Tour of Derbyshire

October 2025 Gravesend Arts Society Tour to Derbyshire

Twenty eight members, family and friends recently toured the beautiful county of Derbyshire for five days, staying in an hotel in Derby itself. We enjoyed trips to Arkwright Cromford Mills, the V&A Wedgewood Collection, Potteries Museum, Chatsworth, Pickfords House, The Museum of Making and the Derby Museum and Art Gallery.           On the way home we stopped off at Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire - a National Trust property dating back to Elizabethan times. We even managed to get there and back without too many long traffic queues even on a Friday afternoon! 

Some of our tours were self guided while others were organised with a tour guide, all of whom were excellent. Our hotel was in the cathedral quarter of Derby and close to the River Derwent. It was also a walkable distance from the city centre and some of the museums.  We all enjoyed each other’s company while out and about and over drinks and meals in the hotel in the evenings. 

As this has been our first attempt at a holiday since before lockdown in 2020, I am pleased to say that it has been a success and I certainly hope it will not be the last. However it will only happen again if we have the support - it did prove difficult to get enough members interested in this tour and without opening it up to friends it would not have gone ahead. Watch this space and maybe the next one will interest you! 

Lynne Rumsey