Eagle Bay Golf Sims golf simulator in Derby

There is something rather special about playing a round of golf inside an old Derwent Valley mill. Eagle Bay sits in Patterns Mill at Darley Abbey Mills, next to the mill chimney, in a corner of Derby that forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is a characterful setting for a very modern kind of golf.

The idea here is privacy. There are just two TrackMan rooms, each one yours alone for the length of your booking, with comfortable living-room style seating and the freedom to play your own music. There is no reception desk; you book online, receive door and bay codes by email, and let yourself in. For anyone who feels self-conscious hitting balls in front of strangers, that is a real comfort.

It is also wonderfully flexible. The doors are open from 6am to 11pm every day of the year, so you can fit in an hour before work or a late session after dinner. Bays are priced by the hour rather than per person, at £25 off-peak and £30 at peak times, and up to four can play, which makes a shared session very good value.

Eagle Bay runs its own competition too. The Classic Four is a free pairs scramble played over four weeks on famous British and Irish courses such as Royal Birkdale and the Old Course at St Andrews. Your best three rounds count, so you can join late, and there are vouchers for the top teams.

Regulars can choose from monthly memberships, starting at £99 for unlimited off-peak play. There are two parking spaces by the unit, with more nearby in the mill complex.