Few visitors to the Peak District can afford to miss the picturesque village of Ashford in the Water, and since it sits right beside the modern A6 trunk road between Buxton and Bakewell, few actually do.

The beautiful landscape that surrounds the village attracts visitors by the score, and regardless of the season this setting has inspired artists and photographers alike for many years.

Most of those who come here will certainly go away with some wonderful memories. Among these will be the Sheep Wash Bridge, which was built during the medieval period and once used as a pack horse bridge.

Following the Norman invasion of England, Ashford had a church dating from this period, it once stood on the present site of the Holy Trinity Church. Of the present church, the tower is from a later period during the fourteenth century , but the Tympanum, a semi-circular sculpture over the inner door, dates from Norman times and was replaced to its original position after being found in the south wall during rebuilding of the church in 1869.

The Derbyshire Peak District tradition of Wells Dressing is performed here in the village, where six wells are beautifully crafted by the locals and placed on display on the Saturday before Trinity Sunday.

Ashford is also known for its Ashford Black Marble, which although not a true marble, but in fact is a dark form of limestone.

This marble was once cut and crafted into fashionable objects during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The stone itself was removed from mines driven underground and into the local landscape at the Arrock which is located at the western end of the village.

The stone was then taken to the Marble Mill that stood between the A6 and the river close to where the road leaves the A6 from the Buxton end to enter the village. Some of this marvellous work can be seen in Trinity Church, but there is also an excellent display on show at the museum in Buxton.