A Taste of the
Peak District
Peak District property for sale, B&B, self catering holiday cottage accommodation, hotels, tourist attractions, walking, climbing, mountain biking history, towns, villages, geology, mining, local information, Derbyshire businesses and much more …
The Peak District was the first region in the UK to be designated as a National Park. It is now the second most visited National Park in the world after Mt. Fuji in Japan. Read a little more about the area on this page.
It covers an area of about 540 square miles and has a great diversity of scenery. It is mostly in the county of Derbyshire but the edges lie in neighbouring counties (Yorkshire, Cheshire, Staffordshire). It is informally divided by its geology into two main areas, the ‘White Peak’ and the ‘Dark Peak’. The former is the name given to the southern half of the Peak District where greyish-white limestone rocks outcrop at the surface whilst the latter describes the northern area where the hard, brown coarse-grained sandstones (millstone grit or gritstone) and large tracts of peat covered moorland are found. The gritstone fringes the limestone in an inverted ‘U’ shape to the North, East and West.
Click here for an outline map showing main roads and some other features of the region and on the links in the text for further information.
Over the millennia, the Peak District has supported a wide variety of industries, farming, mining, cement making ... the list is long. Look closely around the towns and villages and you will see the evidence. Tourism is currently amongst the major industries.
The origins of the name of the Peak District are obscure. The term ‘Peaclond’ appears in the literature of the tenth century to describe the area around Castleton where Peveril had his stronghold. Other sources suggest that it comes from corruptions of the word ‘Pict’. There is a similar word in Irish Gaelic ‘Pooka’ which translates as spirit or ghost - perhaps this is where the many ghost tales of the Peak District have arisen.
The Peak District Climate
Winters in the Dark Peak can be harsh in the moorland areas, in the 1970s, there were regularly over 70 days when snow was recorded. There is much less now though, possibly due to climate change caused by global warming. Despite this there are generally frosts on the moors for 25 - 30 percent of the winter. Winters on the limestone plateau of the White Peak are not as harsh (10% frosts), since it is generally less than 350m in altitude. Rainfall in the Dark Peak is about 150cm per year on average. The White Peak is drier with just under 100cm on average.
Weather - from online weather.com
Peak District Location and maps ...
Visitor’s map, official tourist map or map and guidebook of the Peak District. Pub walks, tea shop walks or classic walks (in association with Amazon).
Click here to find out where the Peak District National Park is and how to get here.
Peak District - how to get there the easy way with Midland Mainline, Virgin, Central, Transpennine Express or by National Express coach
Travel to the Peak District by coach or by train (tickets from ).