Our Hotel & History

The Hotel has a wonderful history being built in the Arts & Crafts style by the CHA walking charity in 1914 on the site of an 18th Century Farm House.

The guesthouse/ hostel welcomed guests for almost 90 years before it was closed by the first foot and mouth epidemic in 2001, only to be thankfully redeveloped by the previous owners into the hotel that you see today. We recently discovered that the house also played hosts to the Sheffield and Manchester Ramblers, who were planning the famous Mass Trespass of Kinder Scout in 1930 which dramatically laid the foundations of the creation of the national right to roam and ultimately The Peak District National Park – Britain’s first.

To uncover the reason for the names of our two hills that create this beautiful valley: Lose Hill and Win Hill, you have to go much further back in time to the Saxon period of the 650s AD when the Kings of Mercia and Wessex on Losehill and Northumbria on Winhill fought a titanic battle – Northumbria won and hence the name of Win Hill and Wessex and Mercia lost – giving us the name Lose Hill and the name of the hotel.

As you can now see, the hotel is set amidst beautiful walking country with the enviable location based at the foot of Losehill at the start of the ridge walk leading to Mam Tor and ultimately the Edale Horseshoe. Whether it’s Losehill to Castleton, Winhill and Ladybower or a gentle stroll by the river we can help you with your walking plans.

Many of the local villages are rich in history. Castleton, just 4 miles from the hotel, with its Norman Castle, is the only place in the country to mine the famous Blue John stone, which is mostly crafted into jewellery. Castleton is also the location of the Peak Park Visitor Centre with many shops, cafés and pubs. The famous ‘plague village’ of Eyam is only 20 minutes drive away. Beautiful Derwent Valley and the Ladybower Reservoir with the Derwent and Howden Dams are only 15 minutes drive away, (or a good walk over Winhill), where Barnes-Wallis first tested the ‘bouncing bomb’ of the Dambuster’s fame. Hathersage is famous for its Bronte Heritage, and Stanage Edge has been used for film locations. Glorious Chatsworth House and Haddon Hall are both within a 30 minute drive, as are the lovely market town of Bakewell and the spa town Buxton, with its famous Opera House and Pavillion Gardens.