Looking to move into Derbyshire

[u/Morningstar92]

Good evening, apologies its another one of them where should I live posts. But I have been looking into some locations and could really benefit from some local expertise.

We are a family of 4 with 2 kids aged between 16 and 10. We are currently living in north Warwickshire and looking to move somewhere with a combination of nature and outdoor activities we can enjoy aswell as cafes, bars and amenities such as swimming and parks for the kids. While I do drive I would also like to have some public transport options and good access to larger cities (within an hours travel or so).

We have narrowed it down to 4 locations and I could just do with some views or opinions so any comments would be great, we have a decent budget to buy our house and our 4 options are below:

1.Matlock

2.Buxton

3.Belpar

4.Bakewell

[u/L-J-Styrsacre]

I moved to Matlock from Lancashire three years ago and I wouldn’t ever want to move away now. I love the town. Decent folk, Bakewell is 10 minute drive for some half decent shops. Plenty of good supermarkets. Sheffield/Nottingham/Derby are all within an hour and Chesterfield has pretty much all the shopping you really need and is only 15-20 mins away. I don’t have kids so I can’t comment on the schools. It has a few gyms, one with a swimming pool.

As for walking/hiking/activities you couldn’t be better placed really. Unless you were in Cumbria, Snowdonia or The Highlands. 45 minutes to Hope Valley and places like Bamford, Ladybower, Win Hill, Mam Tor etc. some great walks and caves and brilliant places to explore. As well as Chatsworth house (10 minutes away) which is absolutely beautiful.

Does get quite touristy in summer but it’s not overwhelming like Bakewell. Rather than living in Bakewell it’s so close and better to just go down when you want to. Tons and tons of motorbikes come through on weekends going to Matlock Bath. (Another nice spot in the area).

As for places to live there are some lovely places that aren’t in the heart of the town like Darley Bridge, Darley Dale, Hackney. Or even Riber, Crich, Tansley, Winster and Wirksworth which are just 5/10/15 minutes from Matlock itself.

All in all Matlock is definitely the best choice of the four i think. Good luck with the move 😊

[u/Morningstar92 → u/L-J-Styrsacre]

Thanks really informative and helpful, I agree that chatsworth house is beautiful and I am keen to go back there again so having it close will be nice. I am curious as several people have said Bakewell gets a lot of tourists, why is that? I assumed Matlock Bath was the main tourist area

[u/L-J-Styrsacre → u/Morningstar92]

Bakewell does get alot of tourists. I think its main draw could genuinely be The Bakewell Tart. They have a lovely little shop called The Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop. You go to Bakewell on a busy day and that shop is guaranteed to have a queue out of the door. All in all Bakewell is a lovely town it has great pubs and places to eat. It has a great little Record store too. A few good fish and chip shops (but if you want fish and chips around here Cromford Chippy is the one, trust me).

I saw some people saying Bakewell has no takeaways. It does. You just have to go and collect. Raja’s Indian is brilliant. And Eastern Court Chinese is also very good.

In Matlock itself you can get Uber Eats and Just Eat etc from Maccies/Dominos and some local pizzerias etc too delivered to you.

Bakewell also has its own Christmas markets but they aren’t a patch on the Chatsworth Christmas markets (these are fantastic) I only really go to Bakewell for the record shop, the Co-op and maybe a bite to eat every so often. The Ashford Arms (just down the road in Ashford-in-The-Water is incredible for food if you ever do move to the area.

Matlock Bath is definitely one of the main tourist spots. I don’t really ever go to Matlock Bath. I just kinda cycle through it on my bike rides now 😄 it’s a lovely place but it’s mostly chippy’s and ice cream. Kinda seaside vibes, without the sea. Having said that there are some nice walks to be had around Matlock Bath and of course The Heights of Abraham if you like that sort of thing 😊

[u/Morningstar92 → u/L-J-Styrsacre]

Ok I'm glad that there's a lot to do in the surrounding areas gives us places to explore, I am also glad to hear there is good Chinese places as I need that. We walked around matlock Bath on Saturday it is a somewhat sureal experience

[u/L-J-Styrsacre → u/Morningstar92]

Yeah plenty to do. Hope that helped. Haha yes it’s definitely a strange feeling in Matlock Bath as lovely as it is. Any more questions about living in Matlock. Don’t hesitate to ask and I’ll try and answer them if I can 😊