Browse through our blog posts to find out what life is like at Hoe Grange Holidays along with some great ideas for days out in the Peak District.
Bake off Derbyshire style!
Angie Cooper from our local bakery, The Pudding Room at Carsington, is one of a dozen professional bakers taking part in a new TV cookery competition, called Britain’s Best Bakery. The show which started on Monday, will run at 4pm on ITV every weekday for the next six weeks.
TV chefs and series judges Mich Turner MBE and Peter Sidwell will be sampling the delicacies of the country’s favourite independent, family run and community bakeries, tasting and critiquing their way through breads, cakes, pastries and pies.
The shortlisted bakeries will then compete in a series of challenges that put their skills to the test, from Chelsea buns to lemon meringue pie and from sausage rolls to apple tarte tatins.
We shall be glued to the TV to see how Angie fairs against two other bakeries in the Peak District and East Midlands round. We have faith that Angie can go all the way as we know from personal experience how delicious her puddings are! David's favourite is lemon meringue pie, whilst I love the bite sized choc chip meringues. Our holiday guests also often stop by as the bakery is so close. If you want a complete break from the kitchen during your holiday with us we can arrange orders to be delivered to your log cabin ready for your arrival.
Perfect puddings baked by Angie
Angie admits she was nervous during filming, but says she "really enjoyed it and it was a wonderful experience. It was daunting because I’m the world’s worst person to have their photo taken and I’m yet to see any footage"
“It was so exciting to have the camera crew at The Pudding Room and then to go to the studio kitchen where we competed in The North East England and Scotland region representing The Peak District and East Midlands
“I started The Pudding Room in 2001 after a 20 year career in nursing.
“Originally it was in our own kitchen at home, and then we moved out to a purpose built kitchen in the garage, eventually we outgrew the space and converted a stable block near Carsington Water.
“We are well established in the area attending local farmers markets all year round and during the summer can be found at local shows in Ashbourne, Ashover and the Derbyshire County show.
“We also make cakes and puddings to order.”
Winning bakers from each episode will go forward to the regional finals, being held on Friday of every week, where they will face two tough tasks, working against the clock to make an afternoon tea, with at least five sweet and savoury items.
The afternoon is rounded off with the judge’s choice cake, where the four very different bakeries are handed the same ingredients and tasked with making the same technically demanding cake.
Go Angie - we are behind you all the way!
Felicity
Felicity & David welcomed us when we arrived to show us around... read more the place. The Skylark pod was excellent, very well equipped for a small space with a lovely welcome pack including milk, bread, cookies and freshly laid eggs.
It was was warm and comfortable inside with enough storage & wall hooks for hanging outerwear. The bathroom was a good size with a large shower.
The kitchen was really well equipped with everything you could possibly need (and more!) for your stay.
We had booked the use of the Swedish hot tub for the evening which was beautiful & hot (having taken many hours of tending to by David to bring it up to optimum temperature) in the windy February weather. We were lucky to get a clear sky so to enjoy the hot tub under the moon and stars on a random Monday night in February was a real treat!
Thank you so much for a wonderful experience, we will definitely visit again! More
We stayed in Hipley again which had had a refurbished wet... read more room which looked very smart! Once again, we had everything we needed on site for my husband who is quadriplegic meaning for a change, we travelled light. A rare occurrence. Hoist, shower chair and a profiling bed all awaiting our arrival. Unfortunately the weather wasn't quite as good as three years ago but we dodges the showers. Felicity and David are fabulous hosts and ensure you have everything you need to make sure your stay is relaxed and stress free. I wouldn't hesitate in recommending a holiday here. The scenery is beautiful and the sky at night.. well it twinkles More
Thank you David and Felicity - you made us so welcome and your log cabin and Rosehip caravan provided the perfect home for a week.
This was my 5 th visit to the amazing Hoe Grange. I had visited before with my husband who had Multiple Sclerosis and was wheelchair bound. He could not weight bear and had to be hoisted. For many years we did not take holidays as we were apprehensive about leaving our extensively adapted home. The facilities and equipment available at Hoe Grange were fantastic and gave Phil the confidence to enjoy holidays again.
