The Four Legged Foodies spend 48 hours in the Peak District
We love to go on trips and explore areas of the UK, especially places that have a good mixture of beautiful scenery, cosy hotels and lots of places to eat.
The Peak District has all of these in abundance. Here's what we tried out on our recent visit.
We started off with stay at Rafters Riverside Hotel which is in a lovely village called Ashford in the Water near Bakewell.
We received a very warm welcome and waiting in the room was a basket of goodies for us and beds and bowls were also provided.
The hotel overlooks the river Wye where we would normally like a paddle but with that current and our little legs, we'd have to be quackers!!
So we just had fun watching the ducks instead.
The hotel was super cosy with a log fire in the lounge and a bar area as well as restaurant.
We were not permitted in the restaurant but we had our own little area in the bar which suited us just fine.
The restaurant at Rafters is well renowned in the area for the most excellent food and our humans made lots of yummy noises as they scoffed their through the tasting menu.
The next morning we returned to our special private dining area for breakfast. The humans had a 3 course brekkie (and they say we are greedy) and we got a special sausage from the chef. Perfect for a packed day of exploring.
Our first stop off was to the village of Castleton via Winnats Pass which is a simply stunning hill pass and limestone gorge cutting through the rocks.
There are great walkies here but you need to be fit and steady on your feet and (as we are always telling the woman) wearing sensible shoes!
nb The Speedwell Cavern is not dog friendly.
Next stop was the David Mellor Design Museum in Hathersage. David Mellor is most famous for designing cutlery but on our visit, we also learnt that he designed the traffic light that has been in use in the UK since 1960 as well as bus shelters that we all use on our London commutes.
Dogs are welcome everywhere in the centre and shop plus there is a great café called Riverside Kitchen which serves middle eastern dishes and delicious sweet treats. Can you believe the humans were hungry after that breakfast?
A few minutes drive later, we arrived at our 2nd hotel and a firm favourite of ours since we stayed with them in Scarborough - The Bike & Boot.
The Bike & Boot has everything a dog could desire including our own giant bed (okay that might have been for small humans but we claimed it) treats galore and even some toys for us.
Nowhere is off limits to pooches here, including the bar, restaurant, cinema room and lounge. There is even a dog wash and grooming area if you get filthy on your walkies.
They do really good pizza too!
After a hearty breakfast, we took a look around Matlock which is really pretty and has lots of dog friendly cafes and pubs.
The best way to see the scenery is from the cable car which runs from Matlock up to the Heights of Abraham. It takes about 15 minutes and trust us when we say it is much easier than walking.
Once you get to the top, there are some spectacular photo opportunities as well as cafes, shops and other fun things to see and do. Pooches are welcome everywhere except in the caverns.
Our final stop off was to see Ladybower reservoir which is absolutely stunning.
The reservoir is only accessible at certain points so you have to drive around the perimeter until you find them but it's worth it.
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