A Taste of the Peak District

Accommodation, activities and attractions of the Peak District of the UK

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The Peak District was the first region in the UK to be designated as a National Park. Read a little more about the area known as the ’Dark Peak’ on this page.

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How to get to the Peak District National Park - Midland Mainline, Virgin trains, Central, Transpennine Express or National Express coach

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This area is perhaps more varied and to many people more interesting than the White Peak. It contains some enclosed farmland plus the wild and mainly unenclosed high, peat covered moorland. There are plenty of rights of way for the walker plus the ‘access areas’, negotiated with local landowners, where you can please yourself what route you take. The paths of twenty years ago in the 1980’s were often quagmires, dozens of metres wide in places where people had spread out to avoid the worst of the bogs. The National Park Authority has done a fine job in paving these in a sympathetic way, cutting down the severe erosion in ‘honeypot’ areas such as Derwent Edge. It is perhaps tamer for walkers but much better for the environment. The vegetation has grown back over the peat scars, preventing further damage. The closure of the county during the last Foot and Mouth outbreak was also beneficial to the Peak District landscape - maybe there is a lesson to be learnt here as we see the grass returning to the edges of paths. Click here to find out more about the flora and fauna of the Dark Peak.

The quarrying of the Millstone Grit has not been on such a grand scale as the Limestone quarrying. The grit is so called because it was used to make millstones. Keep your eyes open around most of the ‘Edges’ and you will see abandoned millstones. Find Lawrencefield Quarry and you will find dozens stacked along the side of the track. The largest scale of quarrying is seen at Millstone quarry above Hathersage. The stone removed from this location was used to construct the dams for Ladybower, Howden and Derwent (of ‘Dambusters’ practice fame) reservoirs a few miles away. The quarry provides some of the longest and arguably the finest routes on grit for climbers - Great North Road is often claimed to be one of the best HVS routes in the Peak.

Location and maps ...

Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 (2 1/2 inches to the mile for us oldies!) map of the White Peak or Dark Peak (10% discount off list prices).

Click here to find out where the Peak District National Park is and how to get to the Peak District.