Chatsworth Country Fair returns to the parkland surrounding Chatsworth House on Friday 4, Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 September 2026. Three days of hot air balloons drifting over the Derwent, Grand Ring displays, celebrated chefs at work in the Fine Food Village, and the cheerful clamour of a vintage funfair, all set in a thousand acres of Capability Brown's finest landscaping.
Most visitors come for a single day and give the rest of the weekend to the Peak District itself. Which makes choosing where to stay a rather more pleasurable decision than simply finding the nearest available bed. Foxlow Grange sits 16.6 miles from the estate on the edge of Buxton, around thirty minutes by road, with eight individually designed apartments sleeping up to thirty guests. Four of them welcome dogs.
| Dates | Friday 4 to Sunday 6 September 2026 |
|---|---|
| Opening times | Gates open 9am, last entry 5pm |
| Location | Chatsworth, Bakewell, Derbyshire, DE45 1PP |
| Day tickets | £32.50 online until 3 September, £37.50 during the event |
| Children | Under 16s go free, no ticket required |
| Parking | Free in the North, South and West car parks |
| Dogs | Well behaved dogs on leads are welcome |
| From Foxlow Grange | 16.6 miles, around 30 minutes via the A6 |
| Sleeps | Up to 30 guests across eight apartments, four of them dog friendly |
| Dates | Friday 4 to Sunday 6 September 2026 |
|---|---|
| Opening times | Gates open 9am, last entry 5pm |
| Location | Chatsworth, Bakewell, Derbyshire, DE45 1PP |
| Day tickets | £32.50 online until 3 September, £37.50 during the event |
| Children | Under 16s go free, no ticket required |
| Parking | Free in the North, South and West car parks |
| Dogs | Well behaved dogs on leads are welcome |
| From Foxlow Grange | 16.6 miles, around 30 minutes via the A6 |
| Sleeps | Up to 30 guests across eight apartments, four of them dog friendly |
Multi-day tickets are no longer sold for the fair, so most people choose one day at the showground and let the Peak District fill the rest. You are not simply looking for somewhere to sleep near the gates. You are choosing where to wake up on the other two mornings.
That is where a place of your own comes into its own.
Everyone stays together. A party of sixteen booked into rooms is sixteen separate reservations and a scattered breakfast. One house is one booking, one long kitchen table, and somewhere everybody knows to gather at the end of the day.
Early mornings are easier. Gates open at 9am, and parking is first come, first served, so the earlier you arrive the shorter your walk into the showground. Rounding up a large group is a far gentler business when everyone is under one roof.
You have a kitchen. Breakfast before you set off, a proper pot of tea when you get back, and the option of cooking for everyone rather than booking three separate tables somewhere.
The dog comes too. Well behaved dogs on leads are welcome at the fair, which is delightful right up until you remember they need somewhere to sleep as well.
And somewhere to land. Boots come off at the door. Someone runs a deep bath. The children go quiet for the first time since nine in the morning. A whole house absorbs a long day outdoors in a way a single room simply cannot.
Foxlow Grange is a restored Grade II listed manor house divided into eight individually designed apartments, which means we can welcome anything from a couple to a party of thirty.
Book a single suite for two, take a few apartments for a family, or reserve the whole house on an exclusive-use basis for up to thirty guests. Nobody else on site, and the run of the grounds to yourselves. It is how we most often welcome milestone birthdays and family reunions, and it lends itself beautifully to a weekend built around the fair. Some of the party at the showground on the Saturday, others walking or reading in the garden, everyone gathered again by evening.
No two apartments are alike. Several have private hot tubs, some have brass baths deep enough to disappear into and fires laid ready for the evening, and four welcome dogs. There is EV charging on site.
Well behaved dogs on leads are welcome at Chatsworth Country Fair and at Muse Escapes, and four of our apartments are dog friendly. When you book direct with us, dogs stay free.
A gentle word of advice, though. The fair is a long day among big crowds, with livestock, military bands and aircraft passing low overhead. Some dogs take every bit of it in their stride. Others would far rather have a morning on the moors. If yours belongs to the second camp, there are quiet paths from our doorstep towards Solomon's Temple and Grin Low Woods, and the fair will still be there tomorrow.
If they are coming with you, pack water and a bowl. The showground is generous in size and shade is in short supply on a bright September day.
The drive is 16.6 miles and takes around thirty minutes, following the A6 east through Bakewell before dropping down into the Derwent valley. It is a lovely road in its own right, though it carries plenty of traffic on a fair weekend, so allow a little longer than the map promises. To be at the gates for the 9am opening, leave us by around 8.15am.
Parking is free. There are three car parks, North, South and West, with signs directing you to the nearest as you approach. Spaces are given out first come, first served, so arriving early earns you a shorter walk rather than a cheaper ticket.
In Show parking is new for 2026. Spaces cost £25 per day, must be booked online in advance, and sit in the main car park near the house, roughly 200 metres from the Grand Ring. You will need to use the Heathy Lea entrance. Spaces suit standard vehicles up to a large SUV but not minibuses, which is useful to know if your group is travelling together in one van. Entry to the fair is not included, so everyone still needs their own ticket.
For the balloon ascent, ticket holders can park in the West car park from 6am. Access is from the Edensor side of the estate only, and nothing on site opens until 9am, so bring a flask and something warm.
