Taddington
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The pretty village of Taddington is located between Buxton and Bakewell, in the Derbyshire Dales district. The village lies over 1,100 feet (340 metres) above sea level and is one of the highest villages in England. Taddington is set in some stunning Peak District scenery, to the east lies Taddington Dale, while Taddington Moor is situated to the west. The vilage derives its name from an Saxon Chieftain called Tata.
The fourteenth century village church of St Michael
has the remains of a seventh century Celtic cross in the churchyard. The two-metre cross shaft is decorated with an unusual chevron-based pattern. It was at one time used to support a sink in the wall of a nearby public house. In the churchyard also are known to be the nineteenth century unmarked graves of orphans from Litton Mill. Within the church is the memorial brass of the Blackwell Family, medieval coffin lids, three fonts and seventeenth and eighteenth century memorial grave slabs.
Notable buildings include Taddington Manor and Marlborough House. There are several pretty cottages and houses interspersed with old farmhouses set around the old church. The white limestone structure which stands adjacent to Sycamore Farm was once White's School, bequeathed by Michael White to serve the village in 1798.
Fields around the village reveal evidence of both Celtic lynchett terraces, (narrow terraces of land favoured by early hill farmers) and of Mediaeval strip farming. The ancient burial site of Five Wells chambered tomb pictured left) lies nearby on Taddington Moor. Three stones mark the main chamber, which has been dramatically reduced; a second less well-preserved chamber is to the west. The mound was excavated by the archaeologist Thomas Bateman in 1846. Access can be had on foot via a permitted path from Pillwell Gate to the west.
Taddington has two pubs, The Queens Arms and The Waterloo. In 2009 The Queens Arms opened a convenience store in the pub's pool room to supply locals with necessities and to save them the trip into nearby towns. The ancient burial site of Five Wells chambered cairn, lies just west of the village
There is an annual well dressing focussed on the "High Well", unusually lying above the village.
Nearby places of interest
Three Shires Head, is a beauty spot where the three counties of Derbyshire, Cheshire and Staffordshire meet is a short walk from the Wildboarclough.
Macclesfield Forest, once the centre of a Royal Forest created by the Norman kings for the purpose of hunting game such as deer, wild boar and wolves. It once encompassed all the area from Disley to the River Dane. The forest is home to a herd of red deer, while the reservoirs contain a wide variety of wildfowl.
Shutlingsloe is the third highest peak in the Cheshire (Shining Tor being the highest and Whetstone Ridge the second ) with an elevation of 506 metres (1,660 feet), the summit offers excellent views. On a clear day the mountains of North Wales are visible from its summit.
Adlington Hall, set in the heart of the Cheshire countryside, the current building was begun in 1315, although late medieval and Tudor remodeling have since changed its appearance.