At the Heart of England you will find the beautiful countryside of Derbyshire and the country's first national park – the Peak District.
With hundreds of square miles of spectacular, unspoilt moorlands and hills, lush valleys, forests and reservoirs, the Peak District can offer every outdoor pastime from walking and climbing, to the gentler activities of painting, photography and just relaxing and watching the world going by.
Seek out the towns and villages hiding in the hills, such as the elegant spa town of Buxton, famous for its mineral water. Ashbourne is also famous for its water but you can't visit this market town without trying its gingerbread, in the same way that you can't visit Bakewell without trying its pudding. Chesterfield has perhaps the largest flea market in the country, trading under the shadow of the town's famous 'Crooked Spire'. Bargains can be found here and in the many factory shops scattered throughout the Amber Valley.
The mysterious art of well dressing is practised in the county's towns and villages during the months of May through to September. How do they make such beautiful and intricate pictures using only growing things – flowers, berries and leaves? There's only one place to find out – Derbyshire.
History is all around you here. Follow the National Heritage CorridorTM along the River Derwent, from the dams in the north, through lead mining land around Matlock to Belper, where the river was harnessed to power the first cotton mills, and Derby, site of Britain's first factory and still home to Royal Crown Derby Porcelain.
Great houses are scattered throughout the countryside. There's the Elizabethan brilliance of Hardwick Hall, the grandeur of Chatsworth, medieval Haddon Hall, Bolsover Castle and Kedleston Hall – to name but a few.