Peak District

Peak District: Moors, Mountains & Market Towns

The Peak District is where England’s wild heart beats – a place of windswept moors, dramatic gritstone edges, and green valleys threaded with dry-stone walls. As England’s first National Park, it’s been inspiring walkers, climbers, and dreamers for generations – and it’s just a short train ride from Manchester, Sheffield, or even London.

Scramble up rocky tors for sweeping views, wander through wildflower-strewn dales, or follow centuries-old packhorse trails to stone villages and cosy pubs. Market towns like Bakewell tempt you with their famous pudding, while Buxton’s Georgian spa town charms with elegant crescents and bubbling spring water.

The Peaks are also home to some of England’s most celebrated stately homes. Chatsworth House, often recognised as Mr Darcy’s Pemberley, is filled with priceless art and surrounded by glorious gardens. Nearby Haddon Hall, a perfectly preserved medieval manor, has starred in countless films including Jane Eyre and The Princess Bride.

For those who love a sense of history, climb Kinder Scout, where the 1932 mass trespass paved the way for Britain’s national parks, or visit Eyam, the “plague village” that quarantined itself in 1665 to save its neighbours.

Whether you’re here for a bracing hike, a gentle ramble, or to step inside grand estates, the Peak District offers a landscape that feels both untamed and welcoming – a place to switch off, slow down, and reconnect with nature.