96
The Duchess, Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre are just three recent films to show the
glorious landscape of this county at England's heart.
Derbyshire & Peak District
F
rom Defoe to Byron to Keira
Knightley, visitors to Derbyshire
have discovered and fallen in love
with its rich variety of landscape and
heritage. In the north the dark gritstone
edges and heather moorlands are the
haunt of those who enjoy climbing,
caving, walking, biking, parascending or
just revelling in the spectacular scenery
and fresh air. The tranquil limestone dales
and dramatic river valleys in the centre of
the county are home to birds like dippers
and wagtails and are scattered with
wildflowers. In the south, the fascinating
reminders of our industrial past vie with
winding lanes and characterful villages to
entice visitors to explore further.
In market towns like Ashbourne,
Bakewell or Chesterfield, with their
antique shops, craft centres and galleries,
old traditions like Shrovetide football and
well dressing are kept alive, and local
food gives an individual flavour to any
visit. A vintage tram ride at the National
Tramway Museum can take you back to
the past, while the new Sharkbait Reef at
Alton Towers will hurl you into the future.
Chatsworth House is probably the
best-known and most visited of the
county's many great houses but there are
many others to explore. There's
Renishaw Hall, home to the Sitwells and
known for its rose and sculpture
gardens; the stately Elizabethan house
Hardwick Hall; secluded Calke Abbey,
trapped in a fascinating time warp; the
cool splendour of Kedleston Hall;
Tissington, set in the midst of an idyllic
Estate village; the renowned gardens at
Melbourne Hall; Eyam Hall with its
poignant reminders of the Great Plague �
and, for unbeatable romance, the 14th-
century manor house, Haddon Hall,
which will take you into the past and
charm you away from all the others. The
list is endless, but the final word goes to
one of Derbyshire's most enthusiastic
admirers, George Gordon, Lord Byron:
`There are things in Derbyshire as noble
as in Greece or Switzerland'.
Don't miss...
Bolsover's spectacularly restored castle. Buxton, Derbyshire's spa town with its elegant
crescent and Edwardian opera house. The caverns at Castleton. The atmospheric Stone Age
henge of Arbor Low. Repton Church's Saxon crypt. Derwent Valley, birthplace of the Industrial
Revolution. Heage working windmill. Ashover's Crispin Inn, dating from 1416 when the local
lord and his men returned from Agincourt after the battle on St Crispin's Day.
Potty about the Peaks?
Dizzy about Derbyshire?
Then visit Derbyshire
Life magazine online at
www.derbyshirelife.co.uk
Most noted for...
5 Birthplace of: Florence Nightingale,
Joseph Wright, Thomas Cook, Alan
Bates, Vivienne Westwood and round
the world yachtswoman Dame Ellen
MacArthur
5 Home of Rolls-Royce, Royal Crown
Derby China, Denby Pottery, John
Smedley, Thorntons and kitchenware
specialist David Mellor
5 The magnificent roof of St Pancras
station was built by Derbyshire's
Butterley engineering company, for
many years it was the widest single-
span structure in the world.
Central
PHOTO:WWW.PEAKDISTRICT.COM-HATHERSAGEMOOR

Page 1Page 2Page 3Page 4Page 5Page 6Page 7Page 8Page 9Page 10Page 11Page 12Page 13Page 14Page 15Page 16Page 17Page 18Page 19Page 20Page 21Page 22Page 23Page 24Page 25Page 26Page 27Page 28Page 29Page 30Page 31Page 32Page 33Page 34Page 35Page 36Page 37Page 38Page 39Page 40Page 41Page 42Page 43Page 44Page 45Page 46Page 47Page 48Page 49Page 50Page 51Page 52Page 53Page 54Page 55Page 56Page 57Page 58Page 59Page 60Page 61Page 62Page 63Page 64Page 65Page 66Page 67Page 68Page 69Page 70Page 71Page 72Page 73Page 74Page 75Page 76Page 77Page 78Page 79Page 80Page 81Page 82Page 83Page 84Page 85Page 86Page 87Page 88Page 89Page 90Page 91Page 92Page 93Page 94Page 95Page 96Page 97Page 98Page 99Page 100Page 101Page 102Page 103Page 104Page 105Page 106Page 107Page 108Page 109Page 110Page 111Page 112Page 113Page 114Page 115Page 116Page 117Page 118Page 119Page 120Page 121Page 122Page 123Page 124Page 125Page 126Page 127Page 128 Produced by PageSuite