Peak Practice

Longnor, a charming Peak village, situated on a high ridge between the Dove and Manifold rivers, developed as a meeting place on the ancient trade routes that once crossed these hills from Sheffield, Chesterfield, Nottingham and the Potteries. More recently it has become famous as the location of the television drama Peak Practice, which chronicles the everyday lives of a group of country doctors and their patients. First screened in 1993, the series put Peak District scenery on the television map and has attracted countless visitors. The earlier episodes took many different parts of the area to establish fictional Cardale - particularly Crich. However, now the drama has established a base in this little Staffordshire village to give the programmes a more permanent, community feel. Real life in Longnor, though, is somewhat quieter than the television version.

There is plenty that will be familiar to viewers of Peak Practice. The fine brick frontage of the fictional Cardale Tearoom is actually a Georgian hotel built to serve the needs of the Crewe and Harpur Estate and still retains that name. It was used as a meeting place for the local farmers when they came to pay their annual rents at the end of March. The Horseshoe has the honour of being the TV doctors' local, the Black Swan. Dating back to 1609 it was an important staging point for the packhorse and carriage trade that crossed these hills. Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, one of several other pubs in the village, had its origins as a cheese store in 1464. It still has a reputation for fine food but its main attraction is its resident ghost Mrs Robins, a former tenant.

The ancient pubs and cobbled market square are a reminder of Longnor's importance in days gone by as a market town. The turnpike roads with their tolls, and the lack of a railway link, prevented Longnor's development as a major trading centre, but the village retains its Victorian market hall. Now a craft centre and coffee shop, it still has the old market toll charge board, with a list of long-forgotten tariffs, above the front door. However Longnor's old-world ambience and location at the heart of ancient paths ensures that it is still busy with walkers, cyclists and tourists.

One of the highlights of a visit to Longnor is the churchyard of St Bartholomew's. Although the church is 18th century, the churchyard has some ancient graves and that of the remarkable William Billings, who lived to the ripe old age of 112. Born in a cornfield, he was at the capture of Gibraltar in 1704, saw action at the Battle of Ramillies in 1706 and fought against the Stuarts in the Jacobite Risings of 1715 and 1745.

Where to eat and drink

Longnor has a wide variety of places offering first class food and drink, including the Manifold Chip Shop and Tea Room, a traditional fish and chip shop, and the excellent Frankly Scarlet Café and gift shop, both on the market square. The latter has a superb range of traditional dishes prepared from organic produce including bacon baps made with Gloucestershire Old Spot bacon.

What to look for

Some 350 million years ago, during the Carboniferous period, Britain lay south of the equator and the Peak District enjoyed a tropical climate. The Peak limestones were built up over millions of years from the remains of shells, corals and tiny aquatic creatures called crinoids. Parkhouse and Chrome hills, two prominent landmarks on this walk, are limestone reefs, which formed, rather like mud or silt piles, during this period.

While you're there

Well dressing is a centuries old Peak District tradition. A soaked wooden framework holds a bed of clay, into which flower petals, moss, berries, cones and seeds are pressed in an intricate design. The display is then placed over the well in a special ceremony. Each village has its own design and date. Dressings take place throughout the summer; Longnor's is around the first week in September.