Matlock

Matlock is a former spa town on the River Derwent, in the county of Derbyshire. Located at the edge of the scenic Peak District, Matlock was primarily an agricultural area with lead mining and quarrying up until about the 1830’s when John Smedley established Hydrotheraphy here and made it one of the most celebrated centres in the country for the use of water therapy. When the railway arrived in 1849, Matlock flourished as a spa town and trams were used to ferry visitors up to the hydros for the therapy; on what was one of the steepest tramways in the country.

Although modern medicine has taken precedence over water therapy, Matlock is still a thriving town that visitors love. In the centre of town is Hall Leys Park that provides a wealth of recreational facilities, including tennis, miniature golf, miniature railway, bowls, children’s play area, paddling pool and small boating lake. Rail enthusiasts flock here to enjoy the Matlock and Daley Dale line that opened in 1991. When the original Matlock and Buxton railway was closed in 1968, a group of railway enthusiasts formed the Peak Railway Society in 1975 and re-opened the line; in 1997 they extended it to a new station at Rowsley South.

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