High Tor

High Tor is a lofty limestone crag which towers over Matlock Bath which used to be privately owned but now belongs to the local authority.

There is an excellent view of Matlock Bath and the Heights of Abraham on the opposite hill. For those with strong nerves a narrow walkway called 'Giddy Ledge' winds around a section of the cliff.

Behind the tor summit are Fern and Roman caves, deep clefts in the rock, but these are not natural caves. Lead veins ran in the rocks and have been worked to a depth of up to 10 metres and a width of between one and two metres. These workings are undateable but are probably among the oldest in the area and may even be Roman in origin.

The park can be approached on foot from the railway station, or from the road to Starkholmes, but the best approach is to start from the Artists' Corner carpark on the A6, cross the bridge which is 100 metres upstream and enjoy the spectacular walk up the edge of the cliff above the River Derwent to the tor.