Best Places to Visit Near Derby
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best places to visit near Derby are Rolleston Waterfall, The Park Tunnel, Anish Kapoor's Sky Mirror, The Arboretum, Lumsdale Waterfall, Beacon Hill Country Park, Thors Cave and Blake Mere Mermaid Pool.
Derby sits on the River Derwent at the southern gateway to the Peak District, with the Midlands spreading out on every side. Some of its best days out lie close to hand, others a short drive off.
Southwest toward Burton upon Trent, the little Rolleston Waterfall slips over a weir in a quiet village green. East into Nottingham you can seek out three curiosities within a few streets of each other: the daylit Park Tunnel cut through sandstone, Anish Kapoor's mirror-bright Sky Mirror outside the Playhouse, and the tree-lined Victorian Arboretum.
North toward Matlock, Lumsdale Waterfall threads a gorge of ruined mills, while further off the rocky top of Beacon Hill rises in Charnwood Forest to the south. Out in the Staffordshire Peak, the great arched mouth of Thor's Cave looks over the Manifold Valley, and high on Morridge moor the dark Blake Mere pool gathers its old legends.
Waterfall, tunnel, sculpture, garden, hill, cave and pool await. Here are eight places to visit near Derby.
Rolleston Waterfall
Photo: Alan Murray-Rust via Geograph.org.uk
Visit Rolleston Waterfall A short trip southwest toward Burton upon Trent brings you to this small man-made fall at Brook Hollows, a little green space in the village of Rolleston-on-Dove. Here water from an old estate lake, once part of the Mosley family's grounds, spills over a weir into the Alderbrook that runs through the village, more a modest overflow than a natural cascade.
Brook Hollows is a peaceful spot for a short local walk, cared for by a group of village volunteers, with the little fall its best-known feature. It makes a gentle half-hour stop rather than a grand day out, easily tucked into a wider wander.
The Park Tunnel
Photo: Stephen Craven via Geograph.org.uk
Discover the Park Tunnel East in Nottingham, this road tunnel bores through the sandstone cliff, linking the Derby Road area down into the private Victorian residential estate known as The Park. About 125 metres long and mostly unlined, it has an open shaft in the middle that spills daylight onto the roadway and a stone spiral staircase at one end.
It was cut between 1844 and 1855 for the Duke of Newcastle, to a design by the architect Thomas Chambers Hine, but proved too steep for carriages and now serves as a footpath. A listed structure, it makes a quietly surprising find tucked away in the heart of the city.
Anish Kapoor's Sky Mirror
Photo: Andrew Abbott via Geograph.org.uk
See Anish Kapoor's Sky Mirror A few streets away, outside the Nottingham Playhouse at Wellington Circus, stands this large sculpture by Anish Kapoor. It is a concave dish of polished stainless steel about six metres across and weighing around ten tonnes, tilted up toward the sky.
Being curved and mirror-bright, it catches the sky, the theatre and passers-by in an upside-down image that shifts with the weather and the changing light. It was unveiled in 2001 and is free to see at any hour, an eye-catching pause on a wander around the city and an easy pairing with the Park Tunnel close by.
The Arboretum
Photo: Alan Murray-Rust via Geograph.org.uk
Walk in the Arboretum Also in central Nottingham, this Victorian park was the city's first, opened in 1852 and laid out with lawns, a lake, flower beds and a wide collection of trees. Winding paths lead through the grounds past an ornate bandstand, aviaries, a rose garden and a Chinese bell tower built to house a bell brought back from China.
It is a listed historic park, free and open to all, a leafy retreat close to the city centre and the university that is much used for walks and quiet afternoons. Together with the tunnel and the sculpture, it rounds out an easy day exploring Nottingham on foot.
Lumsdale Waterfall
Photo: Kate Jewell via Geograph.org.uk
Explore Lumsdale Waterfall North toward Matlock, this run of cascades tumbles down the Bentley Brook through a steep, wooded gorge at Lumsdale, threading past a chain of ruined mills and millponds. The valley is a compact and important survival of water-powered industry, its buildings once used for smelting lead, crushing bone, bleaching and making textiles from the seventeenth to the early twentieth centuries.
It is cared for by the Arkwright Society and reached on a permissive path, with a short circular walk linking the falls, ponds and ruins together. The whole site is a scheduled monument, and the mix of rushing water and industrial relics makes it a memorable short walk.
Beacon Hill Country Park
Photo: Nigel Cox via Geograph.org.uk
Climb Beacon Hill A drive south into Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire reaches this high, rocky summit, its top at around 248 metres the second-highest point in the county. The country park mixes grassland and woodland, laced with paths that climb to a crown of ancient volcanic rock, among the oldest in England.
A stone toposcope on top points out distant landmarks, and on a clear day the view runs for miles across the Midlands. People raised a hillfort up here in the Bronze Age, and its low earthworks survive on the slopes.
Open meadows, picnic spots and easy trails fill the lower ground, while the upper hill is steeper and more open.
Thors Cave
Photo: Gary Rogers via Geograph.org.uk
Scramble up to Thor's Cave A day-trip northwest into the Staffordshire Peak District brings you to this large natural cave, its great arched mouth set high in a limestone crag above the Manifold Valley. The wide entrance, some ten metres high, gazes out over the valley and is reached on a steep climb up steps and a short rocky scramble, rewarded by a fine view from the mouth.
People have used the cave for thousands of years, and Victorian and later digs turned up human burials, tools and pottery. It is a well-loved walk from the Manifold trail below, popular with walkers and climbers alike, though there are no facilities at the cave itself.
Blake Mere Mermaid Pool
Photo: John H Darch via Geograph.org.uk
Seek out Blake Mere Further out, a day-trip northwest onto the high moorland ridge of Morridge above Leek, Blake Mere, often called the Mermaid Pool, lies dark and roughly circular in bleak, boggy ground near an old moorland inn. For all its small size the peat-stained water carries a long thread of legend: it is said to be haunted by a mermaid, tied to an old tale of a woman drowned here, and was long believed to be bottomless, though it proved quite shallow.
The water is said never to freeze and never to dry up. It is a wild, windswept and slightly eerie spot, out on the open top of the moor.
FAQs
What is there to do in Nottingham near Derby?
Just east of Derby, Nottingham packs three curiosities close together: the daylit Park Tunnel, Anish Kapoor's Sky Mirror outside the Playhouse and the Victorian Arboretum, all easily seen on one walk.
Where can I find a waterfall near Derby?
Lumsdale Waterfall near Matlock, north of Derby, sends the Bentley Brook through a gorge of ruined mills, while the smaller Rolleston Waterfall sits southwest toward Burton upon Trent.
Is Thor's Cave worth the trip from Derby?
Yes. Thor's Cave in the Staffordshire Peak District, northwest of Derby, rewards a steep climb with a great arched mouth and a fine view over the Manifold Valley.
Conclusion
From a village weir to a legend-haunted moorland pool, the country around Derby holds a genuinely mixed set of days out. Close to hand, Rolleston Waterfall makes a gentle stop southwest toward Burton, while east in Nottingham the Park Tunnel, Anish Kapoor's Sky Mirror and the leafy Arboretum sit within a short walk of one another.
Head north to Matlock for the cascades and ruined mills of Lumsdale, or south to the rocky viewpoint of Beacon Hill in Charnwood Forest. Out in the Staffordshire Peak, the arched mouth of Thor's Cave and the dark waters of Blake Mere reward a longer drive.
Waterfall and tunnel, sculpture and garden, hill, cave and pool give you plenty of variety. Whether you fancy a stroll, a climb or a swim, these are the places to visit near Derby.
