Peak District pub first look: 15 photos of The Ashford Arms' bars, restaurant, food and bedrooms following £1.6million redevelopment of 17th century pub

Rob has probably made his smartest move to date by reopening The Ashford Arms at Ashford in the Water after investing £1.6million in its renovation. He said: "Bookings are good - I've never had so much interest in opening a venue, it's been incredible."

Local hero and Bakewell mayor Alyson Hill will officially open the new-look 17th century pub on Friday, March 8 after being chosen in a countrywide survey.

Rob said: “The Ashford Arms has been an integral part of the local community for the past 400 years. We wanted to celebrate that, and the fact that it is opening its doors for the first time since the pandemic, by inviting someone that represents everything that we love about the area to help us reopen the pub.

“Rather than approaching someone ourselves, we decided to ask the public. We published a Facebook post asking people who they thought was a true local hero, and we were blown away by the response. Almost 100 suggestions were put forward, with lots of very worthy individuals amongst them. However, Alyson’s name came up time and time again, and we’re delighted that she has accepted.”

Alyson lost an arm when her fire engine crashed into a tree in 2023 while she was watch manager with the Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Responding to her nomination as a local hero, Alyson said: “I don’t really see myself as a hero – that’s not how I would describe myself at all! However, I saw Rob’s kind invitation as a way to celebrate the lovely, tightly knit community that we’re all a part of. Like many of us, I’m very excited about the reopening of the historic The Ashford Arms. It’s going to be a great asset to the local area, and I can’t wait to share a few drinks, laughs, and stories with friends here in the years to come.”

Perfectly positioned near the visitor hostpots of Chatsworth House, Haddon Hall and Thornbridge Hall, the gorgeous pub with boutique bedrooms offers a cosy place to dine, relax with a drink in front of a fire or sleep in luxurious surroundings.

The Ashford Arms is the latest of three hospitality venues in Derbyshire to benefit from Rob's investment and business acumen. He poured £70,000 into redeveloping The Maynard in Grindleford after selling his house to acquire it. Six weeks after reopening The Maynard, the country went into lockdown. "It was a turbulent start," he admitted. But Rob and his team have since built up The Maynard into an award-winning wedding venue.

The George in Hathersage was the second hotel in the Hope Valley to attract Rob’s interest. After acquiring the business in 2021, he refurbished 12 bedrooms and spent £40,000 on an outside garden.

Rob said: "I've got a great team and everything was going really, really well; things started to feel a little easy to the point that I wanted something else, a new challenge.

"The next door neighbour to The Ashford Arms asked me if I was interested in this, knowing it was on the market for lease. I had a look at it and thought it had got all the potential. There are so many clusters of areas, wherever you are it's got a different vibe. It's got a great atmosphere, the parking area's brilliant, the outside area's fantastic and the bedrooms are lovely."

There's a restful green palette throughout the ground floor and bedrooms which coupled with exposed stonework and natural wood flooring accentuate the country vibe.

A beautiful botanically-themed restaurant has tendrils of foliage hanging from ceiling lights, pictures of animals dressed in period costumes on the walls and a couple of stuffed birds perched on shelves high above, giving plenty of interesting things to look at between courses.

Rob said: "Our menu is pub classics with a modern twist, all freshly made, all well done. The big thing when you;re looking at a menu design is that you want food where you can go in on a Monday because there's no food in the cupboard at home but also come out on a Saturday when there are things to celebrate."

The Ashford Arms has plenty to celebrate as my partner and I discovered when we were invited to a soft launch ahead of its official opening.

Skipping starters, burgers and steaks, we made straight for the main courses that range from wild mushroom and lentil aubergine rolls, served with sweet potato puree and kale at £17.95 to a pan-fried duck breast with chamomile infused rice at £24.50.

From an extensive choice, I selected pan-fried chicken supreme. A generous and succulent portion of plump poultry breast and leg accompanied by roasted new potatoes with persillade and parmesan and surrounded by a silky wild mushroom sauce looked as good as it tasted.

Across the table my companion was tempted by the Teriyaki marinated salmon, served with a Cajun spice rice cake, grilled broccoli and a sweet and spicy fish sauce. Excellent, he declared, as he polished off every morsel.

On to desserts and there was no contest when I spotted a personal favourite, sticky toffee pudding. This light, melt in the mouth heavenly confectionery, served with banoffee sauce and topped by vanilla ice cream was one of the best of its kind that I have tasted.

The cheese board showcased local products including a Stilton and smoked Cheddar. Caramelised walnuts, quince chutney, grapes and celery added lots of texture and interest to the plentiful platter which I helped my partner to finish.

A nice touch in the dessert offerings is the home-made Bakewell tart at £9.95, with a pound from each portion sold going to support Blythe House and Helen's Trust charity.

The menu has been designed by group executive chef Adrian Gagea, who trained under Raymond Blanc in a restaurant in Oxford. Award-winning Chris Parker has stepped up as head chef at The Ashford Arms. Rob said: "Chris was my senior sous chef at The George. He won Westside's Young Chef of the Year two years running."

Charlotte Bennett, who is marketing manager for Rob's business Longbow Bars & Restaurants, said: "There are nine bedrooms altogether. Two suites have freestanding baths in the bedrooms and ensuite shower rooms. All the names are chosen in keeping with the village and the surrounding areas such as Sheepwash which is a famous bridge in Ashford in the Water, Aisseford which is what Ashford used to be called and Wye after the river. One of the rooms is called Devonshire because the family lived here before they moved to Chatsworth. The history is incredible."

During renovations, a utility room at the front of the pub was knocked out to make a snug. Rob said: "As soon as the tiles came off we found a beautiful old listed fireplace - I imagine it would be from the original building."

I suggest to Rob that he must be very proud of his achievement at The Ashfield Arms. "I am," he said, "but I'm even prouder of my team. Some are from The George and are here to train the new members of staff and embed them. There are 45 members of staff here."

Rob has not only given three Derbyshire hospitality businesses a new lease of life but has also created 180 new jobs. He said: "We're constantly looking at making sure we have enough bodies in the team but also developing within. The best people come from within, if you can give them the skills, give them the tools for them to grow and develop, that's fantastic.

"Josh Butler is one of my proudest achievements. He started working for me as a food runner nine years ago when he was 16 and he has stepped up as waiter supervisor to assistant manager, he was deputy manager when I first opened The George and he's now my general manager at The Ashford Arms.

"Steve Atkinson was my deputy manager years ago, he's gone on to be general manager in a few places, came back to me as the general manager of The Maynard and is now operations director."

Rob, 39, grew up in the hospitality business. His parents owned H's wine bar in Bakewell and then Hattersley Wine Merchants. He worked as a chef in France after his A-levels, did a hospitality degree in Manchester, worked on cruise lines for Royal Caribbean as beverage operations manager and then went into general management. He said: "I started working for big companies and I lost my love for the industry. It was all about profit and all about margins, people always came second. I wanted to break the mould and do it myself."

Asked whether he is now content to rest on his laurels or is looking to grow his business portfolio in Derbyshire, Rob said: "I will definitely get itchy feet - I always like that next challenge.”