'''Belper''' is a town in Amber Valley, Derbyshire.
Get in
By train
Belper is on the mainline between Derby and Chesterfield/Sheffield and is also served by the Derwent Valley line between Derby and Matlock. Trains run roughly every 2 hours - see www.thetrainline.com for timetable details. The station is unmanned so buy tickets to any destination nationwide on the train. (If you join at a station like Derby with a booking office you ''must'' buy your ticket beforehand)
By bus
there are regular bus services to Derby, Nottingham, Manchester (a long but beautiful journey on TransPeak) and other local towns. For Ashbourne, change at Derby.
By car/cycle
Belper is on the A6 and close to the A38. Major roads lead to Chesterfield, Nottingham,
Derby, Matlock and Ashbourne.
Get around
Shanksie's pony is fine for the main part of town, but pack an extra bottle of pop if you're pushing a buggy or wheelchair from the river to St John's Chapel (especially if you go up Long Row - it's steep and cobbled). Park in the North Mill car park (free), Bridge Street, Field Lane or the Market Place (all pay and display). Some on-street parking is also available.
See
'''Belper North Mill''' Tel 01773 880744 Email info@belpernorthmill.org Web [http://www.belpernorthmill.org/]
This is one of the oldest surviving cotton mills in the world and well worth a visit. A walking tour round Belper also starts from here taking you through the Cluster housing, along the jittys (aka gennels, alleys, snickets, passageways) up to St John's Chapel (13th century) and finishing in one of the 30 or so pubs within a short walk. The North Mill website has a printable guide to the walk.
A number of other walks also exist around the town. Beth's Poetry Trail Web [http://www.bethspoetrytrail.co.uk/main.html] offers installations of poems throughout the town and is a memorial to Beth Fender, the founder of Belper's two poetry groups.
'''The River Gardens''' are also pleasant especially on Sunday afternoons in summer when free concerts are on.
Eat
There are a Somerfield, a Morrisons and a Co-op within walking distance of town and several sandwich and cake shops for a quick snack.
Fresh Basil is a fantastic deli for breakfast and lunch.
For sitting down, Bengal Blues (near marketplace), Maharaja (17-18 Market Place) and Elachi (A6 opposite library) serve good Indian food, River Gardens (bottom of Long Row) and Ming Court (up from Morrisons roundabout) are good for Chinese, Big Buddha (part of the North Mill) does nice Thai food and George's sells excellent fish and chips on the A6 next to the garage.
Drink
Belper is home to over 30 pubs.
Sleep
Luxury
The Lion Hotel Tel 01773 824033 has 22 rooms from around __100 per night
Makeney Hall Hotel Tel 01332 842999 has 40 room for around __50 pppn
Bed & Breakfast
Holiday Cottages
Several dotted around the town.
Youth Hostel
Shining Cliff YHA is about 2 miles north, but be warned it's in the middle of a wood and only accessible on foot. Don't watch the Blair Witch Project before you go...
Get out
The Ritz, an independent one-screen cinema opened in late 2006. Film times can be found online here [http://www.ritz-belper.co.uk/]