Designated on 17 April 1951
The Peak District is a place of history and heritage, where millstones lie in the fields and pathways across scenic hillsides are studded with pieces of old factory floors. Within its boundaries lie chalklands and moors, caves and woodlands, winding river valleys and storied, stunning heights. It was the UK’s first National Park, designated as the culmination of a huge and passionate campaign to preserve a piece of the countryside for the enjoyment of all. It was also the place where Campaign for National Parks was born, arising from that same campaign to continue the work of a small group of pioneers.
In this guide, we pick out just a few of the things we love the Peaks for, from the challenging heights of Stanage Edge to easy rambles along the Monsal Trail, the grandeur of Chatsworth House, the simplicity of a chip butty and the never-ending list of excuses to indulge in Bakewell’s famous export. We hope it’ll lead you to a lifetime of trekking to trigs, edging up Ethels, peering into caves, splashing in rivers and falling for the Peaks as much as we have.
Start/endpoints: The Roaches UKC parking, Lud’s Church car park
Start/endpoints: The Roaches UKC parking, Lud’s Church car park
Distance: 7.1 mi, elevation: 1,230 ft, difficulty rating: 3/5
Start/endpoints: The Roaches UKC parking, Lud’s Church car park
This is a perfect introduction to the myth and majesty of the Peak District. The Roaches is the name given to the craggy ridge that rises above Leek and Tittesworth Reservoir, known for its unusual rock formations and spooky legends. Don’t tarry around Doxley Pool, near the top of the ridge, as you may fall prey to the local malevolent mermaid, famous for ensnaring walkers! The mossy trench known as Lud’s Church is another important piece of local history, reputed to have been a hideout for Robin Hood and his band of merry men. Whether the stories are true or not, this spectacular walk is sure to delight.
Start/endpoints: Monyash
Start/endpoints: Monyash
Distance: 6-7 mi, 455ft, difficulty rating 2/5
Start/endpoints: Monyash
This is likely to be one of the quietest walks you take in the Peak District, but a lovely one nonetheless, as it skips the hotspots while being accessible enough to work into your day. The route takes you up through a chiselled limestone gorge to a low, wide waterfall, which pools perfectly for wild swimming if you’re feeling brave. The whole area you pass through is a nature reserve, bustling with life. The narrow valley frames the views all the way, making you feel as if you’re really getting under the skin of the park. The walk won’t be too challenging if it’s dry, but can be flooded and muddy if the weather’s been heavy, so check conditions before you set off.
Start/endpoints: NT car park, Dovedale
Start/endpoints: NT car park, Dovedale
Distance: 7.2 mi, elevation: 1,444 ft, difficulty rating: 3/5
Start/endpoints: NT car park, Dovedale
The Dovedale Circular is one of the most popular walks in the Peak District, and it’s certainly not hard to see why. The route is a little strenuous, but the rewards are abundant: expect spectacular panoramic views, impressive natural caves known as the Dove Holes, and unusual rock formations such as the Tissington Spires. The River Dove snakes through the valley and is a popular spot for trout fishing. Marvel at the remarkable limestone features of the Peak District, and enjoy one of the region’s best circular walks.
Start/endpoints: Digley reservoir south car park
Start/endpoints: Digley reservoir south car park
Distance: 5.3 mi, Elevation: 981ft, difficulty rating 2/5
Start/endpoints: Digley reservoir south car park
Easy terrain and some lovely stretches along the water make this a very pleasant walk with enough of a climb to make you feel like you’ve earned a good lunch afterwards. You start in woodland, hugging the edge of the reservoir, before heading up onto the moors alongside Marsden Clough and following the trail until it drops you back through farmland to the car park.
