Hartington
Hartington is one of the most attractive and most welcoming villages in the Peak District, a limestone village in the upper Dove Valley of Derbyshire whose combination of the large village pond, the ancient market place, the renowned Hartington creamery producing Stilton cheese and the excellent access it provides to the walking of the Dove Valley and the surrounding limestone country make it one of the most popular centres for exploring the White Peak. The combination of the village charm and the walking available on the surrounding limestone plateau creates a destination that satisfies both those seeking a village experience and those primarily motivated by the Dales landscape.
The Hartington creamery, one of only six dairies licensed to produce Stilton cheese, has been producing the king of English cheeses in this village for over a century, and the direct sale of the cheese from the village shop provides one of the most satisfying local food purchases available at any Peak District destination. The limestone caves below the village, once used as maturing rooms for the cheese, provide an additional curiosity.
The Dove Valley walking from Hartington provides access to the finest sections of Dovedale and the upper Manifold Valley, the two great limestone gorges of the White Peak, and the limestone plateau walking above the village on the high ground between the two valleys provides some of the finest upland limestone scenery in the national park.