The Peak District

The Peak District National Park

The Peak District forms part of the southern Pennines, beginning at the Staffordshire border, rising from the Trent Valley and climbing the foothills as far north as the outskirts of Manchester.

The Peak District became Britain’s first national park in 1951 and has enjoyed a healthy number of visitors over the years.

Covering an area of 555 square miles with a diverse variety of landscape that’s home to a huge range of industries and activities, the Peak District has something for everyone. There is so much to see and do.

Geological history has left The Peak District with a stunning landscape. There are of course many peaks and just as many valleys and with valleys come rivers.

The Peak District itself can be divided into two sections, the Dark Peak to the north of the county, and the White Peak to the central and south western area. The higher and wilder Dark Peak mainly consists of gritstone and shale; the White Peak is the lower carboniferous limestone area, pastoral and deeply cut by beautiful dales. In the east, beyond the gritstone escarpments which form the various `edges` – from Stanedge and Froggat in the north to Curbar, Baslow and Gardom`s Edge in the south, lie the coal measures, which extend into Nottinghamshire.