The Café at Renishaw Hall

Grade I-listed Renishaw Hall, surrounded by award-winning Italianate gardens, has been the Sitwell family seat for nearly 400 years. Not far from the M1 and Chesterfield, the rural grandeur will pacify any road-frayed nerves. Parking is plentiful (you’ll need to buy a £1 ticket) and a short walk away from the estate’s old stable block. Horses have been hoofed out and the buildings around the cobbled courtyard beautifully renovated to host a range of small businesses, including the Sitwell Museum.

The café is here too, a large, beamed space with dovecote towers at either end and the walls hung with some of the family’s collection of art and antiques. Food is seasonal and tasty and the coffee good; you can even have a glass of wine from the Renishaw vineyard. Make a day of it by visiting the idyllic, dog-friendly gardens, which are alive with butterflies and dragonflies and well worth the entry fee. Guided tours of the Hall itself are available every Friday in the season, and weekends in August.