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ou might think it a bit of a stretch to compare this hilly region of Derbyshire with Switzerland, a country  famous for Alpine peaks, cuckoo clocks and chocolate.

But Lord Byron certainly didn’t think so. In fact, he openly compared it with Switzerland after several visits here in the 1800s – along with Queen Victoria and Romantic poet John Ruskin.

It was Matlock Bath that Byron was particularly referring to, and to be fair it does have a cable car (although that only appeared in 1984). Standing outside the parade of teashops, and souvenir sellers that line the bottom of the valley, the steep, tree-covered hills do have a Swiss look about them.

Not content with taking on one European country at its own game, Matlock Bath’s ‘Illuminations Venetian Nights’ in September and October see the sky and cliff faces lit up with fireworks, and decorated boats gliding down the river. Go see for yourself.