Holiday apartment in Derbyshire: trails, caves and cultural heritage

Derbyshire combines impressive trails, underground geology and significant cultural landscapes. The Archaeological Way is an 11-mile multi-use trail between Pleasley Pit Country Park and Creswell Crags. At the same time, it serves as a wildlife corridor for small mammals, insects and birds. This means that the route and habitat are both central along the same stretch.

Nature and trails

For longer cycling tours, the White Peak Loop is a circular route of just over 42 miles through the White Peak area of the Derbyshire Peak District. Of the route described as 42 miles long, 37 miles are off-road. In addition, the Phoenix Greenways form a network of traffic-free walking, cycling and horse-riding trails. They offer more than 20 miles of easily accessible, traffic-free routes away from roads and along quiet country lanes.

The Heights of Abraham also combine landscape and an engaging experience of nature: their winding woodland paths lead through forest areas containing trees that are partly more than 300 years old. The cable cars at the Heights of Abraham take visitors across the Derwent Valley to the summit of Masson Hill. Underground, the Great Masson Cavern features geological formations that can be explored on a guided tour. Another attraction at the Heights of Abraham, the Great Rutland Cavern, explores the life of a 17th-century mining family.

Culture and history

The cultural landscape of the Derwent Valley was where the modern factory system was developed and established. The workers’ housing associated with the mills of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site has been preserved. It extends for 24 kilometres through the Derwent Valley, from the edge of Matlock Bath in the north to almost the centre of Derby in the south.

At Hardwick Old Hall, visitors can walk through the four floors of the tall, roofless ruin and view 400-year-old plasterwork. Hardwick New Hall is known for its exceptionally well-preserved Elizabethan interiors and textiles. At Denby Pottery Village, a guided, immersive factory tour offers insights into the pottery, which is still in operation.

The National Tramway Museum offers rides on restored historic trams through a recreated historic village. In 2010, its Great Exhibition Hall was redeveloped for the “Century of Trams” exhibition. It covers the development of tramways from 1860 to 1960, including horse-drawn, steam and electric trams.

Houses, gardens and caves

Chatsworth has a working farm and a woodland adventure playground with water and sand play areas. The estate also includes a 105-acre garden. Haddon Hall is more than 900 years old and has Elizabethan walled gardens known for the roses that hang over the walls in summer.

Bolsover’s Little Castle can be explored with a multimedia guide, from the basement kitchen area to the bedchambers on the top floor. The Fountain Garden at Bolsover Castle is centred around a statue of Venus. Bolsover Castle is accessible by bus from Chesterfield, Mansfield and Sheffield; Stagecoach routes 1, 2, 49, 53 and 53a operate near the castle entrance.

Blue John Cavern consists of a series of caves that vividly demonstrate how caves form in limestone. It contains 8 of the 15 known veins of the mineral Blue John. A tour of Blue John Cavern lasts between 50 minutes and one hour.

Regional cuisine

Derbyshire’s culinary specialities are also showcased through hands-on experiences. The Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop offers a hands-on experience in which visitors make an Original Bakewell Pudding. Local produce sold in farm shops in Derbyshire also includes Bakewell Pudding, Ashbourne Gingerbread, Hartington Cheese and Derbyshire Oatcakes.

Other places in Derbyshire

South Normanton, Repton, Newton Solney, Mickleover, Matlock, Marston, Long Eaton, Hayfield, Hathersage, Glossop, Clowne, Clay Cross, Chesterfield, Buxton, Brimington, Belper, Baslow, Bakewell, Ashbourne, Alton, Shottle, Ilkeston, Duckmanton and Scarcliffe.

Other destinations include Hackney, Swadlincote, Ticknall, Breadsall, Cromford, Ripley, Melbourne, Whaley Bridge, Risley, Little Eaton, Morley, Tibshelf, Castleton, Barlborough, Ault Hucknall, Alfreton, Dronfield, Froggatt, Birch Vale, Eyam, Hardstoft, Edale, Unstone and Walton.

For further orientation, destinations include Duffield, Grassmoor, Sandiacre, Codnor, Hartington, Chinley, Smalley, Bamford, South Wingfield, Tideswell, Chapel-En-Le-Frith, Sutton On The Hill, Yeaveley, Taddington, Swanwick, Pilsley, Peak Forest, Litton, Kirk Langley, Hognaston, Furness Vale, Earl Sterndale, Draycott, Doveridge, Crich, Chelmorton, Hope Valley, Bonsall, Ashover, Eckington, Coton In The Elms, Shardlow, North Wingfield, Wirksworth, Tansley, Kilburn, Whitwell, Bolsover, Horsley Woodhouse, Kirk Ireton, Newton, High Peak, Willington, Whatstandwell and Stoney Middleton.

For the wider travel overview: East Midlands.