Bakewell

By Biswajit Sengupta - December 09, 2025

BAKEWELL Bakewell - old charm and pudding

Moorlands in the English countryside always bring back to my memory Emily Brontë’s ‘Wuthering Heights’. There, she vividly described the nineteenth-century Yorkshire moorland as open, wild, exposed, with untamed wind force and brooding character. The neighbouring Derbyshire moor, which we saw from Monsal Head, a Peak District viewpoint, was in contrast somewhat softer and picturesque. Maybe because we saw it as tourists in the twenty-first century. On our way back, we took a brief halt at a small, charming town. It was a pleasant surprise, as I had no previous knowledge about the town and its breathtaking beauty. Nor had I come across the name of this town, which is so heavily wrapped with history right from the Anglo-Saxon era. Early settlement around the 9th – 10th centuries is associated with a cluster of warm springs by the River Wye. Archaeologists have even discovered traces of the Bronze Age in this medieval town. The name Bakewell is also deliciously tempting. The name, however, has nothing to do with baking, despite the town's reputation for its baked delicacies. One origin of the name I gathered is ‘Badecanwelle’, which means Badeca’s spring/stream. Badeca was an Anglo-Saxon chieftain.

The car park at Bakewell was located on one of the quaint courtyards along the elevated banks of the River Wye. From the top, Wye looked more like a stream rippling down the hilly terrains. We had to cross a medieval arched bridge to enter the old town. A perfect blend of charm, heritage and natural beauty, the city is a delightful step back in time. Churches and buildings, some as old as the tenth and eleventh centuries, prettify the city. One of the streets, lined up with traditional bakeries offering cakes, tarts, pies and puddings, was a major attraction for a gastronome like me. I tried pork pie and also the famous Bakewell Pudding. This unique pudding was accidentally created in the mid-nineteenth century. It’s a crisp puff pastry base, outwardly similar to the looks of Yorkshire Pudding, but topped with raspberry or apricot jam and followed by a rich egg custard filling made with sugar, ground almonds and almond extract.

What fascinated me, in particular, was that despite its urban transformation, the town exudes the old-world charm.

Pics: Arundhati Sengupta

A Bakery in Bakewell

In the Peak District, UK. The stylised red poppy on the pole commemorates members of the armed forces who died in the First World War and in later conflicts, including the Second World War.