How To Make The Most Of This Weekend’s Peak District Heatwave
- Jen Bell I Editor I Good Life List Peak District
- May 21
- 6 min read
Updated: May 23
This is not a drill. We repeat. This is not a drill.
After months of drizzle, grey skies and dragging winter coats back out in mid-May while glaring resentfully at Londoners apparently living in Barcelona, the Peak District is finally about to get some proper sunshine.
Which means two things.
Every pub garden in Derbyshire is about to become completely packed by 11.14am.
And somewhere, somebody will attempt Mam Tor in jeans and regret it almost immediately.
Whether you’re planning long lunches, scenic walks, family adventures, riverside picnics, horse riding, beer festivals or simply sitting outside pretending Britain has suddenly developed an Italian climate, here’s where we’d be heading this Bank Holiday weekend.
Jump To Best For:
Best For Families: Chatsworth Family Festival
If you have children to entertain this weekend, Chatsworth may have won the Bank Holiday.
Running from Saturday to Monday and included with garden and farmyard tickets, Chatsworth Family Festival includes circus workshops, bug hunts, giant bubble shows, storytelling, Viking activities, floral crown sessions, theatre performances and enough organised entertainment to completely exhaust children by late afternoon.
With sunshine forecast and the gardens looking especially good at this time of year, this may be one of Chatsworth’s most enjoyable family weekends of the summer. You can buy tickets here.
Best For Foodies: Long Lunches, Pastries & Pub Gardens
This is not the weekend for sad supermarket sandwiches eaten in a car park. Oh no, no.
Start the day with coffee and pastries somewhere like Coffee by Lovage in Bakewell or Riverside Kitchen in Hathersage before drifting into a long lunch outdoors somewhere with an excellent view.
The Maynard in Grindleford is particularly good for this sort of thing once the terrace and enormous beer garden starts filling with Aperol spritzes and people behaving like they’re on holiday somewhere considerably more glamorous than Derbyshire.
Reserve outside seating in advance if possible. Future you will be grateful.
Best For Ice Cream People (Which, In This Weather, Is Everyone, Right?)
Once temperatures pass 25 degrees, ice cream stops being optional and becomes part of basic survival strategy.
Pomeroy Farm Park remains one of the Peak District’s great summer stops, serving artisan ice cream made using milk from the farm’s own cows. Flavours rotate constantly, meaning there’s a chance you’ll become emotionally attached to something like Cherry Bakewell or Lime Cheesecake by Monday afternoon.
There’s also something wonderfully surreal about eating ice cream in 27-degree sunshine while alpacas and miniature donkeys wander around nearby.
Tagg Lane Dairy near Monyash is another elite-level stop. Their Vero Latte gelato is slowly churned using fresh farm milk and ranges from proper Italian-style classics to slightly mad flavours including mango, ginger and pink peppercorn.
Hope Valley Ice Cream at Thorpe Farm also deserves a mention for sheer Peak District charm. Ice cream flavours are named after the cows themselves, including Barbara’s Blackberry, Gertrude’s Whisky & Ginger and Rusty Buttercup’s Rum & Raisin.
At this point, the Peak District may need to calm down slightly with the ice cream competition. We may receive a strongly worded warning letter from Cornwall if we're not careful.
Best For Music, Beer & Cider Lovers: Hope Valley Beer & Cider Festival
Hope Valley Beer & Cider Festival returns to The Old Hall in Hope this weekend with live music, a huge selection of beers and ciders and the sort of fantastically buzzy atmosphere that makes people say, rather self-assuredly
“We’ll only stay for one.”
before emerging six hours later slightly sunburnt and clutching raffle tickets that they don't remember buying.
Sunday’s headline act FATE will be covering everything from T-Rex to Lenny Kravitz, while Monday’s family fun day includes BBQs, games, live music and enough sugar to power the Hope Valley for several days.
Free entry too, which seems to be increasingly rare in 2026.
Best For Art Lovers: Peak District Artisans Trail
If your ideal Bank Holiday involves scenic drives, hidden studios and convincing yourself that you now need handmade ceramics in your life, the Peak District Artisans Trail is worth adding to your plans.
