunch at The Bulls Head in Ashford-in-the-Water, or grabbing a tea and cake at Aisseford Tea Room. Or you may just want to pop to the Ashford village playground to let the kids run riot and enjoy a picnic at one of the picnic tables.

3. Bakewell to Haddon Hall – 8.4km

Bakewell to Haddon Hall walk guide
Click here for start point
Printable download

A picturesque circular walk from Bakewell centre along the River Wye to the grand Haddon Hall estate, returning via open farmland and through Bakewell cemetery. Despite the town being a tourist hotspot, this circular Bakewell to Haddon Hall walk leads you away from the hustle and bustle, along quiet footpaths.

Kids will enjoy paddling and playing around the streams and river, and the views towards Haddon Hall as you climb up towards Over Haddon are very pretty.

Haddon Hall is a fortified medieval manor house dating from the 12th century, and is the home of Lord and Lady Edward Manners whose family have owned it since 1567. If you would like to go into Haddon Hall and have a look around, you need to purchase a ticket (visit the Haddon Hall website). Children under 16 are free, but adult tickets are £23.90. There’s a 30% discount for Derbyshire residents.

There’s also a trig to bag on this walk – Noton Barn Farm trigpoint. However, it is on private land and you need the landowner’s permission to access it. But you can (just about) touch it from the other side of the wall (be careful of the double-barbed wire); we just use a stick to bag this trig.

4. Bakewell to Chatsworth – 10km

Bakewell to Chatsworth walk guide
Click here for start point
Printable download

Our picturesque Bakewell to Chatsworth walk is one of our longer family walks in the Peak District. It will lead you through pretty woodland to the sweeping open pastures of the Chatsworth Estate, where you’ll perhaps spot deer and sheep, then along the River Derwent, before heading to Edensor for cake at the tea room, and back over to Bakewell where you can perhaps finish with a Bakewell Tart or a pint of local ale in one of Bakewell’s (no less than) nine pubs.

The walk can be muddy and slippy through the woodland, so please wear appropriate footwear, and there are steep climbs in places. Allow a good five hours to enjoy the walk with kids, but in the summer months, this walk can easily fill a whole day.

This Bakewell walk is probably our personal favourite out of the three listed here.