Tissington Trail near Ashbourne, South Peak District
Derby Cathedral South Peak District
Ashbourne Market Square, South Peak District
Marpleton Lane, Tissington Trail near Ashbourne, South Peak District
Rudyard Lake near Leek, Staffordshire Moorlands South Peak District
Brindley Water Mill in Leek South Peak District
Derby Markets South Peak District
Rock Climbing in The Roaches, Staffordshire Moorlands South Peaks. Photo Credit Niall Grimes/BMC
Limestone countryside near Alstonefield en-route to Ilam South Peak District
Manifold Tearoom at Ilam Hall & Country Park South Peak District
South Front Kedleston Hall designed by Robert Adam, Derbyshire Stately HomesThe Southern Peak District is where you'll find some of the Peak District's most popular and famous attractions such as the Peaks beauty spot Dovedale and the Stepping Stones over the River Dove. The Southern Peaks feature the more gentle limestone country of the White Peak and the Derbyshire Dales around Ashbourne. This area boasts a great choice of family friendly walking trails and accessible beauty spots such as the most famous Dovedale limestone valley, the Tissington Trail and the Manifold Track. The Tissington Trail and Manifold Track are perfect for family walking and cycling.
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The Staffordshire Moorlands in the south west offer a fantastic variety of attractions from Britain's biggest award winning theme park Alton Tower to the charming historic market towns of Leek, Cheadle and Biddulph. Scenic steam railways like the Churnet Valley Railway and industrial heritage gems like the Caldon Canal, the Chedderton Flint Mill and the Brindley Water Mill also feature in the Staffordshire Moorlands. Main centre Leek, with its strong associations with William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement, affords easy access into the Moorlands' most dramatic landscape The Roaches, popular with both walkers and rock climbers. Top leisure and wildlife rich reservoirs in the South Peaks include Rudyard Lake and Tittesworth Reservoir near Leek and Carsington Water to the northwest of Ashbourne.
Derby city centre is a major gateway into the Derbyshire Dales and the Peak District National Park. Offering a range of top museums and galleries and fantastic cinemas, theatres, cafe bars, real ale pubs, restaurants and shopping quarters, Derby is one of the Midlands' most exciting city visitor experiences. The Derwent Valley World Heritage Site pushes up from Derby towards Matlock with the Derby Silk Mill attraction forming part of the World Heritage Site. Famous Derbyshire stately homes including Calke Abbey, Kedleston Hall and Sudbury Hall are all within easy reach of Derby. South Derbyshire features historic market towns and villages like Melbourne, Repton, Swadlincote and Ticknall. The National Forest with its wide choice of walking trails and family attractions like Conkers also features in the South Derbyshire area.
Ashbourne, the gateway to Dovedale, is a popular holiday base in the South Peak District. A beautiful historic market town, Ashbourne is famous for its stunning Georgian buildings and superb choice of stylish independent boutiques and shops. Ashbourne Markets in Market Place are held twice weekly. Top family friendly trails in the southern White Peak are easily accessed from Ashbourne including the Manifold Track and the Tissington Trail. Both these Peak District Trails, once old railway lines, are open to cyclists and walkers and feature a choice of tearooms, visitor centres and traditional inns along their routes.
Ashbourne centre boasts outstanding amenitites including a wide choice of B&Bs, fine pubs and restaurants and independent shops. The town is ideally situated for easy access into beautiful Dovedale, the classic and famous limestone valley beauty spot in the Peaks with its famous Stepping Stones across the River Doe and unusual rock formations. Dovedale sits just north of Ashbourne.
Top family attraction Ilam Hall & Country Park (National Trust) is also just a short distance from Ashbourne to the northwest whilst Derby city centre attractions sit just to the south east. Visitors based in Ashbourne are also just a short distance from Alton Towers theme park situated to the south west.
Pretty Alstonefield village sits at the northern edge of Dovedale close to the Tissington Trail and straddles the Derbyshire and Staffordshire borders. A superb southern White Peak walking base in the Peak District National Park, Alstonefield also boasts a family friendly Youth Hostel and is home to historic pub The George, a favourite Peak District pub for many.
A choice of beautiful White Peak walking trails branch out from Alstonefield both west towards Wetton Mill and the Manifold Valley and south into Milldale and Dovedale. Beauty spots and spectacular caves such as Thor's cave in the Manifold Valley are located to the west of Alstonefield. Wetton Mill, a converted corn mill at the heart of the Manifold Valley, is home to a tearooms and popular picnic areas.
Alton Towers Theme Park and Resort is beautifully situated in the Staffordshire countryside near Alton village. Award winning and Britain's largest theme park, Alton Towers is home to the best of Britain's ultimate thrill rides and roller coasters. Alton Towers also features great themed play areas and attractions for younger children alongside a huge indoor waterpark, a golf centre, accommodation and a wide choice of restaurants and cafes. Treasured heritage sites also feature at Alton Towers.
Historic Alton village is the closest village to Alton Towers theme park and contains some fascinating architecture including buildings designed by the great Victorian gothic architect AW Pugin who was commissioned in the area by the Earl of Shrewsbury. Pushing up northwards from Alton village is Dimmings Dale, one of the most beautiful countryside areas of the Churnet Valley in the Staffordshire Moorlands. The Forestry Commission have a great visitor centre in the Dimmings Dale area, The Rambler's Retreat.
Staffordshire Moorlands attractions within easy reach of Alton village and Alton Towers include the Churnet Valley and Foxfield Steam Railways and the historic Staffordshire Moorlands market town of Cheadle.
