Peak District

The Peak District is an upland area in central-northern England, mostly in Derbyshire but extending into five other counties. It is divided into the Dark Peak of gritstone moorland and the White Peak of limestone valleys and gorges. The Dark Peak forms a northern, eastern and western arc around the gentler White Peak at the centre and south. The highest point is Kinder Scout, a broad plateau of heather and rock. Most of the land lies within the Peak District National Park, created in 1951 to protect its landscapes. The park covers 555 square miles and is England’s fifth largest national park. The area has been lived in since Mesolithic times and was shaped by medieval mining and later quarrying. Richard Arkwright built cotton mills in the valleys during the Industrial Revolution. Railways brought tourists drawn by the scenery, spa towns and Castleton’s show caves. Today the park supports about 18,000 jobs mainly in farming, manufacturing and tourism, while around 40,000 people live within its boundaries. The National Trust owns about 12 per cent of the land, including Kinder Scout, Mam Tor and Dovedale. Visitors find rounded hills, deep limestone gorges and gritstone edges such as Stanage and Curbar. The Pennine Way starts at Edale and crosses the plateau of Kinder Scout. Villages like Bakewell, Castleton and Eyam sit among farmland and old lead workings. Buxton, once a genteel spa, lies on the western fringe, while Matlock Bath’s Victorian terraces overlook the Derwent valley. Reservoirs like those in Longdendale supply drinking water to Manchester and offer walking routes beside still waters.