Showcase Cinema de Lux

Derby's multiplex cinema sits in the town centre, offering the usual run of blockbusters and mainstream releases across a decent spread of screens. It's a Showcase Cinema de Lux outfit, which means slightly better seating than your bog-standard cineplex - recliners that actually recline, proper legroom, the works. The food and drink situation is standard cinema fare: pricey popcorn, nachos, fizzy drinks. You're not coming here for culinary adventure.

This is the sort of place families with restless teenagers actually appreciate, especially on a rainy afternoon in the Midlands (of which there are many). Parents looking to kill a couple of hours while the kids watch the latest superhero blockbuster will find it does the job without fuss. The screens are decent enough, sound is respectable. Don't expect anything fancy or arthouse - this is mainstream entertainment, full stop.

If you're based at Hill Farm Camping & Caravan Park just a few miles away, it's a useful backup plan rather than a destination in itself. The town of Derby itself has more interesting draws - the Industrial Museum, the Cathedral Quarter - but if the weather turns grim and you need a two-hour escape, the cinema delivers exactly what it promises. Book tickets online to avoid queuing at the counter, and go matinee showings if you can; prices are kinder and crowds thinner. It's functional rather than special, but sometimes functional is exactly what a holiday needs.