Award Winning Self Catering Holidays In the Derbyshire Peak District
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.
Hoe Grange is the ideal base for family friendly holidays from which to explore the Peak District. There’s nothing better than getting outdoors for some family fun, flying a kite, packing up a picnic, romping over the fields and cycling along the High Peak Trail. Whether you’re staying for a weekend break or a full week there’s plenty of things to see and do with a young family.
There's so many family-friendly things to do in the Peak District. Reach the heights in a cable car, go underground exploring the many caverns, take to the water canoeing or sailing, ride on a tram or steam train, get up close to farm animals or experience the thrill of theme parks. With so much to do a single stay in our child friendly log cabins may not be enough!
I was going to make this blog the top 5 family friendly days out, but there are so many exciting things to do in our local Peak District area that I have ended up with 15. There are still quite a few more I could add!!
Just 3 miles from Hoe Grange, Carsington Water is a great day out for children, with three large play areas for different ages. Toddlers will love the short walk to Stone Island counting the brightly coloured butterflies along the way and peeping through the stone spy holes.
Or take your binoculars and walk along to the bird hides to watch waders and wildfowl around the water’s edge. Keep your eyes peeled for buzzards soaring overhead. Count the wooden sculptures as you go and stop to climb the bombing tower, which has looked out over the reservoir since WW2. The visitor centre has an exhibition all about water and there are often nature events and activities to keep the kids busy.
The traffic free paths are ideal for families with young children, walkers, cyclists, horse riders and wheelchair users. You can hire bikes, go sailing, paddle boarding or canoeing at the water sports centre.
You can access the High Peak Trail from the farm fields and cycle 5 miles along the traffic free track and though a tunnel to Middleton Top Engine House.
Inside there is the original pair of steam driven stationary engines which were used to wind railway trucks up and down the steep 1 in 8 incline. These two beam engines were bought in 1830 at a considerable cost of £2000 and remained in use until 1963. They are very impressive when fired up and in full steam on open weekends.
The heavy wagons full of limestone were moved up and down the steep hill by attaching them to a pulley system with chains. To counterbalance the load one set of wagons would be descending as another set ascended at a maximum of 8 miles an hour.
Whilst there you can grab a drink at the little café and enjoy the stunning views. There's lots more information on family cycling and easy going cycle routes on our webpage.
Take in the stunning views as you ride up to the Heights of Abraham in a cable car. Once at the top there is plenty to entertain the kids from fossil hunting and panning for gold to having fun on the adventure playground. Walk along to Tinkers Shaft viewpoint or climb the Victoria Prospect Tower to see for miles. Tickets include a tour of the magnificent show caves. It’s a full, action packed day out so you might want to pack up a picnic or you can pop into the café. Open from February.
Cromford Mills is the home of Sir Richard Arkwright’s first mill complex, and the birthplace of the modern factory system. It is now an internationally recognised UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The visitor centre is free to under 16s and kids will love learning about water power and the children who used to work there. Find out about the mighty Sir Richard Arkwright who built the mill and the machines that made him a very rich man.
There are plenty of activities including water dipping in the mill yard, enjoying a hot chocolate or ice cream in the cafes, feeding the ducks on the canal, or explore the Beyond the Mill Walls area by the river. There’s a Scavengers' Scramble trail, and a den building area. You can take to the water on a canal boat called Birdwood which is sometimes pulled by a heavy horse.
If your kids love splashing around, why not have a go at canoeing on the Cromford Canal? It’s a fun activity for the whole family and the ideal place to learn how to paddle properly as the canal is shallow and safer than a fast-flowing river.
Peaks and Paddles outdoor Adventure Activities also offer canoeing on the River Derwent for the more experienced
Come face to face with exotic and endangered animals from across the world at Peak Wildlife Park. The children will love getting close up to the penguins, lemurs, and meercats, as you wander right through their enclosures. Find out more about the larger animals including zebras, polar bears, and deer.
