Below is information about Winster and the local area. The information should be up to date, but do please call or check websites just to make sure before travelling any distance!
Winster
The village shop is open 8am-7pm Mon-Sat, 8am-6pm Sun. Run by the community, it is well stocked and friendly and serves as a Post Office too. If you want to phone a food order ahead, they would be very happy to help.
There are two pubs in the village – the Bowling Green and the Miner’s Standard. Both serve hearty meals. The Druid Inn and the Red Lion are in Birchover, which is a short drive or around 45 minutes walk over the fields. Take your wellies!
Local towns and villages
Apart from walking and eating, there are number of towns and villages to visit and activities to do. We’ve put a few notes about those we know, but there are many others. There are some leaflets in the coffee table trunk, but the best Tourist Information Office locally is in Bakewell.
Matlock
Matlock is the closest town and has some useful shops, plus a pleasant park. Sainsbury’s is the nearest supermarket. There’s a train and bus station – car park is £1.50 per hour, or £6 all day. There is a regular outdoor market each Wednesday. There’s a great indoor swimming pool on the town outskirts, too.
Matlock Bath is the other side of Matlock from Winster. Be prepared for a distinctive charm unusual for the Peak District, not unlike a well-worn seaside town without any sea. Fish and chip shops abound, and generally the cafes and shops at the Matlock end seem a bit better than those at the south of the town. Otherwise there are a few amusement arcades, sweet shops and gift places. It also gets very busy in summer weekends.
Bakewell
Bakewell is a pleasant small town, and the next nearest, but it can be busy during summer weekends. There’s a sizable Coop supermarket and plenty of other shops, cafes and another pool. There’s a regular market each Monday and a large Farmer’s market on the last Saturday of each month- this is well worth a visit.
Buxton
Buxton (about 40 minutes drive away) is an old spa town and has some grand architecture. Worth checking the Opera House for events and shows. Hathersage is the nearest village to Sheffield and a well-used base for the more challenging terrain of the Peak District to the West and Pennines to the North. Plenty of pubs, cafes and shops (Outside cafe, above the shop provides good value hearty food), and a busy but lovely outdoor pool. We recommend a stop at the David Mellor factory, cafe and kitchen shop just out of the village. Other villages (Monyash, Youlgrave, Grindleford, Eyam, Edale, Castleton) are not far.
In the summer most Peak villages hold Wakes Weeks and Well Dressing events – these are worth seeing if there’s one on locally.
Things to do
The Peak District can be explored by walking, cycling, running, climbing and generally just pottering about. Winster itself is full of little nooks and crannies, and there are many foot and bridle paths passing through or by the village.
The Tissington, High Peak and Monsal trails are mostly flat and good for traffic free walking and cycling. Bike hire is available; Middleton Top, near Wirksworth is the nearest. Trails around Carsington Water and Ladybower reservoir are similarly traffic free most days, and cycle hire is available there too. The National Trust owns huge swathes of uplands – Mam Tor, Kinder Scout, and Longshaw are all worth a good day’s hiking. Further south is Dove Dale, Ilam Park, offering gentler Peak views.
There are a number of attractions. Gulliver’s Kingdom has a similar feel to Matlock Bath itself; pleasantly shabby and not Alton Towers or Disneyworld – good for younger children. The Heights of Abraham, although not cheap has been recommended by those who have visited. Elsewhere in Matlock Bath is the Life in a Lens Museum of Photography/Aquarium: aquaria, a Victorian bath full of carp, a petrifying well and a hologram display. Cheap and strangely joyful on a soggy afternoon, particularly when followed by a bag of chips and a mug of tea. Crich Tramway Village is not far, and Lea Gardens is spectacular when rhododendrons are in bloom. Alton Towers is about 50 minutes drive.
There are plenty of preserved railways nearby. Wirksworth has a couple: the Ecclesbourne Valley and the Steeple Grange Light Railway. There’s the Midland Railway at Butterley, and nearer still (Matlock to Rowsley South) is Peak Rail. They are all short, but fun and have events from time to time.
There are a few Stately Homes in striking distance; the grandest is Chatsworth House, about 20 minutes drive away. It’s one of the best in the country, but not cheap – do check online for any discounts. If time is limited, consider just going to the gardens, or with children try the farm and adventure playground. There are specific events throughout the year. Nearer is Haddon Hall, about 10 minutes away towards Bakewell, and featured in many films. Beyond Chesterfield is Hardwick Hall, run by the National Trust.
Churches
We have still to find out more about local churches. For those listed below do check times before going.
St John’s in the village normally has a quiet BCP service at 9am on a Sunday morning- probably not idea for children!
St Helen’s in Darley Dale is the main church in the benefice and has a main service at 11am. Steven Monk, the Vicar is very welcoming.
In both Matlock and Buxton there’s the Church in the Peak (New Frontiers) church (10.45)- it’s lively with lots of children’s work. Holy Trinity in Matlock Bath (10.45) is a friendly Anglican church.
We have a number of friends at three churches further afield, all about 40 minutes away: Trinity in Buxton (10am), Christ Church Endcliffe in Sheffield (4pm), and St Giles, Normanton, Derby (10am). All three have excellent children’s work, simple services and clear, thought provoking sermons.
