Visiting Matlock Bath on a Wednesday in the middle of winter was not what I expected to be doing in the middle of my work week. What surprised me was the lack of open shops. Apart from the ever-present allure of the local arcade and a few fish and chip shops, nothing else showed signs of life.
The beloved town nestled just outside the Peak District welcomes thousands of visitors on the weekends throughout the year—especially bikers who line the streets with their bikes while tucking into the aforementioned chippies. In fact, my childhood memories are of spending weekends there eating fish and chips while surrounded by hundreds of bikers.
Upon my return to the town with £10 cash in hand, I expected there would be more to do as an adult. Owing to the fact that it was a weekday, I was disappointed and surprised to see that nothing was open. It was a ghost town, and I didn’t want to put the experience down to not spending enough time exploring, so I wandered seemingly aimlessly through the town on a quest to find a sign of life.
Yet I was disappointed to find that two fish and chip shops and the arcade were the only places I could have spent my money and found some sort of human interaction. My timing wasn’t great if I wanted to experience the hustle and bustle of peak times, yet I did feel astonished that the only places I could have visited were the local takeaways.
With my cash in hand, I decided to see what the only available enterprise had to offer. So, I picked up a small portion of chips and a cod for £7 at The Promenade fish and chip shop. It was a good portion, and I quite enjoyed my midweek takeaway, yet I found I was constantly looking over my shoulder to protect my haul from the squawking hoards of seagulls who were carefully eyeing my every move.
The portion of fish and chips that I spent the majority of my £10 cash on.
(Image: Derbyshire Live)
I then endeavoured to find somewhere that could take the remainder of my £10, avoiding the inviting lights of the socially accepted precursor to gambling- the arcade.
Yet my quest to find an establishment that could provide a precious moment for the trip ended quickly after scouring all the nooks and crannies of the main strip, so I settled for a bog-standard coffee. And no, it was not a latte, mocha, or frappuccino—that would be too out of character for the dirty spoon vibe that Matlock Bath celebrates. I opted for the only thing my remaining £3 budget could get me—just “coffee.”
While I did enjoy the sunny winter day in the Peaks, I left the town wondering why there couldn’t be more to do in the off-peak times. While the argument of not having the footfall to sustain such a business does ring true, maybe it would incentivise more to visit the town if they knew there was more substance than salty potatoes and 2p gobbling machines.
Despite the ghost town-like state that Matlock Bath presented itself in during my recent visit, I recognise that this was far beyond what is deemed to be peak times for the town; therefore, while I was disappointed, Matlock Bath isn’t going in my bad books just yet.