Car-free in and around DerbyDerbyshire
Discover Derby’s award-winning riverside pubs and brick textile mills, its light-filled cathedral and green parks. This is a city with Roman origins and a rich Victorian heritage. It’s a birthplace of the industrial revolution, a centre for craft breweries, and a gateway to the beautiful landscape of the Peak District. In nearby towns, you can explore the underground tunnels of old tin mines near Matlock, glide down the Cromford Canal on a narrowboat or meet massive shire horses at the National Brewery Centre. Trains arrive from all over the UK, from Cardiff and Edinburgh, Birmingham and London, Southampton and Plymouth. And from East Midlands Aiport, the Skylink bus takes just 40 minutes.
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1. Explore the Derwent Valley
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the fast-flowing River Derwent powered a series of important factories that are now part of a huge UNESCO World Heritage site. Regular trains and buses head north from Derby towards Matlock Bath through this historic valley and you can get cheaper entry to various attractions when you arrive without a car.
- The “sixes” bus route links Derby with the Ecclesbourne Valley heritage railway, the indie shops and the historic mills at Belper and several other great market towns.
- A zigzag ticket gives you a day’s unlimited travel on Trentbarton buses and the company has produced a guide to help you explore the valley.
- The Derwent Valley railway line also has regular trains, allowing you to hop on and off at any stations on the way.
- The railway crosses the River Derwent ten times between Derby and Matlock Bath and runs beside it for much of the route, through ancient woods and fields of sheep.
- The Derwent Valley Trust has developed a Heritage Way along the river: ten scenic station to station walks of four to seven miles each.
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2. Fly to the Heights of Abraham
The cable car that carries visitors from Matlock Bath to the top of the neighbouring cliffs first operated in 1984 and is now one of the area’s iconic attractions. The wooded park at the top of the crag has been drawing visitors for much longer. Opened as a pleasure ground in the late 18th-century, it still boasts a Victorian summerhouse and panoramic viewing tower. It’s easy to get to and offers 20% off for visitors who arrive by bus or train. Follow Good Journey’s directions.
- From Matlock Bath station, or the nearby “sixes” bus stop, simply cross the railway and follow the tarmac path for a couple of minutes to find the way into the Heights of Abraham park.
- Alpine-style cable cars head up, past fabulous views, into the wooded hills and, when you reach the top, the adventure is just beginning. There are two entertaining underground cavern tours, introducing you to Derbyshire’s geology, history and industrial heritage.
- The Masson Cavern involves climbing 170-odd steps, through the tunnels and chambers of former lead mines that are always a moist and chilly seven degrees, no matter what the temperature outside.
- Afterwards, you can explore Matlock Bath. Derbyshire’s county town. Popular with Victorian visitors (including Queen Victoria herself), the whole area has a nostalgic feel.
- You could try a traditional Derbyshire oatcake (a delicious savoury pancake) at the retro When the Clock Strikes 3 café in Matlock Bath.
- Or book a cruise along the canal on the community narrowboat Birdswood, moored five minutes away from Cromford station, near Cromford Mills; or travel back in time to Crich Tramway village. Crich is a steep mile’s walk uphill from Whatstandwell station or there are direct buses from Matlock. Visitors arriving by train get £1 off boat trips and group rate entry to the Tramway village.
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3. Royal Crown Derby
From porcelain peacocks to Royal Wedding souvenirs, from opulent gold and turquoise to minimalist abstract designs, Derby’s tradition of fine bone china is alive and well. This aspect of Derbyshire’s industrial heritage is on show at the Royal Crown Derby factory, just ten minutes’ walk from Derby railway station. An exhibition tells the company’s story with some rare and early ceramics. You can tour the factory and have lunch in the 1750 tearoom.
- From Derby railway station, walk straight ahead along station road, turn left into London Road and right into Oxford Street. Keep straight past the hospital and you’ll see the red brick factory ahead of you, with a crown on the roof.
- You can buy plates and cups from discontinued lines, with tiny imperfections, in the shop at an 80% discount.
- The tea room menu features a signature Royal Crown Derby tea loaf with butteror a full afternoon tea with a choice of cakes, sandwiches and – of course – a scone with jam and cream.
- Nearby, the Victorian aboretum is a shady place to stroll past the roses, chestnuts and copper beeches, past a 19th-century sculpture of a boar.
- With a statue of its creator Joseph Strutt over the ornamental gateway, the aboretum was Britain’s first purpose-designed urban park and helped inspire New York’s Central Park.
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4. Stroll through Derby's Cathedral Quarter
2016 winner of the Great British High Street Best City Location award, the vibrant Cathedral Quarter is one of the best places in Derby for a stroll. With more than 450 businesses, it’s the place to buy everything from fresh flowers to fish and from Spanish tapas to local pyclets (mini pancakes). You’ll find a huge choice of pubs and cafes around here, along with the market hall, theatre, cinema, museum and art gallery, and – of course – the cathedral itself.
- The area is a twenty-minute walk from the railway station or you can catch any bus heading right – they’re all going into town.
- Derby’s All Saints cathedral is unexpectedly light and colourful. It’s open every day from 8.30am to 5.30pm and is currently the city’s most popular attraction.
- The delicate wrought iron screens across the nave are 18th-century – the work of Derby ironsmith Robert Bakewell. Don’t miss the huge marble monument to Bess of Hardwick, in a chapel at the far end, or the memorial for painter Joseph Wright, relocated from another church.
- Derby Museum, nearby, has the world’s largest collection of the glowing paintings of Joseph Wright, including his famously luminous picture of A Philosopher Giving that Lecture on an Orrery.
- The statue of Bonnie Prince Charlie on horseback, outside the cathedral, commemorates his army’s arrival in Derby in 1745 not long before his fateful battles in Scotland.
- Walking past the statue, through the green space beyond and towards the river, you’ll see the elegant red brick Silk Mill on the left. This historic building, on the site of the world’s first factory, is now a Museum of Making, opening in May 2021.
- Nearby is the Silk Mill Ale and Cider House, a great place to start a riverside pub crawl. An international capital of craft ale, Derby has more breweries per person than anywhere else in the UK. You can sample also ales from the Dancing Duck brewery in the Silk Mill pub or the Exeter arms.
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5. Have a riverside pub crawl...
Derby’s riverside walkway is one of its finest features. Stroll through grassy gardens by the leafy Derwent and enjoy a pint or two on a waterside terrace along the way. Before you start, you might want to head left along the river to see the Chapel of St Mary on the Bridge on Sowter Road.
- Cross the footbridge near the cathedral and turn right along the river to reach The Tap on Derwent Street, Shaped like a slice of redbrick cake, the friendly Tap has a huge selection of global and local beers and serves tasting racks of five 1/3-pint tasters from the Derby Brewing Company.
- Six minutes further, on the same side of the river, Smithfield, Derby’s CAMRA pub of the year 2018, also has a brilliant selection of beers, specialising in beer from outside Derbyshire as a contrast with almost everywhere else. They don’t do hot food, but you can have pork pies or filled cobs (rolls) to go with the beers and from the riverside terrace you can watch the water shining in sun.
- Go on along Meadow Lane, cross the footbridge to the Recreation Ground and turn left again along the far side of the river. Follow the path to reach Railway Terrace, leading to the station.
- The Brunswick Inn, previous winner of Derby’s CAMRA crown, serves local beers and a local take on international fare: tapas includes scotch eggs and sausage rolls and Canadian “poutines” (chips with sauce) find their perfect Derby embodiment: double cooked, hand-cut maris piper chips topped with various types of cheese and chilli.
