Our Lady & St Joseph’s Church

The red brick Victorian church that sits just outside Matlock is worth a quick stop if you're driving through the area, though it won't eat up more than twenty minutes of your time. Our Lady & St Joseph's is a proper piece of 19th-century Catholic architecture - solid, unpretentious, the kind of building that tells you something about the faith communities that settled in the Derbyshire valleys during industrial times.

Inside, the decoration is modest but sincere. High ceilings, traditional stained glass, the sort of intimate space where you can actually hear yourself think. It's useful for walkers doing circuits around Matlock to duck in and warm up, and families camping at Packhorse Farm or Lickpenny Matlock nearby won't find it a tedious diversion if someone fancies a bit of architectural history.

The churchyard itself is pleasant enough - older gravestones, some character. It's the kind of spot where you understand why people built churches where they did: good views, sensible location, proper integration with the settlement rather than plonked somewhere dramatic for effect.

Admission is free, as it tends to be with working churches. Check locally before you visit though, as opening times aren't reliably posted online. Best approached as a five-minute wander on your way to something else rather than a destination in itself. Pair it with a walk down to the riverside or up towards High Tor if you're based at one of the parks dotted around Matlock - plenty of proper Derbyshire countryside within ten minutes' drive.