Originally a tiny settlement at the dead end of a dirt road in Derbyshire, Matlock Bath quickly grew with the discovery of warm springs in 1698. The bathhouse built on the site attracted large numbers of visitors, and the breathtaking natural scenery led to the village becoming a popular destination for artists and writers. Lord Byron once compared the mountainous landscape to that of alpine Switzerland, prompting the nickname Little Switzerland, and the valley inspired English landscape painting as a genre through the influence of men such as John Ruskin and visiting artists on the Grand Tour.
George Miles’ photographic study Views of Matlock Bath shows just why the area made such an artistic impression, exploring how the landscape around the spa town is both viewed and lived in – with some exceptional beauty drawn from the mundane. Miles considers the effects of the Industrial revolution and mass tourism on the region, critically reflecting on the tension between nature and man’s need to carve a niche both to survive and to thrive. The 96-page hardback, including 80 illustrations, is available from Black Dog Publishing.
