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NAVIGATION:

Day Trips out from Manchester

The National Park lies immediately on the eastern borders of Greater Manchester County, and is accessible by train or car within 20 minutes from the city centre, and several scheduled public buses go directly into the park 2 or 3 times an hour. It is Manchester's nearest countryside.
Trains from Manchester Piccadilly Rail Station run regularly every day to Buxton, Matlock, Glossop and Whaley Bridge.
Visitors wishing to access the highest hills should consult local weather forecasts, and read all mountain safety notices at access points. Please note that the building of fires and camping are strictly forbidden, as the pathways may be ancient rights of way, but the land over which they pass is invariably privately owned, and departure from pathways is technically a trespass.
Visitors might also note that there are actually no "peaks" in the Peak District - the hills are gentle and rounded slopes - the name "Peak" is a corruption of the old English word "Pict". Before the building of roadways, major movement throughout Britain was often by remote pathways, and this range of hills was the favourite route used by Scots (or Picts) invaders from the north. Hence, it was once "The Pict District".

The Peak District National Park offers a wide variety of landscapes, from moorland, to grassy hills, craggy rocks, stone walls, lakes, streams and innumerable public footpaths. It is a landscape of severe contrasts : in summer time it is a place where visitors may enjoy a quiet leisurely stroll, while in winter it can become arctic in conditions where only the most intrepid walkers and climbers dare tread. It is England's most southerly highland country, the very end of the Pennine Hills which form the backbone to most of northern Britain, and which divides Lancashire in the west from Yorkshire in the east.
Most of the Peak District's 555 square miles 143,824 hectares) is above 2,000 feet (610m), and while for the most part it is centred on Derbyshire, it also extends into the surrounding Counties of Cheshire, Yorkshire and Greater Manchester.

There are many delightfully pretty villages nestling in its valleys - Whaley Bridge, Chapel-en-le-Frith, Tideswell, Bakewell (famed for its Bakewell Tarts), Monyash (pronounced "moon-ash"), and many others, as well as a few major towns like Chesterfield, Buxton, and the County Town of Matlock.

Buxton is a major tourist attraction, as it has been for several centuries on account of its Baths with their health-giving spa water, famed from Roman times. Bubbling up from an underground reservoir, its waters maintain a constant 83°F (28°C). The town also has many fine buildings, including the Georgian Crescent built by the 5th Duke of Devonshire, the Old Hotel dating back to 1570, once the host to Mary Queen of Scots, the magnificent Devonshire Hospital with its spectacular dome, and the elegantly decorated Edwardian Opera House, home of the annual Buxton International Festival.

Buxton - The Crescent. Aerial Photograph Image Courtesy of www.webbaviation.co.uk © 2005

Within the National Park lie many great Country Houses, including Chatsworth House, home of the Dukes of Devonshire, and Haddon Hall near Bakewell. The Peaks are a great venue for hill walkers and climbers, with several peaks, all over 3000 feet to challenge all but the faint hearted. Kinder Scout, White Peak and Dark Peak, all present their own particular challenge, and can quickly change from pleasant garden atmospheres to raging tempests or dark and dismal fogbound wastelands.

For the less adventurous walker, there are many designated and easy trails to follow in the Peak District - many are disused railway tracks, most have picnic areas and toilet facilities. Trails are:

• Biddulph Grange Country Park
• Black Rocks Picnic Site
• Cromford Buxton Country Park
• Coombs Valley RSPB Trail
• Erwood Hall, Goyt Valley
• Woodland, Fairholmes
• Derwent Valley
• Lyme Park Gritstone Trail
• High Peak Trail
• Ham Country Park
• Ladderedge County Park, Leek.
• Longendale Trail, Hadfield.
• Mam Nick, off Rushup Edge Road.
• Manifold Trail, Waterhouses.
• Middlewood Way, Macclesfield.
• Monsall Trail, Bakewell.
• Sett Valley Trail, Hayfield-New Mills.
• Tideswell Dale.
• Tissington Trail, Ashbourne.
• Tittesworth Reservoir, Leek.

• Bakewell
  Old Market Hall, Bridge Street Tel: 01335-343666.
• Buxton
  The Crescent, Buxton. Tel: 01289-73153.
• Glossop
  The Gatehouse, Victoria Street. Tel: 01457-855920
• Macclesfield
  Town Hall, Market Place. Tel: 01625-504203.

Peak District Activities

• Peak Activities Limited
  Managing Director: Dr Iain Jennings
  Hathersage, Derbyshire S32 1DD. Tel 01433-650345.
  Website: www.iain.co.uk. Email: iain@iain.co.uk.
  Provider of utdoor activities for people visiting the Peak District and Lake including abseiling, caving, climbing, led-walking, potholing, sailing, windsurfing, canoeing, orienteering, treasure hunts and many more outdoor activities - all suitable for groups of people or for individuals. Fully AALA licensed to operate with under 18s as well as with adults. See Also: Peak District Caves & Caverns.

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