Steve Bloomer

Derby's most famous footballer deserves better than a blue plaque, but that's what you'll find commemorating Steve Bloomer on the town's streets. This is where one of English football's earliest superstars grew up and played for Derby County, the club that made him a legend in the 1890s and early 1900s. Bloomer was prolific in an era when goalscoring was genuinely rare - he netted over 200 times for the Rams and remains the club's all-time record scorer. For football history obsessives, tracking down the plaque is worth an afternoon's detective work around Derby's town centre, though there's not much to physically see beyond the marker itself. You'll want to combine this with a visit to Derby County's stadium or the town's museums, which hold memorabilia from that golden era. The nearest proper accommodation is Hill Farm Camping & Caravan Park, just three miles out, which makes a decent base for a couple of nights if you're serious about exploring Derbyshire's industrial heritage and Victorian football culture. Bloomer's story is deeply tied to the town's identity - he was local lad made good, and visiting the spot where he's remembered feels like touching a thread of England's working-class sporting history. It won't take long, but for those who care about how football got started in this country, it's genuinely moving.