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Places to visit in Derbyshire

Visit Derbyshire to explore a national park with craggy hills, sweeping dales, mysterious henges and swathes of dense woodland. This East Midlands county is all about the great outdoors. Walk the moors and tors of the Peak District and stop off in market towns Bakewell and Buxton to try the mouth-watering tart and mineral water. While you’re there, stop off at Chatsworth House, the setting for Pride & Prejudice. Or for a city break, visit Derby and climb its cathedral tower or look around the museums that give cutting insights into the role the city played in the Industrial Revolution and the Golden Age of Steam.

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Gold winner: The Blind Bull

Enjoy cosy surroundings after walking in the Peak District at The Blind Bull in Buxton – winner of our Pub of the Year Award 2023.

Gold Winner: Pure Outdoor

Gear up for a caving or climbing adventure in the Peak District – winner of the Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Award 2023.

Be at one with birds of prey at Rosliston Forestry Centre

There’s something special about being close to a bird of prey; those round watchful eyes on high alert, fixing you with a dominating stare.

Location: Rosliston, Derbyshire

Enjoy a wild night out with bushcraft at Catton Hall

Let Woodland Ways teach you the basics of bushcraft in a fun and safe environment whilst spending time outdoors and sleeping under the stars.

Location: Catton, Derbyshire

Rediscover the house that time forgot at Calke Abbey

By their very nature gardens are emotional places and none more so than the surroundings of this once magnificent country estate.

Location: Ticknall, Derbyshire

Walk the breadth of spectacular Stanage Edge

Follow in the footsteps of your literary heroes on Stanage Edge, a dramatic rocky outcrop with equally dramatic moorland views in the Peak District.

Location: Stanage Edge, Derbyshire

Discover UNESCO World Heritage site at Masson Mills

Experience what life was like to work in an 18th-century mill at this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Location: Matlock Bath, Derbyshire

Choose between red, white or rosé at Sealwood Cottage

Sample the fruits of this Derbyshire vineyard in the charming countryside of The National Forest, and then go to sleep in a pyramid-roofed bedroom.

Location: Swadlincote, Derbyshire

Rekindle your romance in the Peak District

Put a spring in your step with a tete-a-tete in a country house hotel, share a walk with heart-stopping views and chill out in a relaxing spa.

Location: Castleton, Derbyshire

Experience the adventure and thrills of the Monsal Trail

Whizz through four former railway tunnels on your bicycle and enjoy breathtaking views on the Monsal Trail.

Location: Hassop, Derbyshire

Underground & over ground adventures at Go Ape

Release your Tarzan and journey to the centre of the earth on an epic double adventure in Derbyshire’s beautiful Buxton.

Location: Buxton, Derbyshire

Visit Derby's three National Trust treasures

Derby has a trio of National Trust treasures all within a 10 mile radius, so use the city as your base to explore Calke, Sudbury and Kedleston.

Location: Derby, Derbyshire

Be an apprentice brewer for the day at Derventio Brewery

Roll up your sleeves as you become an apprentice brewer for the day in one of Derby’s many micro-breweries.

Explore the city delights of Derby’s Cathedral Quarter

Meander through Derby’s Cathedral Quarter, with arcades and hidden entrances, luxury hotel, specialist stores and independent retailers.

Take a flight to the Heights of Abraham

Discover famous show caverns beneath a 60-acre hilltop park overlooking a deep, dramatic limestone gorge in the Peak District.

Location: Matlock, Derbyshire

Take a tour of the Peak District Mining Museum

Discover the cramped and hazardous world of a Derbyshire lead miner.

Discover the two sides of the Peak District

Two contrasting personalities, one national park... White Peak Vs Dark Peak.

Location: Peak District, Derbyshire

Explore Blue John Cavern

Take your own journey to the centre of the earth in search of the mysterious Blue John - originally discovered by the Romans.

Walk barefoot through the woods at CONKERS

From teddy-bear picnics to jumping on crunchy leaves, England’s woodland is brimming with things to do with toddlers - and award-winning CONKERS, in the heart of The National Forest, is no different.

Be captivated by the grandeur of Chatsworth

With its palatial surrounds and starring role in Pride & Prejudice, Chatsworth House is one of the Peak District’s most celebrated destinations.

Location: Bakewell, Derbyshire

Midland Railway - Butterley

The Railway’s Footplate Experience provides big kids with all the necessary know-how to drive a steam train.

Location: Ripley, Derbyshire

Experience the medieval romance of Haddon Hall

Grab a loved one and visit one of the oldest and most romantic Tudor houses in Britain.

Spend the day playing at Lyme Park, House and Garden

Get transported back to Edwardian times, at the mansion and extensive grounds of Lyme Park.