By public transport, the nearest bus stop is at Edensor. The usual stop beside the house is closed for the duration of the event.
The Country Fair has been part of the Chatsworth calendar since the early 1980s, and it unfolds across a thousand acres of parkland laid out by Capability Brown. The volunteer stewards who greet you at the gates have been known as the Red Socks since the very first year, and the proceeds go towards the Chatsworth House Trust, which cares for the house, its collections and the park itself.
The Grand Ring is the heart of it all, with military bands, stunt teams, acrobatics and displays running through each day. Weather permitting, hot air balloons rise in a mass ascent across the estate, which is worth setting an early alarm for.
Beyond the ring you will find the Fine Food Village and Cookery Theatre, where national names cook alongside chefs from across Derbyshire and the Peak District. There is a shopping village of artisan makers and small producers, country pursuits to try your hand at from dry stone walling to archery and angling, and a vintage funfair with a carousel, big wheel, helter skelter and dodgems. The funfair, reliably, is the part the children will still be talking about in October.
Angellica Bell is the 2026 Country Fair President and joins the fair on Friday 4 September.
Two things that are easily missed. Your fair ticket also gives you access to Chatsworth House and Garden on the day of your visit, subject to availability and released first come, first served each day. And the farmyard and adventure playground are closed during the fair, though both have a presence on the showground.
| Ticket | Online, until 3 Sept | During the event |
|---|---|---|
| Day ticket, any day (16+) | £32.50 | £37.50 |
| Disabled visitor, includes carer ticket | £32.50 | £37.50 |
Children aged 0 to 15 go free and need no ticket, though under 16s must be accompanied by an adult. Payment at the gate is by card only.
Two upgrades are available. Ringside Pavilion (£75 per adult, £10 per child aged 3 to 15) gives you seating on a private lawn at the very heart of the action, complimentary tea and coffee, and a pavilion bar. Ringside Pavilion Plus (£165 per adult, £75 per child aged 10 to 15, £50 per child aged 3 to 9) adds reserved parking, morning pastries, a three-course lunch with a glass of English sparkling wine, and a cream tea in the afternoon.
Tickets are sold only through the official Chatsworth website. There are counterfeit Country Fair pages circulating on social media, so do go direct.
Prices correct at the time of writing and subject to change. Please check the official site before booking.
With one day at the fair, you have two more to spend as you please. Staying on the Buxton side of the Peak District opens up rather a lot.
Bakewell sits on the road between us and Chatsworth, which makes it an easy stop on the way back. A handsome market town on the River Wye, with independent shops, a Monday market and, of course, the pudding.
A walk from the door. The path up to Solomon's Temple climbs through woodland to one of the finest views over Buxton, and takes under two hours there and back.
Buxton itself is ten minutes away, with the Pavilion Gardens, Georgian crescents, good pubs and independent shops worth a slow afternoon.
Poole's Cavern, a short walk from us, is a beautiful answer to a wet morning.
When is Chatsworth Country Fair 2026? Friday 4 to Sunday 6 September 2026. Gates open at 9am each day and last entry is 5pm. Multi-day tickets are no longer available, so each day is ticketed separately.
Where is the best place to stay for Chatsworth Country Fair? It depends on your party. Rooms and inns cluster in the villages closest to the estate. For families, larger groups, or anyone bringing a dog, self-catering within half an hour offers more space and more freedom. Foxlow Grange is 16.6 miles away, around thirty minutes by road.
Is there self-catering accommodation near Chatsworth Estate? Yes. Foxlow Grange offers eight self-catering apartments on the edge of Buxton, around thirty minutes from Chatsworth, sleeping anything from two guests up to thirty in total.
Can a large group stay together near Chatsworth Country Fair? Yes. Foxlow Grange can be booked on an exclusive-use basis for up to thirty guests across eight apartments, so a large party stays together under one roof rather than splitting across separate rooms or properties.
How do I book a cottage stay for the Country Fair? Book direct through our website for the best rate. Early September is a busy weekend across the Peak District, so we would encourage you to book well ahead. Booking direct means dogs stay free, an extra hour either side on check-in and check-out, and a handmade welcome gift waiting for you.
Is parking free at Chatsworth Country Fair? Yes. Parking in the standard North, South and West car parks is free. A limited number of pre-bookable In Show spaces near the Grand Ring cost £25 per day and require the Heathy Lea entrance.
Are dogs allowed at Chatsworth Country Fair? Yes, well behaved dogs on leads are welcome throughout the showground.
How much are Chatsworth Country Fair tickets in 2026? An adult day ticket is £32.50 booked online before 3 September, or £37.50 during the event. Children under 16 go free.
Can you get to Chatsworth Country Fair by public transport? The nearest bus stop is at Edensor. The usual stop beside the house is closed for the duration of the event, so most visitors arrive by car.
Does a Country Fair ticket include Chatsworth House and Garden? It does, on the day of your visit and subject to availability. Numbers are capped and tickets are released first come, first served each day.
Foxlow Grange is a restored Grade II listed manor house on the edge of Buxton, rated five star gold by Visit England, thirty minutes from Chatsworth. Eight apartments, room for up to thirty guests, and four suites where dogs are every bit as welcome as you are.
Book direct with us and enjoy:
Early September fills quickly
