Eyam is a beautiful Derbyshire village but it has a very interesting past. As you walk around the village today you can learn lots about this place and how they lived during the great plague of 1665-1666. They self quarantined for 14 months, lost 260 villagers, around 36% of their population but successfully stopped the spread into neighbouring Peak District villages.
What to expect
This is a walk around a beautiful village, there is a pub, shops and tea rooms but the real draw here is the history that is kept alive with all the information signs and plaques throughout the village. Although there is lots to take in by just walking through the village, if you want to delve deeper into the history, there’s also a museum opposite the car park.
This walk is less about the distance or a route and more about finding all the interesting sites of interest dotted around.
Getting there & parking
Parking – S32 5QP – This will take you to the pay & display car park in the centre of the village, there are toilets here and also a FREE / honesty car park just behind this.
The route
Starting and ending in this beautiful village you will walk past the church, and the cottages that the villagers lived in at the time of the great plague. Our must see places are, The Riley Graves, Mompessons well and the boundary stone.
The Riley Graves – Elizabeth Hancock buried her husband and 6 children here with her own hands. The horrible disease claimed all their lives over just 8 days.
Mopesson’s Well – A stone water trough situated above the village up a steep hill named after the priest of the village during this time. Vinegar was added to the well to ‘disinfect’ any coins coming in and out of the village.
The Boundary Stone – This was where villager’s from Stoney Middleton would drop off supplies to those in quarantine, in Eyam. Holes in the stone filled with vinegar is where the coins would be placed to stop the spread.
Tips & what to bring
Good footwear advised as some sections can be muddy and uneven underfoot.
Eat & drink nearby
There are a number of tea rooms and a pub in the village, perfect for post walk refreshments.
Places to stay nearby
Pair this walk with somewhere we have stayed and rated nearby.
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