Catch your breath at this vantage point. From here we can appreciate the natural beauty and grandeur of the landscape that the Derwent has carved out.
In its Victorian heyday, Matlock Bath and its neighbouring countryside were often referred to as ‘little Switzerland’. From here we can get a sense of why, not least because of the climb up! The scene has inspired many writers and artists.
In Mary Shelley’s Gothic novel Frankenstein (written in 1818, the same year the toll road opened) the narrator describes a visit:
We … proceeded to Matlock… The country in the neighbourhood of this village resembles Switzerland; but everything is on a lower scale
A century earlier, Daniel Defoe had recorded
the prodigious height of this tor…was to me more a wonder than any of the rest in the Peak”.
Looking around and breathing in the view, how does this scenery make you feel?
Look closely at the tor and you may catch a glimpse of three white carriages silently making their way up the valley. Let’s discover where the cable car leads and why…
Walk on a short distance then turn to face the other direction from the Tor – overlooking the river and the town.
This trail was originally appeared on the Royal Geographical Society’s Discovering Britain. Thanks are due to:
Jo Kemp for creating and photographing the trail.
Rory Walsh and Caroline Millar for suggestions and advice.
Neil Theasby for images reproduced under Creative Commons License.
Lily Alsop for putting together the written guide.