Tart reply

Above: Bakewell's parish church seen from the banks of the river Wye

Above: Bakewell town centre

Above: A view of Bridge Street

BAKEWELL is forever linked in the collective mindset with ‘tart’ - but anyone mentioning the ‘t’word within hearing distance of a local bakery will be told that the delicacy must be referred to as a pudding. The pudding versus tart debate and the rivalry between various outlets as to which is the oldest establishment flogging those scrumptious desserts will probably rage on until doomsday, but let’s not allow that to cloud the many other attributes of this enchanting town, which nestles on the river Wye, surrounded by high wooded hills and bracing moorlands. If you require sustenance following a long walk in the glorious countryside or a visit to nearby Chatsworth, you are in the right place.A brief, but by no means exhaustive, survey on a walk around town revealed that there are at least 16 teashops in Bakewell, as well as restaurants, bars, takeaways, pubs and what seems to be the most visited chip shop in Britain.The queues outside on Monday, which is market day, can often stretch the length of Water Street. Of course, tea rooms and fish and chips are the backbone of most British tourist destinations.What you might not expect to find in a quintessentially English location is a Tyrolean-style coffee shop that specialises in selling Austrian sausages. However, it does reflect just what a brilliant place Bakewell is for foodstuffs of all kinds, from quality butchers to stylish ice cream parlours; it is the place to shop for some of the finest produce in the land. Bakewell’s farmer’s market on the last Saturday of every month is a happy, buzzing entree to local food and drink. Here you’ll find organic vegetables and meats, ostrich burgers, homemade scotch eggs and the most delicious pies created by the ultra talented Billy Balmer, a Scotsman who launched his Bakewell-based pie making business after being made redundant several years ago.Their loss is our gain. If you can’t wait for the month’s end then there’s a farmer’s market shop that has started selling squirrel as a delicacy.Well if it was good enough for Elvis Presley...although I have it on authority that it tastes quite gamey. Of course, if you don’t feel like cooking squirrel, or indeed anything at all, the town has many high-quality restaurants, and you’ll find the world on a plate at its French, Indian, Italian and traditional British eateries. The pastry chef at the historic Rutland Arms rustles up cakes and homemade biscuits for the tea rooms across the road at the newly created Rutland Antiques Centre.This is the perfect place to while away an hour or more, filled as it is with everything from the elegant to the eccentric, all most wonderfully preserved. It’s not just Bakewell’s antiques emporia that attract shoppers. Independent bookstores, high quality ladies’ wear, established outfitters’, interior design shops, kitchenware, toys, carpets, hand-made chocolates, gifts, electrical goods, artist’s materials, luggage - all these and whatever else you might fancy spending your money on can be found here. It’s the sort of place where you find pretty little cobbled areas off the beaten track, like King’s Court and Hebden Court, offering a charming place to sit and drink coffee or eat lunch. Hebden Court is also the location of Bakewell’s fishing shop, which reels in anglers and keeps them there until they submit to a display of fly-tying or rod casting. The best customers may even find themselves offered liquid refreshments to celebrate significant moments, like the first day of the fishing season. The great architectural historian Nicholas Pevsner rather sniffily dismissed Bakewell as architecturally unimportant. However its dominant feature, the magnificent church of All Saints, has an elegant octagonal spire and a long history stretching back to Anglo Saxon times. The bridge across the Wye, built around 1300, is one of the oldest in England, while the handsome Rutland Arms dates back to 1804 and is mentioned in Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice. Bakewell’s Old House Museum, which won 2007 Derbyshire Museum of the Year, sheds light on the town’s fascinating past as a home for workers at the nearby Lumsford Mill.The house was built in the reign of Henry VIII for the collection of church taxes before undergoing various transformations, from family residence to workers’ cottages. Steeped in history it may be, but Bakewell is brimming with activity throughout the year, which is why it is such a popular destination for tourists. A fun-packed programme of events is planned throughout the summer months. From June 30 to July 6 it will be Bakewell carnival week, culminating in the annual spectacle of the carnival on July 5. From June 28 to July 6 the annual well dressing celebrations will be staged, while from August 7 to 17 the town hosts its own arts festival. And let’s not forget the magnificent Bakewell Show on August 6 and 7, which celebrates its 178th anniversary this year. Simply strolling along the river is a lovely way to experience the town, too. Almost everyone who comes feeds the ducks, who entertain passers-by with their antics on the Wye.We can only conclude that they must be the fattest in the entire country.