After Buxton, this is the largest town in the Peak District (though it’s hardly a metropolis). It’s not as interesting or picturesque as its posh spa-town neighbour, but it’s a useful base for cyclists and walkers. It has a famous pudding (the Bakewell Pudding – it’s not a tart you know), a couple of fine [...]
Once a drab, grimy urban basket case, England’s second-largest city – nicknamed ‘Brum’ – has spectacularly re-invented itself as a vibrant, cultural hot spot. Huge regeneration projects have breathed life into the industrial landscapes and canals that crisscross the city; now there are more glamorous shops, buzzing pubs and jumping nightclubs than you can shake [...]
With its grand Georgian architecture, central crescent, leafy parks, tourists and thermal waters, Buxton invites comparisons to Bath. It’s smaller in scale, however, and lodged a little less far up its own backside. While the Romans discovered the natural warm-water springs, the town’s heyday was not until the 18th century when ‘taking the waters’ was [...]
Nestled in the shadow of 517m-high Mam Tor and crowned by the ruins of Peveril Castle, the neat little settlement of Castleton has a couple of narrow lanes with sturdy gritstone houses and colourful gardens, and a good collection of cosy country pubs. Oh yes – and about a million tourists on summer weekends. But [...]
The city was blitzed so badly in WWII that the Nazis coined a new verb ‘Coventrieren’, meaning ‘to flatten’. Postwar planning doomed Coventry to a nondescript concrete centre apart from the striking new cathedral, which was built alongside the bombed-out shell of the old. There are enough cathedrals to go round here – another even [...]
The Industrial Revolution created a major manufacturing centre out of Derby, which made its name churning out such varied goods as silk, china, railways and Rolls-Royce aircraft engines. Not the prettiest town, it is a useful stepping stone to some lovely Derbyshire countryside. And while you’re here you can delve into the history of English [...]
Without doubt one of the prettiest parts of England, Derbyshire is a winning combination of rolling green hills dotted with lambs and lined with stone fences, beautiful wild moors, remote windswept farms and grey-stone villages. And, er, Derby.
Time seems to have stood still at this enchanting picture-postcard village. Surrounded by sweeping Peak District countryside at its most majestic, the tiny cluster of imposing stone houses and the parish church are eye-catching in their own right. Ramblers and mountain bikers love it here: Edale lies between the White and Dark Peak areas, and [...]
The former lead-mining village of Eyam (ee-em) is a quaint little spot with a morbidly touching history. In 1665 a consignment of cloth from London delivered to a local tailor carried the dreaded Black Death plague. What could have been a widespread disaster remained a localized tragedy thanks to the bravery of the village inhabitants: [...]
One thing stands out in this pleasant, unremarkable pocket of middle England – its stunningly atmospheric ruined castle. With crumbling walls and vivid history, it inspired Walter Scott to use it as a setting for his novel, called…Kenilworth.