Its position near the southern edge of the Peak District makes it the closest town to Dovedale, to which Ashbourne is sometimes referred to as the gateway.

[5] In medieval times it was a frequent rest stop for pilgrims walking "St Non's Way" to the shrine of Saint Fremund at Dunstable in Bedfordshire.

[7] Ashbourne Town Council has four wards – Belle Vue, Hilltop, Parkside and St Oswald's – represented by a total of 13 councillors.

The factory had its own private sidings connected to the railway station goods yard, which allowed milk trains to access the facility and distribute product as far south as London.

[10] Tourism is an important element of the local economy, due to the town's proximity to Dovedale and the Peak District.

In 1888, the title Ashbourne Shire Horse Society was adopted and royal patronage was granted in 1899 by King Edward VII, who was President in 1901.

However, what has not changed is the aim and ambition to produce a show for the encouragement of excellence in agriculture and animal husbandry and for the information education and entertainment of the local community and the visitors to the area each August.

The most famous, the Green Man & Black's Head Royal Hotel, closed in 2011 and underwent a change of ownership in 2013, before reopening in 2018.

[18] The rare gallows sign across St John's Street remains a meeting point in the town.

The line continued down the Dove to Rocester, near Uttoxeter, where it joined the main North Staffordshire Railway.

The course of the Ashbourne to Buxton line up to Parsley Hay has since been converted to the Tissington Trail, a popular recreational walking and cycle path.

There is an hourly service between Derby and Uttoxeter that stops in Ashbourne; other routes connect the town with Matlock, Leek, Buxton, Nottingham, Wirksworth and Burton.

The path starts at Mappleton Lane on the northern outskirts of the town, accessed by a Victorian tunnel at the end of the leisure centre car park, which was formerly railway sidings.

Members of ACT are currently sponsoring the education of children in a school in Bihar, one of the poorest states in India.

It is a moving mass (the Hug) that continues through the roads of the town, across fields, and even along the bed of the local Henmore Brook.

Local contestant Dave Mellor was the 1978 BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Cars World Champion.