Mr Wang, August 2020
December 2019
We loved Castleton and especially enjoyed our hike.. Eastry Cottage is located right near the entrance to Cave Dale, a ravine/dale often a part of mapped walks. The hike up was lovely and a little challenging for us. One caution is make sure you know your route well before heading out and take along a good map that marks the terrain. Paths are well trodden, but not well marked. In December the weather was not too cold, but damp with rain possible for some part of every day - plan for that. Good waterproof hiking boots are a must, as you will be walking on rocky, wet paths.
Eastry Cottage was lovely, but not fancy - which was OK with us. We had planned to cook more, but found the availability of groceries limited. Fortunately there were many excellent dining options in Castleton. The host provided some lovely Christmas decorations and fresh flowers on the dining table - we really appreciated that as our visit was near Christmas. There were eggs and milk awaiting us in the refrigerator and served as our breakfast the first morning. The kitchen provided the basics as far as pots, pans, dishes, utensils and included 2 kitchen towels, dish soap, salt and pepper, instant coffee, tea bags. We did not find the extra silverware and dishes until we were leaving. Look for that next to the dining table. We were thankful for the washing machine - as we got very muddy in our hikes.
We arrived by public transport (train to Hope Valley and bus to Castleton) and managed without a car, but I got the sense that most vacationers in the village did have cars.