Crich Stand

You'll spot the tower from miles away - a chunky limestone structure rising from the Derbyshire hillside above Matlock like something from a Victorian postcard. Crich Stand isn't subtle, and that's rather the point. Built in 1851 as a memorial to the 1745 Jacobite rising, it's basically a 60-foot monument to someone else's rebellion, which means it's got real character and the sort of stubborn persistence you admire in old things.

The walk up takes about twenty minutes from the car park, and the views across the Derwent Valley are genuinely worth the effort - on clear days you can see for miles across proper Midland countryside. Inside the tower itself you'll find a small museum space, though honestly the real draw is scrambling up the internal staircase and standing at the top where the wind hits you proper.

For history types and walkers it's excellent. Families with younger kids might find the climb tedious, and there's not much to do once you've been up and down - this isn't a place you spend hours at. But it's free and accessible, which matters when you're based at one of the nearby caravan parks like Lickpenny or The Firs, both within three miles of Matlock itself.

Give it an hour and a half total if you're combining it with a broader walk around the area. The surrounding moorland is proper walking country, and Matlock town itself has cafes where you can recover afterwards. It's worth the detour if you're holidaying in Derbyshire, less essential if you're just passing through.