Darwin Lake

Jaggers Lane, Darley Moor, Matlock, DE4 5LH -

Up to
250 guests
Internal Catering
allowed

Nestled within 10 stunning acres of natural woodland Darwin Lake is a truly unique and exclusive venue with extensive 4 Star accommodation for all your guests, where you can have a day to remember, in fact, here Weddings can take all weekend!!! Please note the Venue comes with accommodation for a minimum 30 guests for the entire weekend of your Wedding. Special rates now available for mid-week weddings, stags and hens just call or email for rates.
Boasting a backdrop of The Peak District National Park and it's own lake you will be able to get some timeless and incredible images to treasure for the rest of your lives. Located in the hills three miles from Matlock and deep in the heart of the Peak District yet only 25 minutes from the M1 this really is a gem of a location easily accessible for all your guests.
Our impressive stone-built Darwin Hall contains a total of three function rooms for you to choose from, and if that isn't quite enough we can accommodate a marquee on the adjacent lawns looking across our beautiful lake and woodland grounds. Close by you will find our 16 cottages that can accommodate up to 125 guests.
We are here to help you build the day of your dreams so whether you are looking for something traditional or want to do something completely different we can help. Whether you want to ride in on a camel or parachute in from a WWII aeroplane the likelyhood is we know someone who can help!
We offer various different options from 33 to 125 overnight guests with mid-week dates available as well. Our Wedding Hall can house 200 for your wedding reception and evening functions either on the ground floor or 1st floor, the choice is yours and all our function rooms are licenced for civil wedding ceremonies. For your wedding breakfast we can cater for up to 130 on either floor. To find out more and to book a no obligation visit please don't hesitate to contact us, we are here to help.
Contact us now to find out more about your big day at Darwin Lake.

Capacity & layout

Standing

up to 250

Theatre

up to 250

Boardroom

up to 20

Cabaret

up to 250

Catering & drinks

Catering arrangements

Catering facilities

Refreshments

Alcohol

Amenities

Premises parking

Location

Reviews

Peter Hulbert
September 2024
Quiet is standard here and it's truly peaceful, there is a bar, restaurant on site, an indoor swimming pool and outdoor tennis facilities. The air is truly fresh due to the location and despite that it's remarkable close to Matlock and Bakewell. The log cabins are excellent, warm and clean and I would have no hesitation in recommending this place for a family break or tranquil retreat.
Robert Wiblin
October 2024
Mattresses are very old and uncomfortable. Showers don't work in all the blocks and mine didn't drain properly. Food was a 2/5, the kitchen wasn't big enough to cater well for a group of our size. My bed didn't have sheets on it when I arrived and when I complained they failed to fix it. Cottages violate fire safety regulations (you need more than one possible exit). Had instant coffee but not ground coffee. Once the manager left they seemed to forget the pre-agreed dietary requirements of the group. On the positive side the grounds and lake are reasonably nice.
aneeka
September 2024
Staying here now. This place is horrible. We have booked a cottage for 8 people. The customer service is AWFUL. There is no hot water to have showers - imagine we have travelled from London and want a shower and all there is is ice cold water. And then we tried to ring the emergency number over 30 times, with no response (despite leaving voicemails as per the instructions in our villa manual). I don’t get how you can call it an emergency number if no one will pick up!!! The villa was also really dirty when we arrived. We complained and the reception came and wiped 6 chairs and then dropped off the hoover for us to hoover the cottage ourselves (eventhough it should have been clean when we arrived). Honestly extremely shocked and disappointed by this place. The manager has not even had the decency to contact us back. We are staying in the Hassop cottage, and we do not recommend. We expect a refund.
Jessica Dickson
October 2024
Our cottage did not have functioning hot water. We told staff the evening we arrived but they kept denying there were issues even though a review from 2 weeks ago complained of no hot water in the same cottage, meaning they were aware of the problem. Our washing machine did not work either as the door was broken and could not shut. They ran out of food for breakfast, including bread, and blamed it on the people before us for taking too much- even though we could see everyone took a reasonable amount. Staff waited until food ran out and we requested more to start preparing refills, so we waited about 40 minutes in the queue. They once again ran out of food during dinner even though each person had reserved a specific dish. They had no lamb shank left for our entire table and instead offered (cheesy) hunters chicken, including to lactose intolerant members of our group, without checking for dietary requirements. Staff said that they prepared the exact right amount of food so have no idea how this happened, but we all had name cards with our chosen dishes and dietary restrictions listed. They offered one bottle of vodka to be shared with the table as compensation. Some people on our table were only given half a portion of dessert so they presumably ran out of that too. The kitchen is tiny and nowhere near equipped to catering for large groups. Essentially, we paid a lot of money to stay here with no working hot water, no washing machine, and only got half the food we paid for. The venue/scenery itself was lovely but did not make up for the many issues.