Start/endpoints: Bakewell or Blackwell Mill
Start/endpoints: Bakewell or Blackwell Mill
8.5mi, elevation: minimal, difficulty rating: 1/5
Start/endpoints: Bakewell or Blackwell Mill
You won’t be alone on the Monsal Trail, but that’s one of its attractions. The old railway line has been converted into a multi-purpose route where walkers, cyclists and horse riders all share the trail amicably. The former stations have become cafés and the path is smooth and flat, making it perfect for families and anyone who isn’t up for scrambling on rocky slopes or climbing windblown peaks. You can join the trail at many points along its length, although finishing in Bakewell and rewarding yourself with the eponymous pudding is certainly recommended.
Explore the Peak District on foot
Explore the Peak District on foot
Did you know? There are 95 Ethels
In 2021, The Peak District’s 95 hills over 400m in height were named Ethels, after the campaigner Ethel Haythornthwaite, who was instrumental in the creation of the National Park itself. To get started ticking them off, download the Ethel Ready app for details and walking routes.
Not to be confused with the one in Buxton (which is also a good pub), this Angler’s Rest is a community success story. Taken over by locals in 2013, it’s become a proper village pub and the hub of the village, now even incorporating a post office. Regulars flood in for the Sunday roasts but there’s always something hearty cooking, like a beef and blue cheese hot sandwich.
Tagg Lane Dairy will tempt you far out of your way for its artisanal gelato, perfect for cooling off on a warm summer’s day or compensating the kids for hauling them up a hill. All flavourings are as natural as the team can get them, from the fresh fruits to the cocoa and the heavenly dulce de leche.
This unassuming little deli/bistro has gained itself a reputation as one of the best places in the Peaks for takeaway food. Daily sandwich specials and home-cooked serve anyone from families too tired to cook, to hikers looking for hearty handheld trail snacks.
Independent, family-run and refreshingly unfussy, The Old Dog is a lovely, proper pub. The menu is made up of locally sourced, perfectly cooked pub classics and everything is served in a laid-back atmosphere that welcomes everyone and anyone. Find a seat in front of the roaring fire on a winter’s day and you’ll be in heaven.
Grindleford is not the sort of place to go ordering an oatmilk caramel latte. It’s more your chip butty and cup of tea kind of place, but makes for an excellent hiking fuel stop at very reasonable prices and there’s something to be said for keeping things simple.
Well dressing in Stoney Middleton © Fliss DowdingDid you know? About the well-dressed wells...
If you’re in the Peaks from May to September, you might catch sight of large, colourful mosaics made from natural materials such as flowers and bark, surrounding fountains and wells all through the area. The tradition has its roots in the pagan practice of well worship, which involved slightly gorier offerings. First the Romans “civilised” the practice, then the church and Cromwell both tried to stamp it out, but the purity of the water was something that people felt drawn to celebrate, especially when it saved whole villages from the Black Death. So, well dressing is still going strong and the striking tableaux, painstakingly worked on clay slabs over months, now form a historic part of the July cultural festival in Buxton.
Vivienne will take great care of you at her farmhouse B&B, fuelling you for hikes up Lose Hill, Mam Tor, Win Hill and Kinder Scout, which can all be made directly from Underleigh House.
A 500 year-old coaching inn with a sociable garden that bursts into life in summer and the Lady C suite, in which Charlotte Bronte is said to have stayed and written parts of Jane Eyre.
A farm-to-fork ethos means that very few of the ingredients used in the kitchen of this ancient inn come from further than five miles away. It’s a remote place of total peace, inviting you to walk the hills then settle in for a pint of their very own ale.
For something a little different, disappear into the heart of the Peak District at The Gathering, where four safari tents offer you the chance to let the kids run wild as you relax on the deck and fire up the bbq.
Your own cottage in the Peak District, with fields around for miles, goats and donkeys to meet and the Stepping Stones at Dovedale an easy walk away. Despite the remote feeling, there are two pubs, The George at Alstonefield and the Royal Oak at Wetton, both around half an hour on foot.