Swadlincote in South Derbyshire sits in the heart of the National Forest and is ideally situated for easy access to both the Peak District National Park and attractions in the National Forest. Attractions in Swadlincote include the Sharpe's Pottery Museum which also houses a tourist information centre and the Swadlincote Ski Slope which is open all year round.
The National Forest, for which Swadlincote in South Derbyshire is a major visitor centre, boasts a host of family friendly outdoor and indoor attractions including Conkers Visitor Experience. Conkers features both indoor and outdoor play centres and interactive exhibits on the National Forest which children will love. A choice of woodland walking trails, outdoor activity centres, stately homes and industrial heritage attractions all sit which the National Forest.
The National Forest is one of Britain's newest and boldest environmental projects covering 200 square miles and spread across several counties including Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Leicestershire.
The historic picturesque market towns and villages of South Derbyshire including Melbourne, Ticknall and Repton are home to an impressive choice of fine traditional pubs, tearooms and cafes and restaurants. Ancient history is to be found in this area. Discover the remains of an Anglo-Saxon Crypt, one of the most significent surviving pieces of Anglo-Saxon architecture in Britain, at St Wystan's Church in Repton village. South Derbyshire features spectacular historic halls including Derbyshire's second largest stately home to Chatsworth, the beautiful Calke Abbey. Other fine halls include Melbourne Hall and Staunton Harold Hall.
The National Forest with its choice of walking and cycling trails and outdoor attractions is within easy reach of the South Derbyshire towns and villages and the Peak District and Derby city centre attractions are just a short drive away.
Historic market town Leek is a popular holiday base within the Staffordshire Moorlands and affords easy access for climbers and walkers into The Roaches, the famous Peaks outcrop of gritstone rocks just north of the town. Also within easy reach of Leek are the reservoir playgrounds of Tittesworth and Rudyard Lake. Leek centre contains a spectacular selection of Victorian mill buildings, many of which are now great antique centres. Leek is particularly renowned for its superb antique centres.
Leek contains an impressive choice of fine restaurants, pubs and cafes. Traditional markets in Leek are a real feature in the town and include weekly indoor and outdoor themed markets offering fine local produce, antiques and crafts. Leek also has famous associations with William Morris and the Arts & Crafts Movement. Designs by William Morris can be found in some of Leek's Churches. Other famous names in Leek include the great canal engineer and designer James Brindley. The Brindley Water Mill in Leek is where to find out more about this great early canal pioneer.
West of Leek is the beautiful Staffordshire Moorlands garden town of Biddulph. In Biddulph sits the spectacular Biddulph Grange Gardens (National Trust) created by the acclaimed Victorian garden designer James Bateman, one of the first to feature the distinctive Victorian rhododendrons in his garden designs. To the South of Leek essential viewing is the Cheddleton Flint Mill which once ground flint for the Staffordshire Potteries. Top family attraction The Churnet Valley Railway is also in the area.
The Staffordshire Moorlands are one of the hidden gems in the Peak District featuring historic market towns like Cheadle, the idyllic Churnet Valley and the stunning Caldon Canal, a branch of the Trent & Mersey Canal. Attractions in the Staffordshire Moorlands feature scenic steam railways like the Foxfield Steam Railway and Churnet Valley Steam Railway. Take canal boat trips on the Caldon Canal from Froghall Wharf or walks along the Staffordshire Way which cuts through the area.
Beautiful historic market town Cheadle is home to 'Pugin's Gem', St Giles Church, one of the most spectacular churches in the Peak District designed by the great Victorian gothic architect Augustus Welby Pugin. Visit Cheadle Markets, walk the Cheadle Art Trail and discover a fine choice of traditional tearooms and cafes in the town.
Derby city centre attractions and sites today offer one of the most exciting visitor experiences in the Midlands. This is a city which seamlessly combines a range of funky modern arts centres and a top city centre shopping centre with a selection of heritage site gems and the unmissable art collection of Derby born Joseph Wright of Derby. Whatever your visitor tastes, Derby can cater for them from great art, theatre and culture through to fantastic shopping choice, traditional real ale pubs and fine restaurants and Derby ghost walks. Architectural centrepiece in Derby is still the magnificent Derby Cathedral, an architectural gem both inside and out with its Perpendicular tower of Ashover grit built between 1510 and 1530 which was retained by the famous English architect James Gibbs who reworked Derby Cathedral in the first half of the 18th century. Inside Derby Cathedral sit the tombs of famous notables in the Peak District including Bess of Hardwick and Georgina Spencer, the Dutchess of Devonshire.
Retail and restaurant therapy feature in Derby around the Cathedral Quarter which boasts a host of funky independent shops and cafes. If you love shopping centres then you won't want to miss a visit to Derby city centre and a tour of one of Britain's top city centre shopping centres, Westfield Derby. Over 175 top high street stores plus a range of world cuisine restaurants, a high tech cinema and great cafes all feature in Westfield Derby shopping centre which adjoins one of many Derby Markets, the Eagle Market. The central Derby Market Hall, with daily markets offering a range of fresh produce, is a truly spectacular Victorian covered market hall first opened in 1866.
Other great features in Derby are the city's choice of arts, theatre and cinema venues. Contemporary architectural gems like the Derby Quad independent cinema and the Deda Dance centre and Cube Cafe Bar sit side by side with older theatre favourites like the Derby Guild Hall and Assembly Rooms.
The free entry Derby museums and galleries including the main Derby Museum and Art Gallery, Pickford's House Museum of Georgian Life and Historic Costume and The Silk Mill, site of Britain's first modern factory, all boast exciting exhibitions within. The Derby Museum & Art Gallery is home aptly to one of the best collections of artwork by Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797), a pioneer artist in the use of light who famously painted the provincial industrial celebrities of the age in the Derby area including textiles magnate Sir Richard Arkwright.