You can help feed the farm animals and pet the small tame animals too, or even book a Be a Keeper experience. You could spend a full day out as the children can run wild on the play areas before tucking into the delicious wood-fired pizzas on offer!
There is nothing more exciting than a seeing a train in full steam pulling into the station and hearing the whooshing sound and squealing of brakes as it comes to a standstill.
The Peak Rail trains run from Matlock through to Rowsley South, where there is a large turn table for the trains. With a day ticket you can ride up and down as many times as you like! Look out for the themed events and kids go free days.
Take a step back in time and wander through the period street at Crich Tramway Village, recreated using buildings rescued from towns throughout the UK and rebuilt brick by brick to give an authentic feel.
Spend the old penny given to you as you enter the village on a ride on one of the electric vintage trams. Good to know for those with pushchairs and wheelchairs that there is often an accessible tram in use, so everyone can enjoy a trip up the track.
Take a wander through the exhibition shed full of old trams before exploring the fabulous woodland walk and both outdoor and indoor play areas. Worth noting that children under 4 go free and they often hold themed event days with lots of child-friendly activities.
Whist we have farm animals here at Hoe Grange, our sheep and cows are not as tame as those at Matlock Farm Park! Children will love feeding the animals or riding a pony before letting off steam on one of 3 play areas.
Another open farm but Matlock Meadows has the added attraction of delicious homemade ice cream served in the café. What could be better than zero food miles? You can watch the cows being milked and know where the ice cream is made. Younger children will love the indoor play area with pedal tractors.
Going underground is a great rainy-day option! Poole’s Cavern is on the outskirts of the historic spa town of Buxton and has some vast limestone galleries, with Stalactites and Stalagmites. The interesting features, including Hagrids’ Hat, to are bound to capture the children’s imagination.
There is a great exhibition area explaining the formation of the cavern and it’s history. Good to know that the first part of the cavern is wheelchair accessible and unlike other Peak District caves there are not too many steps to climb.
Once you’ve been underground, you can go on an adventure through the treetops at Go Ape, which is next to the Cavern. Enjoy fun with your family on the high ropes, across wobbly bridges, before zooming back to earth on the zip wire.
Poole’s Cavern is also part of Buxton Country Park, so if it’s fine you can walk through Grin Low Woods up to Solomons’ Temple. Built on a Neolithic burial mound Solomon’s Temple offers stunning views across to Man Tor. Watch out for the Gruffalo characters along the way!
Children love feeding the farm animals but the outdoor adventure playground is amazing, complete with water and sand play area, a huge zip line, and rope park. My son Michael used to love digging in the biggest sand pit ever and getting really dirty! Keep an eye out for the children’s activities and trails set throughout the year
photo by Chatsworth House Trust
Ideal for little ones, Gulliver’s Kingdom is a fun theme park on the edge of Matlock Bath aimed at children aged 3 to 13 years old. With over 20 rides across 6 themed areas, you can keep the children entertained for hours. Climb high above the Crows Nest Quest or take the plunge on the log flume, or ride the cycle monorail 300ft above Derwent Valley. There’s some great little rides for under 5s in Toyland too.
The theme park is set upon a steep hillside, so our advice is to start at the top and work your way downhill before taking a chair lift ride back to the top.
We hope our blog of family-friendly things to do has inspired you to get active and have some family fun on your staycation at Hoe Grange. There are still many more places to visit and things to do so I might have to write another blog!
Just a note to make sure you check the attraction websites for up-to-date information on opening times before you visit. Make sure you book your tickets well ahead.
We look forward to hearing all about your family adventures when you stay with us!
Felicity
Recently spent a week in "Pinder" and had a lovely time. The location is stunning - the site is nestled in a beautiful valley on the edge of the Peaks... read more
Second visit to the accessible holiday cabins at Hoe Grange. David and Felicity were as helpful and friendly as ever. We had a welcome pack of freshly baked bread, butter,... read more
Loved every minute of our stay, and so did the family and friends that came to stay. Excellent facilities in our cosy Hipley log cabin. By far the best... read more