Location: Disley, Cheshire

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Nearby places to visit, peak district.

Nottinghamshire

Visit Nottingham to explore deep forests steeped in folklore and medieval castles that conjure up the legends of Robin Hood and his Merry Men, Dark Age-era underground caves, and the National Water Sports Centre.

Visit Shropshire to see the golden age of steam, the industrial revolution, and areas of outstanding natural beauty. This landlocked western county has it all, with a UNESCO World Heritage Site to cap it all off.

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5 secret, pretty places to visit in Derbyshire

Lord Byron once wrote that Derbyshire contains attractions ''as noble as in  Greece  or  Switzerland ,” and although you may struggle for  ski slopes  and a  Peak District Parthenon , there’s much to explore in the county beyond the main draw of Chatsworth House. Yes, we adore perhaps Britain’s most lavish and bejewelled country pile, complete with its Lucian Freud’s and Gainsborough’s. But what lies beyond is a fascinating patchwork of villages, gorges, trails and caves that don’t attract a tenth of the foot traffic – here are five of our favourites.

Ashbourne and Dovedale

It was Dr Samuel Johnson no less who contended that “he that has seen Dovedale has no need to visit the  Highlands of Scotland .”

The creator of the dictionary should probably have consulted his own work for the definition of “exaggeration” but he wasn’t too far wrong. The River Dove contorts and snuggles its way from the summits to the flat lands of Derbyshire and is at its prettiest in the two-mile-long gorge that comprises Dovedale valley. Bring your wellies if there’s been rain – the walk can be boggy – but you’re only four miles or so from respite and warmth in the market town of Ashbourne.

Here, amid a pleasing jumble of old stone houses scattered around a cobbled Market Place you’ll find  Callow Hall , a venerable veteran of the  British country hotel  scene that’s recently been given a notably impressive nip and tuck by its new owners the Wildhive group. Reopened in 2022 after three years of work, the fusty old drapes and antiques have been swept away in favour of a glass cube extension, treehouses in the grounds and electric bikes for hire. All this, and yet the stout, remote vibe of the original building endures; this is still emphatically the high and lofty  Peak District  rather than a  Cotswolds  wannabe.

Blue John and Treak Cliff Cavern

Highly prized by jewellers since the Georgian era for its rhubarb and custard accented colourings, Blue John is a very rare form of mineral called fluorite that’s only found in this cave complex underneath the town of Castleton.

Awash with dagger-like stalactites and ancient fossils, the two caves are still used for mining today, though only very small amounts are hacked out of the 250 million-year-old seams. Both  Treak Cliff  and  Blue John  can be visited for underground tours with Treak making the news in 2015 when the first new seam of the precious metal in 150 years was found; the most notable discovery prior to that was three human skeletons discovered in 1921 believed to have been there since Neolithic times.

He wasn’t little and, to be honest, it’s far from certain that he ever existed in the first place. But if you’re in thrall to the legend of Robin Hood then the little visited  village  of Hathersage is an essential stop-off to pay homage to the grave of Little John – the second in command of the Merry Men and a man rumoured to be around seven feet tall. Clearly irony was as important to the gang as giving to the poor.

There are some cracking views to be had of the Peaks from the churchyard where John was (maybe) laid to rest while down in the stout little town centre lies  The George , an ancient coaching inn that recently underwent a half-a-million-pound refurb with a wood-fired pizza oven and local real ales on tap in the bar and a nod to a famous former patron in the form of the Lady C. Bronte suite upstairs.

For it was Charlotte Bronte who, on her trips down from remote Howarth, regularly visited this hostelry, even naming the protagonist in Jane Eyre after a former landlord and the Morton character after James Morton, the owner in Bronte’s time, who would regularly meet the author off her stagecoach before escorting her to the bar.

Baslow and Baslow Hall

Yep, Baslow is the home of Chatsworth House, though, rather than heading straight for the country manor car park, it’s well worth taking a  walk  through the tiny village itself whose stone houses wind along with the path of the River Derwent.

Intriguingly, there’s an infinitely lesser-known country house here Baslow Hall is a creeper-smothered Edwardian pile made from local stone and complete with its own gables and a cute-as-a-button canopy over the front door.

You can stay here too in its current guise as  Fischers Baslow Hall  whose restaurant has held its Michelin star for 29 straight years thanks to the skills of Max Fischer himself; a native of  Germany  who here has created a menu rich in hearty, technically accomplished dishes such as locally shot venison with elderberry quince and mushrooms and ox tongue with radish and hollandaise.

There are a mere 11 rooms, divided between the garden annexe and the main house; the latter has recently been spruced up with Farrow and Ball paints, Nespresso machines and Sedbergh Soap Company toiletries in the modishly furnished bathrooms.

