Is Derby the UK’s worst short break destination? How I ‘bussed’ that myth

Derby bus station is a 20-minute riverside stroll from the railway station under shady lime trees. I catch the Transpeak bus through Matlock and Bakewell to Ashford in the Water. On the 90-minute journey we pass yellow fields of buttercups, grazing sheep and steep green dales, all stitched together by miles of dry-stone wall. I’m travelling by bus as much for the top-deck views as the destinations themselves.