The Park
Tourism
Land Use
Conservation
Design 
Farming
Castleton
Dovedale
Upper Derwent
Geology
Minerals
Nature
Burbage Valley
Erosion
Bakewell
Population
Langsett
The Rangers
The Pennine Way
The Goyt Valley
Longdendale
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TOURISM IN BAKEWELL

About two million visitors descend on Bakewell and the surrounding area every year, the majority of them just for a day visit. Most people browse round the shops, walk by the river, admire the old buildings and the church, perhaps have something to eat or drink and then continue to Haddon Hall, Chatsworth or other places of interest. The busiest periods are Summer Sundays and also Mondays (market day). A pedestrian survey in 1990 found as many as 2,000 people per hour walking along the centre of the town.

Bakewell on market day
There are plenty of places to stay in Bakewell itself, with various types of accommodation, from hotels to small B & B establishments. An accommodation booking service operates at the National Park and Tourist Information Centre; all accommodation registered must meet the Tourist Board’s code of conduct. The Information Centre also provides brochures, guidance to tourists, maps, books and souvenirs. It is very central and well used - between 1995 and 1999, an average of 168,500 people visited the Centre each year.

There are a number of small cafes and restaurants, pubs and hotels but there are no large scale provisions for tourists. A greater variety of tourist facilities and entertainment can be found in small towns around the National Park, such as Buxton, Matlock Bath and Ashbourne.
TRAFFIC CONGESTION

The large number of visitors to Bakewell provide good business for local shopkeepers and for the restaurants and cafes. The main problem is the increased traffic congestion. Car and lorry traffic has increased enormously over the last 25 years. The main A6 road between Buxton and Matlock runs through the centre of the town and this, added to visitors looking for somewhere to park, results in delays and obstruction. This congestion is transferred to other nearby towns and villages when the day visitors go home.

Large numbers of vehicles travel from Chesterfield and Sheffield for the Monday market, although the resiting of the livestock market and improved parking has reduced the traffic through the centre of the town on a Monday.

A continuous count is taken of vehicles passing along the A6 through Bakewell. Traffic counts in 1998 show an average increase of 39% in traffic since 1980, although this increase seems to be slowing at the busiest times.


Year Jan-Apr May-Sept Oct-Dec
  Week Sun Week Sun Week Sun
1986 6700 8600 8600 9400 7300 6500
1988 7200 7200 8900 9100 7500 7200
1990 8400 8500 9750 10400 8100 7156
1992 8650 8600 10150 10450 8650 7950
1994 8983 8552 10721 11421 8870 7930
1996 9689 9536 10700 11997 8947 7848
1998 8544 8944 10010 9830 9388 8295


BAKEWELL SHOW

The Bakewell Show is held over two days in the first week of August each year and draws enormous crowds, both of competitors and of visitors. Judging takes place of livestock of all kinds (from beef cattle to rabbits) as well as a horse show and hundreds of stalls selling goods of all kinds to use on the farm, to wear or to eat! There is also a children’s corner with rides and entertainment.


BAKEWELL PUDDING

Bakewell puddings in the making
The delicacy known as the Bakewell Pudding (the Bakewell Tart is a poor relation) was invented by mistake. In Queen Victoria’s reign, around 1860, Mrs Greaves was the mistress of what is now the Rutland Arms. She instructed her cook to make a strawberry tart with a special egg mixture stirred into the pastry. The cook muddled the instructions and poured the egg mixture on top of the jam in the tart instead of stirring it into the pastry. The customers enjoyed the pudding so much, they asked for it again and so the Bakewell Pudding was invented. Two shops now claim the original Bakewell Pudding recipe and a third also sells ‘original Bakewell Puddings’.
Points to Consider
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POINTS TO CONSIDER