Ashbourne

This page describes the town in Derbyshire. For the town near Dublin see Ashbourne (Ireland) Ashbourne is a small market town in Derbyshire.

Understand

Get in

By train

There is no train service to Ashbourne: the town's rail link was removed in the 1960s and now forms part of a national cycle network.

By bus

There are regular bus services to the town from Derby and Manchester and numerous outlying villages and nearby towns.

By car

Ashbourne is at the crossroads of several main roads (all old stage coach routes) the two most notable being the A52 and the A515

Get around

As with every small town, all you need is your feet.

See

Pegge's almshouses, Church St, 53.015916°, -1.736363°. Dating back to 1669, the gable end bears the arms of the Pegge family.
Owfield Almshouses, Church Street, 53.015811°, -1.736707°. Dating back to 1640
The Mansion House, Church Street, 53.015614°, -1.737262°.
The Elizabethan Grammar School, Church Street, 53.015805°, -1.737495°. 16h century. The original buildings of Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, which was founded in 1585, and received a £4 per year maintenance grant from Sir Thomas Cokayne, High Sheriff of Derbyshire. The school moved away to a new site in 1909, and is now a comprehensive secondary school with 1400 pupils.
Dovedale, approx 3 miles/5 Km north-north-west of Ashbourne (A515 north from Ashbourne/south from Buxton, then through Thorpe village), 53.055588°, -1.782865°. Popular beauty-spot on the Derbyshire/Staffordshire border, famous for its stepping-stones across the River Dove, and Thorpe Cloud, a 942ft/287m conical hill, climbable with care, and with great views all the way up! Car park on the Staffordshire side of the river. 2022-01-22

Do

Tissington Trail cycle and foot path
Limestone Way, bridleway

Events

The annual Royal Shrovetide football game, played every Shrove Tuesday & Ash Wednesday.
The Ashbourne Highland Gathering, every July.
The Ashbourne Arts Festival, every mid-June to mid-July.

Buy

Numerous antique shops along Church Street. Some very pricy, others more reasonable, wide range of antiques right across the board.

Market on Thursday and Saturday.

The Gingerbread Shop, 26 St John St, 53.017518°, -1.73205°, +44 1335 346753.
The Cheddar Gorge, 9 Dig Street, 53.016747°, -1.733239°, +44 1335 344528. Cheese shop
Suits Men, Springfield House, Rough Lane, Shirley Common, DE6 3AZ, +44 1335 361287. Great selection of men's suits and clothing accessories. 2016-02-08

Eat

Most of the pubs in town provide food, but the following are the specialist food establishments.

Traditional

The Lamplight, 4 Victoria Square, 53.017575°, -1.733094°, +44 1335 342279.
The Flower Cafe, 5 Market Place, 53.017747°, -1.732619°, +44 1335 344090.
Birds, 26 St.John's Street, 53.017967°, -1.733021°, +44 1335 346753.

Indian

Red Chilli, 1-5 Dig Street, 53.016836°, -1.733515°, +44 1335 343232. Sit-down Indian restaurant, very clean with friendly staff, good range of curries, licensed. Reasonably priced with good portions. Also does takeaway.
Bengal Cottage, 9 Compton Street, 53.015464°, -1.732058°, +44 1335 348282. Sit-down Indian restaurant. Not licensed so you are welcome to bring your own alcohol (which can get messy if you drink too much too quick!) The food is superb but the service is slow as everything is cooked to order. Also does takeaway.
Panda Express, 7 South Street, 53.014047°, -1.732241°, +44 1335 300661. Takeaway only Indian cuisine. Also does pizza and kebabs.

Chinese

The Golden Hill, 28 Market Place, 53.018527°, -1.732703°, +44 1335 343500. Takeaway only Chinese cuisine (owned by the same family as the Dragons Nest).

Fish and chips

Market Place Chip Shop, 7 Market Place, 53.017949°, -1.732445°, +44 1335 344780. Eat in or takeout fish and chips. Best in town.
Ashbourne Fishbar, 9 Compton, 53.015487°, -1.73208°, +44 1335 345700. Eat in or takeout fish and chips.

Other

Bennys, 21 Compton, 53.015242°, -1.732059°, +44 1335 346665. Pizza, kebabs, potatoes, homemade nan bread, Southern Fried Chicken. Chips & Cheese. Takeaway only.
Dalo's, 9 Dig Street, 53.016766°, -1.733311°, +44 1335 345220. Turkish, pizza, kebabs. Eat in or takeaway.

Drink

Ashbourne has many pubs and bars, quite a high number for such a small town:

The Bowling Green. A quiet pub at the top of a very steep hill (probably why it is so quiet!) Does fantastic food but booking is essential, not very child-friendly, in fact don't take children under 14 there at all. Bed and Breakfast accommodation
The Green Man & Blacks Head, 53.0171°, -1.73275°. An old coaching inn (Grade 2 listed) with a rare & distinctive gallows sign that stretches right over the road (but which is in desperate need of re-painting). Has two bars, one is quiet, the other rowdy.
The Bridge Wine Bar. Refurbished with a very cosmopolitan feel, has large outdoor drinking area overlooking the river.
The Coach & Horses. Large, modern-ish building, popular most nights.
The Living Room Bar. in The Residents Hotel
Bramhalls of Ashbourne. More of a restaurant than a bar, but with AA rosette award-winning food, not cheap, but not overly expensive. Recommended.
The George and Dragon. Grade 2 listed large town square pub, live music Friday nights.
Ye Olde Vaults. Grade 2 listed small town square pub, clientele can look intimidating outside on benches, but very friendly staff and the only Bass house in town.
The Swan, Town square pub.
Ex-Servicemen's club. A selection of real ales and entertainment. Non-members are most welcome.
The Wellington. Now Chimes restaurant/cafe.
Smiths Tavern. Very friendly, traditional public house, Ashbourne's finest selection of real ales, homemade pork pies, and fresh rolls daily. nominated for Camra Pub of the Year 2011
The Horns. Very old pub (Grade 2 listed) on Victoria Square, is cosy with fires in the winter, in the summer sit on the benches outside to enjoy a pint.
The White Hart. Used to be great, lost it a bit now. disco pub.
The Wheel. Looks scarier than it actually is, next to police station.
The Stepping Stones. Marston's pub/restaurant - new-build on the edge of town - opened 2009.

Sleep

Callow Hall Country House Hotel, Mapleton Road, 53.020534°, -1.747933°, +44 1335 300900.
Travelodge Hotel - Ashbourne, Carnation Way, 53.008367°, -1.74771°, +44 871 984 6362.
Hillside Croft, Moss Lane, Ashbourne DE6 3FH. Hillside Croft are luxury holiday cottages in the heart of the Peak District. Catered or self-catering.
Duncombe Arms, Ellastone, Ashbourne DE6 2GZ, 52.986°, -1.826°, +44 1335 324275. Charming restored village pub with rooms across the boundary west into Staffordshire. B&B double £160 2020-06-28

Stay safe

Crime is virtually non-existent, the local paper crime reports usually include events such as roof tiles being stolen from remote abandoned farm buildings.

Ashbourne - town and civil parish in Derbyshire Dales district, Derbyshire, England