Hartington is approximately 3 miles from The Barn at Ivy House Farm and has a great deal to offer visitors to The Peak District.
It is situated to the southern end of the Peak District National Park, and used to be an important market town in years gone by. It still acts as a main centre for local villages, even though there is no longer a regular market in the village.
Hartington village itself is very pretty, with a duck pond in the centre and an annual well dressing.
It can be quite busy with tourists especially at weekends, however, there is ample parking in the village and also on the road toward Hulme End.
Many tourists park in Hartington to walk the excellent network of footpaths centred on the village. Hartington is also a particularly good place to set out from if you plan to walk along Beresford Dale.
Importantly, in cases of emergency, the nearest doctor’s surgery is situated in Hartington – The Surgery at Dig Street (Tel: 01298 84315) . Details of opening hours, etc. are in the Barn.
Also, if you are short of petrol or the car develops a fault, the garage at Hartington (Hartdale Motors 01298 84322) is usually able to sort you out!
Aside from emergencies, Hartington is a popular place to visit.
It has two pubs, the Devonshire Arms (Tel:01298 84232) and the Charles Cotton, both of which serve food.
There is also a fantastic teashop, which sells delicious ice cream and cakes. The teashop also houses the post office and rather usefully, a free cashpoint machine.
A second tearoom – the Beresford Tearooms – is also situated overlooking the market square.
The Hartington Creamery (cheese factory) has recently closed, but there is still a superb cheese and wine shop, selling a range of delicious cheeses, local beers and English wines (www.hartingtoncheeseshop.co.uk). The shop also sells a range of cheese-related gifts such as cheese plates and knives and cheese storage boxes.
The paper shop supplies a good range of newspapers and local magazines – a must if you want to find out about local activities – well dressings etc. You can also buy basic groceries at the paper shop and cakes provided by the well known Spencers in Ashbourne.
The main village shop in Hartington sells almost everything – food, socks, wellies, cakes, you name it! It also a very good selection of reasonably priced wines if you run out and don’t fancy hiking down to the nearest town.
For those of you looking for a cheap get away, the Hartington Youth Hostel is one of the finest in the country (almost a country hotel!) and so gets very busy.