Doesn’t autumn seem to have well and truly arrived? While the leaves have been on the turn since the end of August, last weekend was the first time that I really noticed the autumn colours starting to pop. We were in the Peak District exploring some new routes (and dodging the occasional autumn shower), having very kindly been invited to stay at Carr View Farm near Bamford by cottages.com.
Cottages.com are one of my go to places for booking dog friendly holidays, and we usually have at least one trip away with them every year – not gifted. They have a fantastic range of dog friendly cottages to choose from and in many places, dogs are welcome free of charge. That’s an instant £40 saving for us, so they’re always one of the first sites I check!
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Carr View Farm
Arriving on Friday after work, we instantly knew that our stay at Carr View Farm was going to be a good one. It’s one of those holiday cottages which is so beautifully done inside and so spacious, that you could easily spend your whole holiday inside relaxing rather than traipsing around outside in the rain (should the weather be so inclined).
Sleeping 6 people in three bedrooms, the cottage is not only tastefully decorated, but super well equipped with everything you could possibly need. I especially loved the welcome hamper which included a dozen fresh farm eggs, a fresh loaf of bread, 2 pints of milk and a box of Lindor. All of my favourite things!
Two dogs are welcome to join you free of charge, and the garden is securely enclosed (Merry-proof) with an outdoor tap and secure bike storage.
What really makes Carr View Farm stand out from the (many) other Peak District holiday cottages is it’s incredible location. A short drive from Bamford, you can get almost anywhere in the national park in under an hour’s drive, or you can forget the car altogether with classic walks including Bamford Edge, Ladybower Reservoir and Win Hill reachable on foot from the cottage. Oh, and it has a hot tub too!
Upper Derwent Reservoir
Saturday had initially been forecast to be lovely and sunny, however overnight this deteriorated into rain all morning with a few sunny-ish hours in the afternoon. I was quite happy to have a steady morning, as this meant there was plenty of time to treat myself to egg and dippy soldiers, using the fresh eggs and bread from our welcome basket – the benefits of a farm stay!
When the rain eased off later in the morning we hopped in the car to take the dogs for a walk. I’d picked a walk from our Countryside Dog Walks book which promised nice views of the Upper Derwent reservoir, and being just a 14 minute drive from our cottage, meant that we could get there quickly before the weather changed again.
There’s an enormous car park at the start of the walk – which was lucky, because I think everyone else had had a similar idea to wait for the rain to stop, and we only just managed to get parked. Quite a few walks start from here, which meant that once we left the main car park/cafe area, it was a fair bit quieter – which was a relief, as while I love encouraging people to explore the countryside, I don’t like feeling like I’m on a conveyor belt of people walking down a path.
There are signs up asking for dogs to be kept on leads which was hugely helpful with Coal – although we saw quite a lot of dogs, we didn’t have any over friendly off lead dogs setting him off.
The walk is very pleasant and starts off on an excellent path running alongside the reservoir. Soon, we branched off the main path to climb uphill through the woods, emerging onto the hillside to climb more steeply until the path flattened out. The good thing about uphill is that it immediately significantly thins the amount of other people you’ll see on your walk!
The climb doesn’t last too long, and the views are absolutely wonderful. The initial view back over the reservoir is stunning, and once you’ve moved on along the path, you get another cracking view down over the dam at the other end. I’d definitely say this is up there as one of my all time favourite walks in terms of views – despite the fact we came across some cows (who were admittedly very chilled out and not remotely interested in us).
Descending back down to the reservoir was much gentler than the climb up, and the end of the walk was a very easy flat stroll along the reservoir back to the start. All in all a fantastic dog walk with no stiles, although you will need to keep your dog on a lead throughout.
Chrome Hill and Parkhouse Hill
Sunday dawned if not bright, certainly brisk, and it was at least dry. A walk up Chrome Hill has been on my list for a very long time, so we took advantage of the slightly overcast weather (hoping it wouldn’t be quite so busy) and set off early, with our route noting that only roadside parking is available at the start. We arrived in the village of Hollinsclough at about 9.15am and got parked with no issues at all – I was glad I hadn’t set a super early alarm like I’d been contemplating.
The route we followed was a 7km circular from our Pocket Mountains guide to the Peak District, which tackles Parkhouse Hill first before continuing on to Chrome Hill. After a gentle start to the walk the ascent of Parkhouse Hill is short but steep, made more challenging by the slippery mud which saw both of us have a few near misses! There’s a short scrambly section near the top, after which the path flattens out and the worst is over. While a little exposed feeling, it wasn’t too scary for me (and I am a wuss) and there’s a good view over to Chrome Hill.
The descent off Parkhouse Hill is as steep as the ascent, but it is at least over quickly – not like some of the knee wrenching, never ending descents off some of the Lakeland fells. And, bonus, because it wasn’t really that long after we’d set off, my legs were still fresh and shaky leg syndrome didn’t set in! There’s not much of a reprieve before heading up Chrome Hill, which while bigger isn’t quite as steep, and which has a wonderful view back over Parkhouse Hill (which I stopped many times to admire on my way up – definitely admiring the view and not terribly unfit…).
We ended up sharing Chrome Hill with quite a large walking group, so we didn’t hang about for long at the top before starting our walk down. There’s a short ridge section which I wouldn’t go so far as to say is a scramble, but there’s the odd moment here and there where three points of contact would stand you in good stead. Clambering up and down really gave me an insight into why Chrome Hill is sometimes referred to as the Dragon’s Back!
After a surprisingly gentle walk back to Hollinsclough (with thankfully no more mud once we were off the hill, and as an extra bonus no stiles at all), we popped into the Chapel Tearooms to get a hot drink to thaw out. Resisting the cakes on offer was an exercise in self-restraint, although my luxury hot chocolate was about the same size as my head, so I probably wouldn’t have been able to fit in a cake as well.
Feeling very contented after a great walk, we drove back to Carr View Farm for a relaxing afternoon taking advantage of the hot tub. The cherry on the cake of our perfect lazy afternoon was getting a takeaway from Maazi delivered – is there any location better than being in the countryside, but not so far out that you can’t get takeaways delivered?
Surprise View
Before we knew it, it was Monday morning and time to pack our bags and go home. We did manage to squeeze in one last quick walk on our way home though, a 1.2 mile circular around Surprise View and Millstone Edge from our Countryside Dog Walks book. I was very surprised when we got there to find the car park almost deserted – although I expect it’s busier at weekends and during school holidays.
The walk itself is a very easy, gentle stroll which took us about 45 minutes. While Surprise View is lauded for its panoramic vista in all directions, we actually thought the views a bit further along on Millstone Edge were better. There’s loads of heather up here, which in August and September I expect looks amazing. We left the main path to explore some fantastic rock formations, including one which bizarrely resembles a turtle, before dropping back down to the car.
After a quick walk in the morning to blow away the cobwebs, it was a nice short drive home to finish off the weekend. We had a fantastic stay at Carr View Farm and I would highly recommend it if you’re thinking about a stay in the Peak District – or if you’re looking for a dog friendly holiday cottage somewhere else, cottages.com have a cottage for everyone in their dog friendly collection.
Dog friendly rating: 5/5. Carr View Farm ticks all my dog friendly boxes. Dog welcome free of charge, secure enclosed garden, outdoor tap, in a nice quiet spot (if you’ve got a bark-y dog, you’ll know what I mean!), spacious, hard floors and a stair gate to keep the dogs downstairs. If your dog doesn’t like traveling, you could spend days exploring the surrounding countryside without even needing to get in the car.
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