Hartington, Derbyshire Peak District. A village close to the River Dove.

Hartington is the major village on the central section of the valley of the Dove and is therefore an important tourist centre, which means it can get busy at summer weekends. An old village which was granted a market charter in 1203, it has a long history and and some very nice buildings arranged around a large marketplace/common/green at its centre.

The entrance to Nuttall's creamery, once a source of Stilton and Buxton Blue cheese, lies just off the green and cheese was produced here from 1900 to 2009. Sadly, in 2008 the creamery was sold by Dairy Crest to Long Cleaton Dairy, a rival Stilton maker (Leicestershire is one of the two other areas permitted to make Stilton cheese) and within a month they took steps to close the creamery down - with the loss of 190 jobs. Until then Hartington was the supplier of 25% of the world output of Stilton cheese.

There is still a cheese shop outside selling a range of local cheeses but of course none now from Hartington.

The church lies on a rise to the east of the green and is built of a attractively coloured local sandstone. It was mostly constructed in the 14th and 15th centuries and has a fine tower in Perpendicular style. In the street below the church is the Old School House, dated 1758. The 17th century Hartington Hall is a fine building which stands on the hill opposite the church, on the road to Biggin and is now a Youth Hostel. The hostel restaurant has a licensed bar and offers competitively evening meals.

Hartington has several pubs and shops and there is a public car park along the Warslow Road with public toilets opposite, next to Rooke's Pottery.