The only town included in the Peak District National Park, it is located on the River Wye, about thirteen miles (21 km) southwest of Sheffield, close to the tourist attractions of Chatsworth House and Haddon Hall. It is well known for the local confection, Bakewell Pudding (often confused with the more widely known Bakewell Tart, which is very different).

Although there is evidence of earlier settlements in the area, Bakewell itself was probably founded in Anglo Saxon times, when Bakewell was in the Anglian kingdom of Mercia. Bakewell Parish Church, a Grade I listed building, was founded in 920 and has a 9th century cross in the churchyard. The present church was constructed in the 12th and 13th centuries but was virtually rebuilt in the 1840s by William Flockton.[1] By Norman times Bakewell had gained some importance—the town, and its church (having two priests) being mentioned in the Domesday Book.

A market was established in 1254, and Bakewell developed as a trading centre. The Grade I listed five-arched bridge over the River Wye at Bakewell was constructed in the 13th century, and is one of the few surviving remnants of this earlier period.[2] A chalybeate spring was discovered, and a bath house built in 1697. This led to an 18th century bid to develop Bakewell as a spa town, in the manner of Buxton. The construction of the Lumford Mill by Richard Arkwright in 1777 was followed by the rebuilding of much of the town in the 19th century

The Bakewell tart is a traditional English baked cake native to the town of Bakewell.
The tart consists of a shortcrust pastry shell, covered in jam and covered with a sponge style filling enriched with ground almonds. This is known as Frangipane.Traditionally the cakes are also covered with nuts such as almonds and peanuts.

Bakewell is also the home of the authentic Bakewell Pudding.The recipe consists of a puff pastry shell with covered in jam, with a filling of eggs, sugar, butter and almonds.Legend has it that the dish was an accidental invention during the 1860s. A nobleman visited the White Horse Inn (today known as the The Rutland Arms) and ordered a strawberry tart.The cook, instead of stirring the egg mixture into the cake as would normally happed, spread it over the jam, and the Bakwell Pudding was born.

Bakewell is also famous for its annual Agricultural and Horticultural Show. The next Bakewell Show will be held on Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th August 2008.

Bakewell Show is a celebration all aspects of farming and rural life, from the best of British livestock to the latest business and technological innovations.