There are so many beautiful parts of Bakewell it’s hard to choose a favourite. Perhaps it is the park and playgrounds which holds a special place in your heart, happy memories of taking your children now grown-up? Is it wandering by the crystal clear waters of the River Wye, fish and chips in newspaper or an ice cream hand-in-hand? Visitors who get the Bakewell bug return year on year and build up a collection of new favourite places, always discovering little gems they didn’t know existed.
Bakewell Bath Gardens is the centrepiece of Bakewell, overlooking Rutland Square. Maintained and managed immaculately by Derbyshire Dales District Council’s beady eyes, it is always in top-notch condition, whatever time of the year.
Winning the East Midlands in Bloom 2020 Green Space Award for Horticultural Excellence within parks, the gardening and landscaping team at the council also followed this up a year later with the Judges Award for Quality and Display. They pride themselves in listening to local people and have the knowledge that keeping the Dales clean and green is a priority.
With Bakewell being the most visited market town in the Peak District, it can sometimes get a little crowded, so there’s nothing nicer than to slip away for a while, forget shopping for a moment and indulge in a stroll through Bakewell Bath Gardens. As part of the Bakewell Tree Trail, the Bath Gardens has a majestic Hornbeam in Rutland Square, which is a native tree so named for its ancient meaning of ”the beam between the horns’. It is one of three trees planted to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth 2nd. In winter, the ducks roost in the branches. At all times of the year, these wonderful gardens are beautiful and inspiring, all thanks to the dedication of the gardeners and visitors keeping it litter free.
The gardens are overlooked by the Rutland Arms Hotel in the centre of Bakewell, which replaced the original White Horse Inn. Together with some other buildings which were demolished in 1805, the Inn made way to form Rutland Square. It was built to cater for coach travellers and is easy to imagine what it was like in 1818 when as many as 600 travellers have been recorded to have passed through the town – it’s safe to say there are a few more than that these days, but back then, this was a huge amount. The hotel has a literary connection with Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen who was reputed to have written part of the novel while she stayed at the Hotel. Bakewell has also been identified as Lampton from the novel.
The famous Bakewell pudding was also invented accidentally here when the cook misinterpreted instructions and poured egg mixture over the jam instead of mixing it in the pastry. What should have been a tart had now become the infamous pudding – a very happy accident as far as Bakewell is concerned.
In 1697 the Duke of Rutland built the Bath house in Bath Gardens. The Bath is supplied by warm spa waters, which was an attempt to rival Buxton as a health resort. The pool was later rebuilt and exists in the cellar of Haig House, which now houses the British Legion social club. The gardens are a recent addition to the town, renovated as part of the efforts to market Bakewell as a spa town. Water from the fountain in the gardens is supplied from the Warm Well over which Bath house was originally built.
With plenty of benches to be able to rest those weary shopping legs, sit and take a breather. Watch the busy town unfold around you but stay apart from the hustle and bustle in relative peace and quiet. Enjoy the thoughtfully and well planted, perfectly maintained gardens which have something colourful to see in any season, all thanks to the dedicated gardening teen. Relax awhile and shut out the traffic noise. Enjoy the sound of the water trickling musically in the ornamental fountain and smell the scents from the annuals, basking in the summer sun. Bath House Gardens are a haven of calm and serenity whenever you need a bit of TLC.
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