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The Heart of a Peak District Community
Bakewell
 Bakewell - Bath Gardens - September 2007 Like an oasis, Bakewell's Bath Gardens help the visitor to escape the hustle and bustle of all that noisy traffic that wends its way through the town's busy thoroughfare. |
These beautiful gardens once belonged to the Bath House that was erected over a natural spring, being built by the Duke of Rutland in 1697. This was part of Bakewell's attempt at becoming a fashionable Spa town, which unfortunately was doomed to failure. None the less, these gardens have many floral displays that are admired by countless visitors every summer.
Bath Gardens
Wishing Well - Bath Gardens
Rutland Arms Hotel
This splendid hotel fronting Rutland Square on the main A6 road to Buxton and Matlock, was built in 1804 from the local sandstone, which from the view of its visitors, is made all the more impressive by its magnificent portico entrance surmounted by the coat of arms of the Duke of Rutland.
The Cenotaph, seen here in the middle of the square, was erected in 1920 to mark the local forces who fought during the 1914-18 war.
A walk up King Street, on the left-hand side of the hotel, leads the visitor on to South Church Street where many fine early buildings, including that of Bakewell's Parish church of All Saints may be seen.
Water Street
Bakewell Visitor Centre
Another of Bakewell's early buildings constructed from the warm hues of the local sandstone, is its old Market Hall built in the early eighteenth century. Today, apart from a few changes in its general appearence, it now houses Bakewell's Visitor Centre and is headquarters of the Peak District National Park Authority.
Hebden Court Shops
Portland Square
Whatever part of Bakewell's shopping areas you visit, you are sure to come across a premises that specialises in the local delicacy, Bakewell Pudding. Quite unlike the iced Tart with the cherry on top found elsewhere throughout the country, the pudding owes its fame completely by accident, when a recipe made in the nineteenth century was wrongly prepared, and the result, which turned out to be in great demand, is sold in many of the town's shops today.
Rutland Square