When an Eyam local opened a suitcase of clothes couriered from London in the  autumn  of 1665 by his family, he could never have guessed the malady that would ensue.

The garments infected his entire family and brought the Great Plague to this tiny village. Historians believe that a mere 30 locals survived out of a population of 350, and it could have been even worse had the Rev William Mompesson not persuaded his congregation into staying in the village, surrounded by a cordon to contain the outbreak.

Today, every cottage in which people died has a plaque, and the village still contains a slightly eerie atmosphere amid the grey stone walls that line its solitary main street.  The Eyam Museum  tells the full gruesome story while there’s an almost unbearable poignancy to Mompesson’s Well, where locals from other villages would come to leave food for the fenced-off locals, who would leave money in pots of disinfected vinegar in return.

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Ashbourne Historical Centre & Visitor Information Point

Let us make your visit to the town and the surrounding area a memorable one by popping into the Ashbourne Historical Centre & Visitor Information Point Located in the Town Hall.

• Tourist Information & Visitor…

Let us make your visit to the town and the surrounding area a memorable one by popping into the Ashbourne Historical Centre & Visitor Information Point Located in the Town Hall, formerly the Talbot Inn, which was visited by Izaak Walton and Charles Cotton when writing 'The Compleat Angler' in 1653. Here take a walk through the town's nostalgic past as seen through its main export, Royal Shrovetide Football.

We have changing exhibits showcasing our illustrious history, and stock a good selection of leaflets on Ashbourne and the surrounding area. Friendly local knowledge is always on tap by our trained staff.

We stock a good selection of FREE leaflets on Ashbourne and the surrounding area.

We no longer sell items, but if you are looking for Ordnance Survey Maps, then the Trespass shop on the Market Place stocks these.

For further information about the town of Ashbourne you can call or visit ashbournetowncouncil.gov.uk.

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Honest food using high quality local and seasonal produce.

The Bike Barn

Family-run cycle hire centre in Ashbourne.

Wildhive at Callow Hall

Callow Hall is the first hotel from Wildhive, a new boutique hospitality brand deeply rooted in nature. Surrounded by 35 acres of wild open space, it…

Ashbourne Bike Hire, Repair and Service Centre

Ashbourne bike hire centre is situated at the southern end of the Tissington Trail just outside Ashbourne town centre.

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Derbyshire is a popular destination in The Midlands region of England. It’s renowned for the varied natural landscapes of the Peak District National Park and its role in the Industrial Revolution. Walk the picturesque streets of Derbyshire’s traditional towns and visit museums that offer a fascinating insight into regional history. Tour centuries-old landmarks and enjoy the thrill of motorsport races.

Derby is the county capital, a lively city that gained fame for its production of ceramics, silk and locomotives in the 1700s and 1800s. Climb the tower of Derby Cathedral, browse rotating art exhibitions at Quad and drink in the atmosphere at pubs in the Cathedral Quarter. Derby Museum and Art Gallery celebrates local artists, ancient settlements and aspects of the Industrial Revolution.

Just a short drive from the city you can explore manor houses, estates and gardens at Calke Abbey, Elvaston Castle and Kedleston Hall. Visit Melbourne Hall and Melbourne Parish Church, two 12th-century masterpieces located in the Georgian town of Melbourne.

Experience some of England’s most impressive natural scenery and stay at charming towns while walking in Peak District National Park. Travel deep into caves in Matlock and then cruise high above the Dervent Valley on the Heights of Abraham cable car. Find more caves and the ruined Peveril Castle in Castleton. Sample Bakewell’s signature pastry, the Bakewell pudding, and fresh spring water in Buxton.

Fans of the movie Pride and Prejudice will have fun touring the rooms of Mr. Darcy’s mansion at Chatsworth House. In Crich, the Crich Tramway Village has vintage tram rides, period shops and the National Tramway Museum. Attend touring car, rally and superbike races at Donington Park racetrack.

Typical of England, the weather in Derbyshire is notoriously unpredictable. Walking conditions are most favorable from spring to autumn, when temperatures are milder, although be sure to pack a rain jacket. Get here by flying to Birmingham Airport and East Midlands Airport or take the train from major cities across the United Kingdom.

Popular cities in Derbyshire

Reasons to visit.

• Elvaston Castle
• Kedleston Hall
• Derby Cathedral
• Ladybower Reservoir
• Blue John Cavern
• Longshaw Country Park
• Heights of Abraham
• Crich Tramway Village
• Matlock Parks Country Park
• Dovedale National Nature Reserve
• Carsington Water
• Buxton Opera House
• Pavilion Gardens
• Mecca Bingo