Games Room Closure

We are having to permanently close the games room at Hargate Hall. This is for various reasons, it has always suffered an unacceptably high amount of damage to the toys and games, it is cold and gets wet during prolonged periods of rain and the final nail in the coffin is that the wiring has been checked and found to be in need of a lot of TLC.

One thing we lack at Hargate is a communal eating area for groups who are too small to justify booking the whole place, but too big to all be able to eat in one of the apartments. We are therefore going to gut and refurbish the games room and turn it into a separately bookable dining and kitchen area.

It will also be able to double up as a training room for corporate groups. We will be adding further out door activities to keep youngsters entertained as well as maintaining a small supply of games in the upstairs communal area.

A few remaining apartments

Fancy a last minute short break? We have very little left now before Christmas. There are 4 apartments available on the weekend of the 21st November and 4 on the weekend of the 11th December. We also still have a few left for the Christmas week. If you are interested or want to know more details please get in touch with us by sending us an Email or look at at our website.

Wedding Forum

Our facebook site has shown that having an discussion board is popular and helpful. So i have decided to take the next step and set up a forum on one of our own websites.

If you have booked, or are thinking about booking, your wedding at Hargate Hall you can post your own comments and read others to get ideas about how you want to organise your wedding weekend.

I have only just set it up (about 1am this morning!) so it needs your comments and posts to get it off the ground. Please visit our wedding forum and let me know if your have any ideas and suggestions for the site.

Games Room Reburbishment

We will be closing the games room to give it a makeover at the begining of 2010. It is likely to be closed from 4th January to the 12th Feb. We will publish more detail as we get started!

Hargate Hall Wedding Fayre

Are you looking for a wedding fayre in the Buxton area? We are having our first wedding fayre on Sunday 13th September. Many of the people attending the wedding fayre are local business such as David Golding photographer and other members of the Peaks and Dales Wedding Consortium. For further information see our Wedding Fayre website.

Wormhill Abseil Event

Do you fancy trying an abseil of an old railway bridge??? As part of the Wormhill Well Dressing week (August 29th to September 6th, 2009) we are organising an abseil from the Millers Dale viaduct.

The viaduct is 65ft high and is set in the spectacular Millers Dale valley. The minimumm donation for the abseil is £10 with all the funds raised going to the Wormhill Well Dressing fund.

This event could not take place without the kind volunteer support of the local outdoor activity providers, Derbyshire Cave Rescue Organisation and the Peak District National Park Authority, so a big thsnk you to them.

Beer festival sellout

Well, the beer festival is set to be every bit as much of a success as last year. All tickets have now been sold! We've got the beer, got the tickets sold, all we need now is the dry weather (I would ask for sunshine but don't like to push my luck!)

Last minute availability

Our accommodation is nearly all fully booked for the weekends over the summer holidays, but we still have some available for midweek bookings (Monday to Friday). All midweek bookings are 4 nights for the price of 3.

Beer Festival and family fun day

Apart from the 15 real ales and other drinks that you will find at the beer festival we will also be having:

during the day: Competitions, Fairfield Band, food and drink stalls, beer tent, tea tent, family events and games, donkey display, Pet Show, Baloon Race, tug of war, wheelbarrow race, children's sports and more.

And in the evening: Live entertainment, The Bavarian Heidelbergers, All or Nothing Disco, Hog Roast, and BBQ
Camping is available onsite and nearby. see the beer festival webpage for further information and details of how to get tickets.

2009 peak forest beer festival and family fun day

The peak forest beer festival is now only 4 weeks away. Last year's festival was a great success despite the weather! come along this year and join the fun. For more information see

Liverpool Batala Samba band play Hargate Hall

As part of one of our guests wedding ceremony, we will be having an outdoor concert performed by the Liverpool Batala Community Samba Band. This will at 13:30 till 15:30 on Sunday 7th June. Tickets must be bought in advance and cost £5.50. A bar will be provided, and bring you own picnic. For further details please visit www.hargate-hall.co.uk/batala-liverpool.php

chickens, eggs and foxes

For 2 years we (and our guests!) have enjoyed seeing our chickens running around, and the delicious eggs they produced. Sadly a few weeks ago they were attacked by a fox, and were all killed. One of them made a brave escape and was found by a nearby farmer. The farmer brought the chicken back to us but it did not survive the night.

We are in the process of making a new improved run, and we will then buy some more chickens.

HaHa and other news

The HaHa is now dug out! We have taken it to about 3 feet deep. It still needs tidying up and wheel/track ruts from the digger and dumper truck need smoothing out, and the path ways that were damaged need to be repaired..... Trouble is we get a few nice dry days so that the ground almost gets dry enough to start doing these things and then it rains again! Well I guess that is the Peak District for you. I have another few hundred meters of fencing to put up and then we can get some sheep put in. We recently had a group here from Gripple who gave me some good instruction on how to fit up the fencing.

We now have a cover over the BBQ area so you can have that planned BBQ whatever the weather. It also doubles as a smoke shelter.

Hargate's HaHa

After investigating a few holes (small ones!) that have appeared in the grounds after recent rain, we have found the route of the old HaHa that ran across the grounds at Hargate Hall. In the early 1900's deer were kept in the lower part of the grounds and they were kept in by the HaHa and a dry stone wall.
At some point the wall collapsed and the stone and other debris were thrown into the ditch of the HaHa. thinking it would be a relatively quick job, I decided to start digging it out. In the process I have found all sorts of things - old ovens, zimmer frames (it was a care home for a while!), a car door, etc. After 2 weeks about half of it is now dug out but continual rain slowed progress to a standstill, so I have decided to let it all dry out before finishing it off.