Sadly Phil passed away in January this year and having reminisced about our lovely Hoe Grange holidays my family were eager to visit.
We were a party of 3 adults and two children aged nearly 4 years and 17 months.
This time it was a different kind of stay. I had always viewed Hoe Grange from the accessibility point of view but this time it was a whole new experience.
My relatives were blown away by the location and interior design of the cabin.
Everything is quality and it is fantastically equipped.
The children loved the animals and were delighted by the chickens on the decking and the visiting dogs.
The welcome pack was delicious, wonderful home made bread, biscuits, milk etc.
They all thought Felicity must be superwoman to do all she does.
There were lots of toys for the children and a play area with climbing frame and slide.
It's a perfect base for Carsington Water, Matlock and CBeebies land. All of which we visited.
A new addition was the shop on site, fabulous locally sourced produce and interesting gifts.
We did not want to come home and will return next year.
One further example of David and Felicity going the extra mile was their search for a precious teddy bear who we had left behind( lucky him he got a few extra days stay).
He was found and posted home in his own little bed labelled " Handle with Bear". Typical Of the lovely couple that David and Felicity are.
I felt I had returned to see old friends and my family loved it.
I saw Hoe Grange from a new perspective as a brilliant place for a family holiday.
We will be back. Thank you. More
David and Felicity are very friendly and helpful hosts, and this part of the Peak District is beautiful. Loved our visit to the pub (Ye Olde Gate) on the other side of the hill, with its excellent food and Pedigree beer!
Absolutely superb!
We have just returned from a family weekend staying in Daisybank cabin and the Skylark pod.
It was our first trip away with my... read more husband who is wheelchair bound and severely disabled and were naturally apprehensive but all worries disappeared from the moment we arrived!
Everything was just perfect for both his needs and the rest of the family travelling with us.
All the equipment we had pre-booked was in place and the cabin itself was brilliantly designed to enable easy wheelchair access to all areas.
As well as being spotlessly clean and comfortable there were so many ‘little touches’ that really made it a ‘home from home’.
We had a fantastic weekend - our only regret being that we hadn’t booked for longer!
Thank you so much Felicity and David for providing such high quality accommodation for ALL your guests - both able bodied and disabled.
We will definitely be back again!
Trisha Cannon
The stables and accommodation were very clean and tidy and the paddocks were lovely. The riding around the area was a horse riders dream - we hardly saw a car!
Highly recommend this place for anyone looking for a relaxing weekend.
Rachel and Mike
Though the weather was a little damp on occasion we were very happy to sit and watch the horses, cows, chickens and pygmy goats do their thing.
Though we had no need to use it there is farm shop where you can pick up essentials on a trust basis (you pay at the end of your stay for anything you use)
There is also a secure lock-up for bikes or you can borrow one. We used the hot tub one night and hot it was! Lovely after a 15 mile walk.
Felicity and David were very welcoming hosts and we couldn’t recommend the whole experience enough. 5 stars without a doubt.
We thoroughly enjoyed our time, so much so that there was a tear in my partners eye as we drove away. We will most definitely be back. More
Whilst in Costa Rica (amongst other areas), we visited Alajuela (one of the coffee regions) and La Paz Waterfall Gardens, also known as Las Cataratas. I was taken aback by the beauty and variety of the wildlife. We were greeted by a huge buffet full of tasty authentic Costa Rican cuisine. Eat well as you will need the energy for a lot of walking and some steep steps to climb at the end!
In Panama one of my most memorable excursions was to the Embera island. If you want to meet one of the seven indigenous tribes of Panama and learn about their history from them, then this is for you. I felt honoured to experience something that I have only ever seen on documentaries over the years. Wear crocs or walking sandals with soles that have good grips on them as you will be walking through muddy terrain and rocks and rivers that could be waist high. Ladies, wear your swimsuit underneath your clothing as you will have the chance to bathe in the river and waterfall before going to the Embera village. More
We were welcomed with fresh eggs, homemade bread and cookies which were delicious. We also booked the hot tub experience for the evening which I would recommend - the hot tub is filled with fresh water and the area decorated with candles. It was a clear night and so we had a great view of the stars above.
We both left feeling relaxed and stopped off in Brassington for a pub lunch on the way home! More
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