Following the cancellation of Derbyshire Open Arts this year, Peak District Artisans are running their own trail across 12 venues throughout the region featuring jewellery, ceramics, sculpture, painting and textiles.
Best For Horse Riders: Peak District Park & Ride Hacks
Unthank Equestrian’s Park & Ride near Holmesfield is open throughout the Bank Holiday weekend with direct access onto Ramsley Moor, Barbrook Reservoir, Shillito Woods and miles of Peak District bridleways.
At £5 per horse with all-day parking, it’s a fairly dreamy excuse for a long scenic hack through Derbyshire in full spring mode.
Best For Walkers & Outdoorsy Types
Curbar and Baslow Edge are lovely for golden-hour walks and sunset/sunrise views at this time of year, while Castleton brings dramatic limestone landscapes, rolling green hills and some of the Peak District’s most famous caves and caverns, which suddenly become very appealing once temperatures hit the high twenties.
The Monsal Trail is another excellent hot-weather option, particularly the tunnels, which remain deliciously cool even when the temperatures are soaring.
If you’re heading towards Mam Tor, Stanage Edge, Curbar or Kinder, leave early.
Very early.
Not only will you avoid the worst of the heat, you’ll also avoid the Bank Holiday parking situation, which by Sunday lunchtime is likely to resemble low-level psychological warfare.
The Stagecoach Peak Sightseer bus is worth considering this weekend too, particularly if you’d rather spend less time attempting three-point turns in crowded laybys and more time actually enjoying yourself.
Best For People Wanting To Cool Off
By Monday afternoon, there’s a real chance half the Peak District will be standing in cold water somewhere.
Ladybower Reservoir and Carsington will inevitably attract huge crowds once temperatures hit 30 degrees, particularly around the edges where people paddle, picnic and discuss buying paddleboards they’ll use approximately twice a year.
The River Wye near Ashford in the Water is particularly lovely in warm weather, especially for families wanting shallow paddling spots and riverside wandering. There are also plenty of wild swimming spots dotted around, including this natural pool in Youlgrave and the gorgeously named Mermaid's Pool on Kinder Scout.
Finally, if you’re planning proper wild swimming, just remember, there's a big difference between “it looked warm on Instagram" and “Peak District water temperature."
That first step in is always character building!
Best For Dog Owners
The Peak District in warm weather essentially becomes one giant dog social club, with muddy paws, pub gardens and tennis balls appearing in every direction you look.
Longshaw or Chatsworth's Stand Wood is ideal for shaded woodland walks during the hottest parts of the day, particularly if your dog’s standard exercise strategy involves ignoring all signs of exhaustion in pursuit of a stick.
Bakewell is always a good shout having fully entered its “upmarket dog lifestyle destination” era, complete with dog bakeries, boutiques, puppuccinos and dog ice cream.
There will also be water bowls outside every business in town by Saturday lunchtime.
Best For First-Time Peak District Visitors
Firstly, you’ve picked a very good weekend.
Secondly, prepare for everybody else to have exactly the same idea.
If this is your first proper Peak District weekend, we suggest keeping things simple.
Start with one of the iconic walks or viewpoints like Mam Tor, Curbar Edge, Stanage or Monsal Dale. They’re famous for a reason.
Visit Chatsworth or Haddon Hall, pick up a Bakewell Tart or Bakewell Pudding to take home, then settle into a long lunch somewhere a little bit special like The Peacock at Rowsley before perhaps heading towards the outdoor pool in Hathersage (book ahead!) if the heat become slightly more than you can bear by Monday afternoon. You could even pop into Vintners for a well-deserved wine (there's a huge selection) and woodfired pizza afterwards.
A Few Survival Tips From Us
Leave earlier than you think you need to.
Book pub tables now.
Do not assume you’ll find parking in Bakewell at midday.
Bring sunscreen.
Bring water.
Accept that queues are part of the Bank Holiday experience.
And perhaps most importantly?
Don’t overthink it.
The best Peak District summer days are usually just a walk, a pub, an ice cream and sitting outside soaking up the sun with a glass of something cold in hand before driving home wondering why Britain can’t feel like this more often.
