Matlock Bath is a village south of Matlock, that is a high on the destination list of Peak District visitors. The town is wrapped around the River Derwent in a steep gorge with rows of houses built into one side of the hill.
After warm springs were found in 1698, a bath house was built and the town became a popular destination. During the 19th century, a number of high society people including Princess Victoria and Lord Byron. The latter compared it to Switzerland and Matlock Bath soon acquired the nickname of Little Switzerland and was a very fashionable and prosperous town.
Matlock Bath manages to combine its historic and preserved status with more modern shops and facilities. Its similarity with Switzerland is further added to by the attraction, the Heights of Abraham. The Heights is a theme park that is nearly 200 years old and based in a former lead mine that is accessed by cable car from the town.
