Historic Walks in Derbyshire is my third walking guide, following Walking in Sherwood Forest and the Dukeries (Cicerone Press) and Discovery Walks in North East Derbyshire (Sigma Press), which were both inspired by a desire to explore new local walks as an alternative to the Peak District, to which the majority of walkers living in Sheffield are automatically drawn. Although my husband, Andrew, and I currently live in South Yorkshire, we are only 200 metres from the Derbyshire border and very close to Nottinghamshire. Indeed, I have lived all my life in and around Sheffield and Manchester. This search for a change led to a very pleasant surprise as I had simply not appreciated the scenic quality or historical interest sitting on my doorstep, and I wanted to share this with others and hopefully persuade them to dip their toes into fresh soil. So for several years I did not set foot in the Peak District, and I must admit I genuinely did miss it, and Andrew would often echo my thoughts. I was ready to return to some familiar favourite spots in the Peak District and to discover the hidden delights of south Derbyshire, which was virtually unknown to me. Numerous walking books have been written on the Peak District, Britain's first and most visited national park, which covers roughly half of the county of Derbyshire. Comparatively few guides, however, provide comprehensive coverage of the whole of the county or of south Derbyshire in isolation, a part of the county that adds an extra dimension in terms of scenery and completes a number of links in chains of tourist attractions identified in this guide.

All the walks in this guide are easy to moderate in terms of the difficulty of the terrain or length, as I have avoided the more challenging geography of the Dark Peak moorlands. This is partly due to my own scenic preferences and partly because I would describe myself as a rambler rather than a serious hiker or mountaineer. In addition, this has enabled me to include with each walk various tourist attractions, to encourage families, new and infrequent walkers, and those seeking to explore more of what Derbyshire has to offer. With this aim in mind I had little difficulty in compiling 60 walks set against the backdrop of the uniquely contrasting and outstandingly beautiful Derbyshire landscape and covering an extensive range of themes. Indeed, the problem was not what to include but what to leave out in the space permitted. For example, there are remnants of ancient civilisations, fine market towns and villages, Derbyshire customs and traditions, caverns and mines, castles, grand country houses and parklands galore, craft centres, factory shops, gardens, Georgian and Victorian spa resorts, industrial heritage and transport history, adventure and theme parks for the young and much more. All of this in the Heart of England with excellent accessibility from all parts of Britain and within an hour's drive for half the population of England. Before I wrote this book my family and I already had a real love for the exceptional beauty of Derbyshire, but through my research our appreciation of the county has been greatly enhanced.

It would give me great pleasure to share this with as many other families as possible. Happy walking.