This was an important market centre in the middle ages, having been granted a market charter in 1203, but the market is now no longer held. The stone carved village pump still survives on the green and was an important source of water before piped supplies were bought to the village.

This is one of the places where Stilton cheese is made.

We stayed at the Biggin Hall Hotel, Biggin during this visit to the area in May 2007.

The Manifold Valley, which is over the border in Staffordshire, is part of the Peak District National Park and runs north-south parallel with Dovedale. The northern tip starts just a few miles south-west of Hartington. There is normally plenty of water in the river until it reaches Wetton Mill where, in most summers, it disappears into the river bed leaving the rest of the river dry except for a small pool here and there.

This surfaced path is available for walkers and cyclists.

Tissington is a small village east of Dovedale but can easily be reached from Hartington via the A515. This ford is another mile and a half east of Tissington village.

The little road through the ford branches off the B5056 (which runs north-east from near Ashbourne) dips down through the ford almost immediately and then runs for about 1.5 miles into the village of Tissington not far from Dovedale. The road is a gated road and if you need to open the gates, please be sure to shut them after you pass through. They are there to keep cattle and sheep from straying.

Biggin Dale starts in Biggin, a small village about a mile and a half south-east of Hartington, and runs down to join Wolfscote Dale near Gipsy Bank.

When we were there in May the sides of the dale, in places, were covered in Cowslips together with a good sprinkling of Early Purple Orchids.