Complete UK holiday guide to help plan your vacation. Accommodation, activities, attractions, destinations, events, restaurants, shops, tourist bodies, transport, and miscellaneous sections. Of all the English counties, it is probably one of the most traditional. It has always been a mining and manufacturing county, with the lead mines having been worked in Roman times. Iron was produced at an early date, and coal mines were worked at Alfreton as early as the 14th Century.
Today there is a variety of industries including textiles and engineering.
Derby, the county town, is a railway centre and famed for its Crown Derby porcelain. Matlock is another fine spa town, and serves as an ideal base from which to venture out on the A6 and down through the stunning Derwent Gorge. The Dedicated Partnership, 2001.