CHATSWORTH HOUSE - 10 minute drive from both cottages

Chatsworth House - the ancestral home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire is one of the finest private palaces in Britain. Recently featured in the film, 'Pride and Prejudice',  Chatsworth also has a 105 acre, 450year old garden to explore. The waterworks and fountains are world famous but there is even a farmyard and adventure playground for the kids. www.chatsworth.org

 HADDON HALL - 10 minute drive from both cottages

 Haddon Hall - one of the finest examples of a 12th Century fortified medieval manor house, Haddon hall provides a unique view of early English Life and history. The fascinating building with it's wonderful terraced Elizabethan gardens have featured on TV and in numerous films (Pride and Predudice, Elizabeth, Jane Eyre, Moll Flanders and the Price and the Pauper. www.haddonhall.co.uk

HARDWICK HALL 25 mintutes drive from both cottages 

 One of the most splendid houses in England.  Built by Bess of Hardwick in the 1590s and unaltered since, with its six towers making a dramatic skyline.  Rich tapestries, plaster friezes and albaster fireplaces colour the rooms. www.nationaltrust.org/main/w-hardwickhall

Heights of Abraham - 10 minutes drive from both cottages

 The Heights of Abraham, Matlock Bath. Entertainment for all the family, cable car rides across the Derwent valley to the 60 metre summit where you can join the underground tours through the two famous caves. www.heights-of-abraham.co.uk

Gullivers Kingdom - 10 minutes drive from both cottages

Peak Rail - 3 minutes drive or 10 minutes walk from both cottages

NEARBY TOWNS

   Chesterfield            Bakewell                            Matlock                           Buxton

Chesterfield (15 minutes) is the second largest town in Derbyshire and best known for its crooked spire that can be seen for miles around and is on top of the St Marys All Saints Church, which gives Chesterfield its identity.  The spire was straight for many centurys before it began to twist, probably due to unseasoned timber being used in its construction and it now leans 9ft to the south.  The tourist information centre is now housed in a new building just beside the All Saints church in Rykneld Way.  Chesterfield started life as a busy market town and the market still continues today on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays, with a busy flee market on Thursday.

Bakewell (10 minutes) was given its name by the Anglo Saxons who first settled there and has one of the oldest bridges in the country being around 800 years old.  Over the years Bakewell has prospered as a market town and both livestock and farmers markets have been held in Bakewell for around 700 years. This tradition continues today but now in a state of the art Agricultural Business Centre instead of the market square.

One of the most famous events is the Bakewell Agricultural show which dates back to around 1819 and held every year at the beginning of August. The show is on for two days and is held on the Bakewell show ground.

Bakewell is a typical Peak District town with the River Wye meandering through the centre. Many visitors take time out to stand on the small bridge and watch the world go by or to watch the large trout swimming down stream. As they toss a piece of bread to the ducks they watch only to find the trout get there first.  The town today has many shop and cafes, not to mention the famous Bakewell pudding shop where you can buy the traditional Bakewell pudding which has made Bakewell a famous household name.

Matlock ( 5 minutes) can be neatly divided into two the main town and of Matlock which sits along the river derwent and Matlcok Bath which is spread out to the gorge on the south.  Matlock Town has a full range of shops and facilities, especially if you are looking to avoid the usual high street chain shops and a good park for younger children.  it has a full range of play equipment for pre-school children and for the summer months a paddling pool a small childs train, a boating lake and pitch and put.   Just over the road by sainsburys is the station for the Peak Rail which runs steam trains between Matlock and Rowsley.

Matlock Bath (7 minutes) is about a mile down the road from Matlock and the whole area is dominated by the imposing limstone cliffs of High Tor and the Heights of Abraham which tower 120 meters above the gorge.  Matlcok Bath is a well known meeting place for motor bikers on a Sunday when the bikes can be admired by both enthusiasts and vistors to Matlock Bath.

Buxton (15 minutes) is an old market and spa town nestling amoungst the surrounding Derbyshire hills at a height of over 1000ft, making it the highest town in England.  Buxton's famous health spa dates back to the time of the Romans, who were thought to have settled here and built the baths around 80AD.

The 18th Century saw much development in Buxton with the building of the Crescent by the 5th Duke of Devonshire with money earned from his copper mines  A major attraction to the west of the town is Pooles Caverns, a natural limestone cave known to have been inhabited by primitive man.  The town has a full range of shops, centered around of shopping arcade built over the culverted river Wye.  Buxton holds a market every Tuesday and Saturday.

Today Buxton is synonymous with the famous mineral water which is bottled locally and is available nationwide but visitors to Buxton can fill their own bottles from the permanent flow at St Annes Well, in front of the Crescent.  Luckily, due to the filtering action of the limestone, the mineral water has no sulphurous smell or nasty taste  here, unlike many other waters elsewhere in the country.