Stocksbridge Library

Stocksbridge Library sits in this former steel town north of Sheffield, a proper focal point for the community that punches above its weight. It's a working library - you'll find the usual mix of books, computers, and reading space - but what makes it worth a visit during a Peak District camping trip is that it's genuine local infrastructure, not a tourist attraction dressed up as one. That matters.

You're looking at maybe 30 minutes here if you're genuinely interested in browsing. The collection is solid for a market town library, and if you've got kids who need entertaining on a rainy afternoon while you're based at one of the nearby campsites - Hoodlands Farm or High Lea are within a few miles - it does the job without pretence. Free admission, naturally, and it's usually quiet enough that you can actually think.

For families, it breaks up a walking holiday nicely. Stocksbridge sits on the edge of proper Peak District country, so you could combine a library visit with a walk along the Don or further into the hills. The town itself has a working-class grit to it that Sheffield suburbs often lack - no twee gift shops, just actual places where people live and work.

If you're after grand Victorian libraries or rare book rooms, look elsewhere. But if you want to see how the Pennine towns actually function, and need somewhere dry with wifi, it's worth the detour from your campsite.