Every Peak District campsite likes to describe itself as in ‘the heart of the national park’ but few have a location to match quite like Dale Farm. On a map, this rural campsite is generally found somewhere beneath the ‘I’ and the ‘S’ of the words ‘Peak District’, printed in big brown letters across the page. The location is about as central as you can claim to be in an irregular, croissant-shaped national park. In short, it is superb. It’s five miles to Chatsworth House, the most stately of the stately homes in the region (with the equally lovely Haddon Hall also five miles away); historic Eyam village is four miles; Bakewell, of tart fame, is three miles; Headston Viaduct is one mile and the Derbyshire Dales National Nature Reserve is closer still. By the time your holiday ends, any car journey longer than 15 minutes will feel like an epic voyage.
Set on a working farm in the Derbyshire village of Great Longstone, what’s perhaps most pleasing about Dale Farm Rural Campsite is that, despite its in-demand location, the place retains a small, peaceful atmosphere, with a pleasingly homespun feel. There are just 30 pitches in total, spread across even tiers that have been landscaped into the hillside, and a homemade signpost points campers in the relevant directions – hillside pitches, pot washing, washrooms, farm shop. Campfires are allowed, though strictly raised off the grass, and there’s an honesty box at the farm shop, so you can still buy the farm’s own burgers when one of the small family team is not around.
Springtime campers are joined by lambs in the surrounding field and a clutch of Highland cattle graze the meadow beyond the very top of the campsite, where a trio of luxury bell tents can be found. Decked out with king-sized beds, wood burners, bunting, candle chandeliers and all the kit and caboodle you need for cooking, these glamping abodes are perhaps the farm’s most notable nod to the modern campers’ needs. Such modernity is offset by a small collection of antique tractors, parked up in the long buttercup-strewn grass beside the camping meadow: An old 1940s Nuffield Universal and a grey Massey Ferguson, still occasionally used on the farm.
It’s a short walk to the nearest attractions, though bring bikes and you might never need to use the car at all. It’s less than a mile to Monsal Head, where an old Midland Railway line viaduct spans the River Wye, offering beautiful views down the valley. Around nine miles of the former railway route has now been turned into an excellent, car-free cycle and walking trail, complete with well-lit railway tunnels that take you under the hills. That’s if you make it past The Packhorse, an inviting old stone inn that happily welcomes dogs, kids and muddy boots – situated, they say, in the heart of the national park.