Dig Street runs south from Ashbourne’s market place, and part way along it a neat lettered shopfront announces one of Derbyshire’s newest independent record shops. Yew Tree Records pairs new and second-hand vinyl with a café counter serving locally sourced coffee and cake, giving this Peak District market town a dedicated music shop of its own and a reason to linger once the browsing is done.
Background / History
Yew Tree Records was established in 2024 and trades from a compact unit at 16 Dig Street, a short walk from Ashbourne’s market place and among the town’s run of independent traders. The café was part of the plan from the outset rather than a later addition, which is why the shop functions as somewhere to spend an hour rather than five minutes. Ashbourne sits at the southern gateway to the Peak District, close to Dovedale and the start of the Tissington Trail, so alongside a loyal local following the shop sees a steady flow of walkers and weekend visitors.
The business moved quickly after opening. Within its first year it had joined the Record Store Day roster, built up an online store carrying well over a thousand titles, and established itself as a small but genuine part of the Derbyshire Dales music scene.
What You’ll Find
Racking covers new releases and second-hand vinyl alongside CDs, and the buying is noticeably broad. Current chart and indie titles sit near the front, while the wider selection takes in classic rock and pop reissues, hip-hop, metal, punk, soul and funk compilations, folk, electronic records and film soundtracks. Limited and coloured pressings form a strong strand, as do anniversary editions, expanded sets and half-speed remasters, and the shop stocks heavily around both Record Store Day and its Black Friday edition.
Sleeves are displayed on picture-rail shelves above the racks, turning the wall into a running set of recommendations. Each January the team publishes a round-up of its twenty favourite records of the previous year, which gives a fair measure of the shop’s taste: current, wide-ranging and free of snobbery. Anything not in the racks can usually be ordered in, and the online shop serves customers well beyond Derbyshire.
Experience / Atmosphere
The interior is bright and carefully finished, with deep green racking, pale wood flooring and track lighting in place of the crate-and-cardboard look of older shops. It is a compact room but an easy one to work through, and the coffee and cake side means a visit can stretch comfortably into an afternoon. Dogs are welcome, and the tone is deliberately unintimidating for anyone who has only recently started buying records.
Staff are approachable and happy to talk through a purchase or track something down. Record Store Day is the busiest date in the calendar, with a queue forming long before the 8am opening, a one-copy-per-title rule to keep things fair, and live sets from local musicians running through the day. Any remaining releases go online the following Monday evening, which is a considerate touch for those who could not make the queue.
Why Visit
- New and second-hand vinyl plus CDs across a genuinely wide spread of genres
- Locally sourced coffee and cake served on the premises
- Strong showing of limited pressings, coloured vinyl and anniversary reissues
- A committed Record Store Day shop with live music and in-store events
- Dog friendly, with an unhurried and welcoming approach to browsing
- An online store and ordering service for anyone unable to visit in person
Summary
Yew Tree Records is proof that a small market town can support a serious record shop. The buying is thoughtful, the range is wider than the size of the room suggests, and the café turns a quick look through the racks into something more leisurely. Whether you are calling in before a walk in Dovedale, hunting a particular reissue, or simply after a coffee and a rummage on a wet afternoon, it repays the visit. For anyone touring record shops across the Derbyshire Dales, this is an essential stop.
