The main cliff is made up of bedded limestones of the Monsal Dale and overlying Eyam Limestone Formations of Brigantian age that enclose a lens-shaped mass of pale unbedded limestone (Fig. The structure of High Tor is best seen from the footpath between Matlock and the Heights of Abraham, at SK292589 above the west side of the Derwent Gorge looking down the easterly dip slope of the limestone (Fig. High Tor forms the highest part of the cliff at SK306589, about 1 km downstream of Matlock. This splendid structure is cleanly exposed in the vertical limestone cliff above the east bank of the Derwent Gorge between Matlock and Cromford. John Smedley established hydrotherapy in the town, and for over a hundred years Matlock was one of the country’s most celebrated centres in which people could ‘take the waters’.Impossible to miss where it looms over the A6 highway into the Peak District, High Tor is well known as a fine example of a Carboniferous reef - known more precisely as a carbonate mud mound.

In the mid-19th Century Matlock was a booming spa town in its own right. Riber Castle was built in 1862 from local gritstone by the local industrialist John Smedley as his private home. Standing high on a hill overlooking Hall Leys Park and visible from most points in the town, is the Gothic-style Riber Castle (not open to the public). It has plenty of independent, quirky shops, particularly on Dale Road, as well as a wide choice of cafés, pubs and restaurants.Īt its centre is the extensive Hall Leys Park, which has river walks, flower gardens, a small boating lake, tennis courts, and a great children’s play area.

Surrounded by wooded hillsides and set on the River Derwent, Matlock is a lovely town to explore.

High tor peak district