Calke

Dimminsdale is a 37 hectare geological biological and Site of Special Scientific Interest partly in Derbyshire and partly in Leicestershire. It is located east of Calke in Derbyshire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site, and a area of 23.5 hectares is owned by Severn Trent Water and managed by the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust.Dimminsdale has semi-natural woodland and one of the largest areas of unimproved acidic grassland in the county. Earl Ferrers' lead mine, which is located on the site, has a unique and complex mixture of minerals such as galena and zinc blende; their genesis is little understood and they provide great potential for research.There is public access to footpaths on the nature reserve part of the site.

Calke Abbey is a Grade I listed country house near Ticknall, Derbyshire, England, in the care of the charitable National Trust. The site was an Augustinian priory from the 12th century until its dissolution by Henry VIII. The present building, named Calke Abbey in 1808, was never actually an abbey, but is a Baroque mansion built between 1701 and 1704. The house was owned by the Harpur family for nearly 300 years until it was passed to the Trust in 1985 in lieu of death duties. Today, the house is open to the public and many of its rooms are deliberately displayed in the state of decline in which the house was handed to the Trust.

Staunton Harold is a civil parish in North West Leicestershire about 3 miles (5 km) north of Ashby-de-la-Zouch. The parish is on the county boundary with Derbyshire and about 9 miles (14 km) south of Derby. The 2011 Census (including Lount) recorded the parish's population as 141.A brook flows from the south through the parish, heading for the River Trent which it joins about 4 miles (6.4 km) to the north. In the parish the brook is dammed to form a pair of small lakes. Nikolaus Pevsner (later Sir Nikolaus) described the view westwards across the lakes to Staunton Harold Hall and Holy Trinity parish church as "unsurpassed in the country – certainly as far as Englishness is concerned".Downstream from Staunton Harold, just over 1 mile (1.6 km) over the boundary in Derbyshire, the brook is dammed again to form Staunton Harold Reservoir. Most of the reservoir is in the Derbyshire parish of Melbourne, but part of the upper reach of one arm of the reservoir is in Staunton Harold parish.

Staunton Harold Hall is a large 18th-century Grade I listed country house built by the Earls Ferrers, situated within the 2,000-acre (810 ha) Staunton Harold Park in Staunton Harold, Leicestershire, England, which includes the 17th-century Grade I listed Holy Trinity Chapel (Staunton Harold church).

Staunton Harold Reservoir is a large reservoir under the management of Severn Trent Water, located between Melbourne and Ticknall in Derbyshire, England. Most of the water is within Derbyshire but a small part of the southern shore is over the border in Leicestershire. The site is also the home of Staunton Harold Sailing Club. The reservoir was built in 1964 at the behest of the River Dove Water Board, meant to serve Leicester and the towns of northern Leicestershire. Although no villages were lost in the construction of the reservoir, Furnace Farm, New England Farm and Calke Mill were submerged; their remains lie 25 metres below the surface. The dam wall is a clay core construction, similar to the dam wall at Ladybower Reservoir. Part of the shoreline border the Calke Abbey estate, as well as the National Forest. The reservoir has a total surface area of 209 acres (0.85 km2). Staunton Harold hosts a natural habitat for much bird and plant life, and is also home to Dimmingsdale Nature Reserve. There is also a sailing club, a visitors' centre and a children's adventure playground available to visitors. A non-functioning windmill dominates the skyline close to the visitors' centre called Tower Windmill, built in 1797 by the first Lord Melbourne at a cost of £250. Since July 2022, Severn Trent has been working with the National Trust to manage this site.

The Ticknall Tramway was a 12.8 mi (20.6 km) long 4 ft 2 in (1,270 mm) gauge horse-drawn plateway terminating at Ticknall, Derbyshire, England. It operated from 1802 to 1913.

Lount is a hamlet near Ashby de la Zouch in north-west Leicestershire, England. It has a population of 50 (approx). At the 2011 census the population remained less than 100 and is included in the civil parish of Staunton Harold. It has no local amenities apart from a public house. The village straddles the B587 road between Ashby and Melbourne and is situated near to the A42 road. The village was traditionally linked to the Staunton Harold Hall estate, and made up of 17th–19th century cottages. Lount was the scene in 1760, of the death of Earl Ferrers' steward, who had been shot by Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers, at the neighbouring village of Staunton Harold. The steward returned to his house in Lount, where he died; Earl Ferrers was found guilty of murder, for which he was the last peer to be hanged. The last 25 years has seen several modern houses erected there.

Lount Meadows is a 8.5 hectares (21 acres) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Lount in Leicestershire, England.This slightly acidic grassland site has hay meadows with diverse grass species. There are also areas of species-rich rough pasture, scrub and marsh, which is dominated by plicate sweet-grass and water horsetail.The site is private land with no public access.

Melbourne () is a market town and civil parish in South Derbyshire, England. It was home to Thomas Cook, and has a street named after him. It is 8 miles (13 km) south of Derby and 2 miles (3 km) from the River Trent. The population of the civil parish at the 2021 Census was 5,264.

Melbourne Hall is a Georgian style country house in Melbourne, Derbyshire, previously owned by William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, British Prime Minister from 1835 to 1841. The house is now the seat of Lord and Lady Ralph Kerr and is open to the public. The house is a Grade II* listed building; more than twenty features in the grounds are Grade I listed.

St Michael and St Mary's Church, Melbourne is a Grade I listed parish church in the Church of England in Melbourne, Derbyshire.

Melbourne Castle was a medieval castle in Melbourne, Derbyshire. It was built on the site of an earlier royal manor house that had provided accommodation for noblemen hunting in a nearby royal park in the reign of King John. Construction of the castle was started in 1311 by Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, and continued until 1322, shortly before his execution, but the work was never fully completed. From the early 14th century, Melbourne Castle was mainly in the possession of the Earls and Dukes of Lancaster or the crown. Improvements and repairs were made, particularly by John of Gaunt, and the building was in generally good condition throughout the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. John I, Duke of Bourbon, was kept at Melbourne for 19 years after his capture at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, and the castle was considered as a possible prison for Mary, Queen of Scots, although events led to her incarceration at Tutbury Castle. The castle was in decline by the end of the reign of Elizabeth I. Although the stonework was sound, minimal maintenance had led to significant deterioration of other parts of the structure. The manor was purchased in 1604 by Henry Hastings, 5th Earl of Huntingdon, who had his own castle in nearby Ashby-de-la-Zouch. The Melbourne property was then demolished and used as a source for building materials. All that remains of Melbourne Castle today is a section of wall about 15 m (49 ft) long and 4 m (13 ft) high and some foundations; nothing is known of the internal layout of the former building. The ruins are grade II listed and the site is a scheduled monument. There is no public access to the castle remains.