Peak District National Park

Designated in 1951 as the first national park in the United Kingdom, the Peak District covers around 555 square miles across Derbyshire and parts of Staffordshire, Yorkshire, Cheshire and Greater Manchester. The landscape divides broadly into two: the wild, peaty moorland of the Dark Peak in the north, crowned by Kinder Scout and Bleaklow, and the gentler limestone country of the White Peak to the south, with its dry-stone walls, sheep pastures and steep-sided dales.

Walking is the headline activity, with thousands of miles of public footpaths including the start of the Pennine Way at Edale. Popular days out include the gritstone edges above Hathersage, the show caverns and clifftop ruins around Castleton, and the wooded dales of Dovedale and Lathkill. Mam Tor, Stanage Edge and Chatsworth House all sit within the park boundary.

The park is unusually well served by public transport for an upland area. The Hope Valley railway line runs through its centre with stations at Edale, Hope, Bamford and Hathersage, while the Buxton and Glossop lines reach the western edges. A network of local buses links most of the main villages and trailheads.