Ashbourne

Ashbourne town centre

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

Shrovetide Football

• 🌍 Ashbourne Pegg's almshouses, Church St. Dating back to 1669 
• 🌍 Owfield Almshouses, Church Street. Dating back to 1640 
• 🌍 The Mansion House, Church Street. 
• 🌍 The Elizabethan Grammar School, Church Street. 16h century 

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, ☎ [phone]. 
• 🌍 The Cheddar Gorge, 9 Dig Street, ☎ [phone]. Cheese shop 
• Suits Men, Springfield House, Rough Lane, Shirley Common, DE6 3AZ, ☎ [phone]. Great selection of men's suits and clothing accessories. (updated Feb 2016)

Eat

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

Traditional

• 🌍 The Lamplight, 4 Victoria Square, ☎ [phone]. 
• 🌍 The Flower Cafe, 5 Market Place, ☎ [phone]. 
• 🌍 Birds, 26 St.John's Street, ☎ [phone]. 

Indian

• 🌍 Red Chilli, 1-5 Dig Street, ☎ [phone]. 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, ☎ [phone]. 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, ☎ [phone]. Takeaway only Indian cuisine. Also does Pizza and kebabs. 

Chinese

• 🌍 The Dragon's Nest, 41 Market Place, ☎ [phone]. Cantonese-style Chinese sit down restaurant. Very good Chinese food in a clean and friendly restaurant. Also does takeaway. 
• 🌍 The Golden Hill, 28 Market Place, ☎ [phone]. Takeaway only Chinese cuisine (owned by the same family as the Dragons Nest). 

Fish and Chips

• 🌍 Market Place Chip Shop, 7 Market Place, ☎ [phone]. Eat in or takeout fish and chips. Best in town. 
• 🌍 Ashbourne Fishbar, 9 Compton, ☎ [phone]. Eat in or takeout fish and chips. 

Other

• 🌍 Bennys, 21 Compton, ☎ [phone]. Pizza, kebabs, potatoes, homemade nan bread, Southern Fried Chicken. Chips & Cheese. Takeaway only. 
• 🌍 Dalo's, 9 Dig Street, ☎ [phone]. 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. 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. Recently 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. re furbed and re opened 
• Ex-Servicemen's club. 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 Plough. Re-opening under new management 09/06/10. now apartments 
• The Stepping Stones. Marston's pub/restaurant - new-build on the edge of town - opened December 2009. 

Sleep

• 🌍 Station Hotel, Station Street, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. 
• 🌍 Callow Hall Country House Hotel, Mapleton Road, ☎ [phone]. 
• 🌍 Travelodge Hotel - Ashbourne, Carnation Way, ☎ [phone]. 

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.

Go next

• Dovedale
• Alton Towers
• Wirksworth
• Derby