The beautiful village of Youlgreave (or Youlgrave) is one of the largest in the Peak District. It’s a wonderful place to explore with history around every corner, and it’s surrounded by stunning countryside.
Youlgreave stands high above the confluence of Lathkill Dale and Bradford Dale, with the crystal-clear rivers running through the valleys below. It’s an easy walk from the village to the wide grassy banks of the River Bradford, which is a perfect picnicking spot – but please do take all your litter home with you!
Youlgreave is an ancient settlement, with evidence of habitation back to the early Neolithic Age. The stone henge of Arbor Low, one of the largest in England, is only 3 miles west of the village.
There are a number of old and fascinating buildings still standing in the village, including the quaint Thimble Hall (c 1650), listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s smallest detached house!
Interestingly, Youlgreave is one of very few villages in the UK to get most of its water supplies from a private water company. This was formed in 1829 when the local Friendly Society for Women funded a scheme to pipe water from a local spring into a conduit head in the village. This fountain still stands there today and the Youlgreave Waterworks Ltd is still a successful, not-for-profit company, supplying 500 households and businesses in the village with more than 22 million gallons of water every year.
Youlgreave or Youlgrave?
Youlgreave is referred to in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ‘Giolgrove’, most likely meaning ‘Yellow Grove’, a reference to the yellow ore that was mined locally. From such clear beginnings, however, Youlgreave is now one of the most misspelt village names in the area, if not the country, and there are no less than 60 different recorded spellings of the name. The road sign on entering the village uses the spelling ‘Youlgreave’, although the Highways Agency use ‘Youlgrave’ on a number of different local signposts throughout the area. Most locals also use ‘Youlgrave’, although the official name on Ordnance Survey maps is ‘Youlgreave’.
Today, Youlgreave is a lively, bustling village, with a great range of shops, cafés, three pubs and a Post Office, and it makes a perfect destination for a day out, combined with a walk into the beautiful countryside that surrounds the village in all directions.
For a great place to eat or stay overnight in Youlgreave, call in at Farmyard Inn in the heart of the village. It serves delicious home-cooked food and has four spacious, comfortable guest rooms available on a Bed & Breakfast basis.
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