Puddings,pies & pits

When is a tart not a tart? When it’s a pudding, of course. Best not to get the two confused, especially in Bakewell, in the Derbyshire Peak District. As every local will tell you, the pudding is the original – an egg-custard-type mixture over a layer of raspberry jam on a puff pastry base – which came about thanks to an inexperienced chef pouring the eggy mixture on top of the jam instead of stirring it into the pastry. The tart is a more recent invention, with shortcrust pastry and a frangipane-style sponge filling, usually topped with icing.

Before you start wondering if you’re reading a cookery magazine, I should explain – I discovered the delights of the Bakewell pudding on a recent visit to the charming market town for which it is named. Eaten in the spring sunshine on a bench beside the river, it was a lovely treat.

Bakewell lies within Britain’s oldest national park, the Peak District, and the town is full of mellow stone buildings and cobbled streets that are perfect for wandering – and for walking off some of that pudding!

It is also surrounded by verdant countryside, hills and streams, and has a river (the Wye) running through it, making this an ideal base for exploring if you enjoy being out and about in the great outdoors.

Add to the mix its shops, pubs and eateries, and Bakewell is pretty much an all-round destination.

Setting up at the campsite Greenhills Holiday Park is just over a mile away, the perfect location for a few days of exploration. Handily, on the day we arrived after the long drive from home, there was a pizza van on site. Mind you, our first order of business, apart from setting up our pitch, of course, was taking a stroll around the large dog-walking area – we were all in need of some leg stretching.

Then we couldn’t resist a restorative pint at the friendly on-site Stable Bar, followed by a pizza in our motorhome, no cooking required!

On the first full day of our break, we set off for Bakewell. Although there is a riverside path from the campsite into town, we were warned it was flooded and muddy after the rain of recent weeks, so we chose the less scenic, but dry, 30-minute walk along the pavement. We enjoyed exploring the streets, half-hidden pretty courtyards full of treasures in quirky little shops, and Bath Gardens – not forgetting the famous pudding!

Industrial heritage We also squeez