Contrary to popular belief, The Kinder Scout Mass Trespass of 1932 was not the inspiration for National Parks. The idea that the countryside should be for everyone goes back much further than that, arguably beginning with writers like Wordsworth, who considered The Lake District “a sort of national property, in which every man has a right and interest who has an eye to perceive and a heart to enjoy”. Rather than being the result of one spontaneous action, the campaign to establish them was far more considered and long fought.
Public pressure for the dedication of national landscapes began to grow in the early 1900s and in the 30s three organisations – The Countryside Charity, the Ramblers and the Youth Hostel Association – came together to form the Standing Committee for National Parks, with the activist and campaigner Ethel Haythornthwaite a major driving force.
They lobbied tirelessly for the creation of the park, mobilising huge numbers of volunteers to undertake surveys of the proposed boundaries. Despite the looming threat of war in Europe as the decade drew to a close, Ethel refused to let the idea be sidelined and, in 1949, the National Parks Act was passed. The next two years saw more boundary wrangling, more fightback and then finally the designation of the UK’s first National Park, on 17 April 1951.
Ethel would go on to have her name enshrined on the peaks themselves and as for the Standing Committee for National Parks? It had a slight name change and became… us! We are enormously proud to continue the work that Ethel and her tireless group began, protecting the National Parks so that everyone can enjoy them for generations to come.
Kinder Scout Mass Trespass © Working Class Movement Library
The Kinder Scout Mass Trespass was organised when the British Workers’ Sports Federation (BWSF), which organised walks and cycling trips for young workers from Manchester and surrounding mill towns, was turned back by the gamekeepers of private estates on a walk in 1932. Some of those who took part were arrested and imprisoned, which caused massive public outcry. The event was crucial to the formation of the Right to Roam campaign and the Rights of Way Act.
Burbage Edge © Daniel KayDid you know? The holes are history...
Some of the flagstone pathways in the Peak District are made with stones that came from local factory floors. You can spot them by the small, often rectangular, holes in the stone which the feet of machinery used to slot into.
With a bit of determination (or a taxi), you could go completely car free for a few days. Trains via Sheffield can get you to Hope and then you push on to Underleigh House, from which you can hike Win Hill and Dark Peak without any form of transport except your own boots. If you do drive, you can throw in a trip to Derwent Dam and the mills, for Dam Buster and industrial revolution history, as well as the curious sight of the Ladybore Plugholes.
See the full spectrum of the Peaks by setting up camp in the George at Hathersage then visiting both Chatsworth House and Gridleford Station Cafe. The first is the grand home of the Devonshire family, replete with impressive statuary and massive gardens, the second is the sort of place that’ll serve you a chip butty with a curt nod. Scramble up Stanage Edge and Higger Tor, or have a more gentle time birdwatching at Wyming Brook Nature Reserve.
Immerse yourself in the warmth and friendship of the fine community pub The Angler’s Rest and head off on adventures along the Monsal Trail, sailing along its car-free pathway and through its dramatic tunnels. Alternatively, take the five-mile walking from Hartington that take you past Wolfscote Dale Cave, rewarding yourself for either with a visit to Tagg Lane Dairy for artisanal gelato or dropping into Bakewell for the eponymous pudding.
At Winnow Barn, you’re well positioned for the famous Dovedale Circular which winds through the Tissington Rocks and past impressive natural caves, or for a hop over the famous Stepping Stones. Treat yourself to unfussy but superb food at The Old Dog, shout into the echoey expanse of Thor’s Cave or even rattle along on The Peak Steam Railway, before retiring to your cosy home in the countryside.
If you’re basing yourself in the Buxton area, you might consider timing your visit for July’s cultural festival, although this does make the small town a little crowded. Staying in safari tents at The Gathering will give you a bit of Peaks peace though, and you can head out on the Lud’s Church walk or visit Dove Holes if the bustle of “town” gets too much. It’s always worth dropping into Eat at No.5 for supplies though.
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