I am only digging out 3 to 4 feet depth though it may go as much as 8 feet. Once done we will start keeping sheep. If nothing else it will save me a few hours a week cutting grass!

Peak Forest Beer Festival

The second Peak Forest Beer Festival has now been confirmed for the 18th July 2009. The event will build on the success of last year and will include even more beer!! Further details of the festival will be added to beer festival website as well as some pictures from last year.

Hargate Hall Wedding Fayre

Having recently become licensed for civil wedding and partnership ceremonies, we have decided to hold a wedding fair at Hargate Hall. There will be stands and catwalk shows in the main hall, and additional stands in a marquee.

The wedding fayre will take place between 11 am and 5 pm Sunday 13th September 2009

Hargate Hall has rapidly become a very popular wedding venue, particularly because of the flexibility offered in the way that the wedding weekend is organised. We offer a lovely and relaxed place to hold your wedding as well as onsite accommodation for many of your guests.

Brides-to-be and their fiancées will have the opportunity to talk to large numbers of wedding service providers and also to have a look around Hargate Hall. We will be on hand to answer any questions about booking Hargate Hall as a wedding venue.

Refreshments will be available throughout the day.

Further details of the wedding fayre can be found on www.hargate-hall.co.uk/wedding-fayre.html

For more information, contact the Julie or Anthony Knox on 01298 872591 or e-mail info@hargate-hall.co.uk.

Murder Mystery Weekend Party

Lots of people keep telling us how good a venue Hargate Hall would make for a Murder Mystery Party, and I have to say we agree. We are looking at organising one for 2009. If you are interested please email us and then we can keep you informed as our plans develop. To email us please click here.

50% off list prices in January

Due to the fact that we are doing some redecorating in the Main Hall and some grounds works outside, we are offering 50% off all midweek and weekend breaks during January. Visit our short breaks page for further details.

Peak Forest Beer Festival

Following the amazing success of the Beer Festival held in July this year, we are planning another one for 2009. Hargate Hall is close by so anyone needing accommodation for the weekend, let us know. As soon as further information and dates are available we will post them here. So watch this blog for updates!

Midweek Breaks

Nearly all our weekend short breaks have now been fully booked for the main school holiday weekends in 2009. However there is still good availability for our midweek breaks. Mid week breaks during the school term time are even better value as the tariff is lower. Have a look at our website for further information on our self catering breaks.

First Snow

Well, we have just had our first proper snow fall this year. Having had several days below zero the snow has settled easily on the ground and trees - look fantastic. Its a shame that the group we had in this weekend missed it. All the kids would have loved tobogganing down the grounds, but maybe they will get it next year!

Weddings: Update on the Marquee

We have created a second blog aimed mainly at the wedding market. So if you are looking to get married at Hargate Hall, have a look to see what we are doing.

Weddings: Update on the Marquee

beer festival success

Despite the occasional shower, the beer festival was a terrific success. Hundreds of people turned up and judging by the amount of beer that was consumed, they all had a great time. A big thank you to all those that helped organise and run the event, those that sponsored it, and of course those that came!

Online guestbook

We have just added an online guestbook to our home page on the website. If any past guests want to sign it then plase do.

beer festival

The peak forest beer festival is now only 10 days away. If you want tickets or any further information please contact us or visit the beer festival website. On the site you will find information on the events and also entry form for the competitions. Donn't forget - it is cheaper to buy tickets in advance than on the day.

BBQs

We now have 3 new built in BBQ, which should give enough grilling space to feed all guests here. We have also just taken delivery of 6 new 8 seater pub style piknik benches, so with the 3 that we already had, you can now all sit outside as well.

last minute short breaks in the peak district

Last minute weekend breaks in the peak district seem to be very popular right now. Several of our summer weekends filled up well in advance, but suddenly there is a flurry of activity of people booking those much needed weekend breaks. Don't worry though, we still have some space left for both weekend breaks and midweek breaks. check our availability page for more information and for making a booking.

First Wedding

We have just had our first civil wedding ceremony conducted within Hargate Hall. There were around 80 guests, the majority of whom were able to be put up here for the weekend. They had a marquee, caterers, live music and even sunshine! From the booking we are getting, this is clearly going to be the first of many weddings held here. If you are interested in finding out more please look at our Weddings page on our website.

Peak Forest Beer Festival

On the 19th July there will be a beer festival and family fun day at the nearby village of Peak Forest. There will be a variety of activities, games and general entertainment during the day and in the evening there will be live music, disco, hog roast, BBQ, a bar and of course plenty of real ale. Have a look on the website for more information on the Peak Forest Beer Festival.

Cycling - Tissington trail

We decided to go out for our first proper cycle ride today. After inflating tyres, finding the child seats and working out out to fit the bike trailer into the car, we finally got going. So apparently had everyone else. The car parks on the closest cycle trails we all full as were the road sides near them, so we set of for the Tissington Trail. it was easy cycling, great for the kids and plenty of places to stop and have a picnic. Also there was a good cycle hire facility and cycle shop on the trail at Hurdlow. After 3 hours we were back at the car feeling tired but much better for the fresh air and exercise.