Wirksworth

There is nowhere quite like Wirksworth, with its ‘gennels’, weekly market, old mills put to new uses, and an almost tangible civic pride. Until the late 1970s this old quarrying and lead mining town, bursting with character and with over 60 buildings of historic importance, was in serious need of cleaning up after centuries of dust and hard work. Miracles were performed under the Wirksworth Project, bringing a European conservation award in 1983 and praise from the Prince of Wales, who described the rebirth of Wirksworth as ‘brilliantly imaginative’. Not to be missed are the Heritage Centre and the parish church, with its wealth of treasures from early stone carvings to quaint epitaphs.