A Taste of the
Peak District
Peak District, Derbyshire 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 …
When I first visited Derbyshire in the 1960s, I
was always intrigued by the White Peak signs. As a lad, I had not quite grasped
that it was the collective name given to the area of the Peak District National
Park that was underlain by limestone rocks!
The area takes the form of a limestone plateau, about 300m (100 feet) above sea level. The plateau is criss-crossed with dry stone walls. It is well drained and is dissected by both dry valleys and river valleys. The soils are poor and calcareous, creating grazing land for both sheep and cattle. Follow the links below for more information about the plants, animals, books, maps and geology of the White Peak.
- Flora and Fauna of Derbyshire (opens in new window)
- Derbyshire Geology (opens in new window)
- Derbyshire Peak District tea shop walks (in association with Amazon)
- Classic Peak District walks (in association with Amazon)
- Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 (2 1/2 inches to the mile for us oldies!) map of the White Peak (10% discount off list prices with Aqua3)
- Where the Peak District National Park is and how to get to the Peak District
The area of the White Peak has been comprehensively enclosed with fields of all shapes and sizes thanks to the various Enclosure Acts. Round the areas of Tideswell (pronounced ‘Tidsall’), Flagg, Chelmorton and Youlgrave, you can see long thin fields created by the enclosure of medieval strip fields. There are hundreds of miles of footpaths, bridleways and green tracks that give access to the area. If you come to the Peak District to drive off road in motor vehicles, please use the latter sensitively in order to ensure that they are not destroyed - many have already been badly damaged by trail bikes and 4x4 drivers despite the provision of alternative venues that preserve these. Recently (June 2008) where they have completely worn out part of the Roman Road that crosses Stanage edge (The Causeway), creating a huge hole, the off road drivers have now destroyed the land at the side of the road by driving round it. This is definitely not the 'soft touch' approach that is promoted by the responsible section of that fraternity. There is a also a network of dismantled railways that provide easy trails for visitors and locals to exploit, traffic free.
The greyish-white Limestone has been used extensively to construct
walls, barns and houses and on a wet day, some of the villages can look rather
grey. In some villages such as Monyash, Wormhill and Great Longstone, the
builders have used the warmer colour of the gritstone around the windows
and doors.
Limestone is chemically weathered. Carbon dioxide dissolves into the falling rain, creating carbonic acid. This reacts chemically with the limestone which is mainly made from the compound calcium carbonate. Thus the rock becomes eroded away. Add in the action of running water and in limestone country you will end up with caverns. The great show caverns (like the Great Masson Cavern or the Devils Arse) of the Peak District are exclusively in the limestone areas, and there are some big 'uns too! There are a host of smaller passages too, the potholes, through which the cavers squirm. Where the rivers have dissected the limestone plateau, steep sided valleys have been formed, sheltering some interesting and rare species.
In the Buxton area, the quarrying of limestone from the edges of the plateau is a major industry. Mining was a major industry during the 18th and 19th centuries with underground mines like Ecton and Millclose providing copper and lead not only for Britain but also to the rest of the world. The Peak District National Park was formed in 1951 and has roughly the shape of a right hand (fingers together, thumb spread apart) laid flat on the surface of the Earth. The part between the index finger and thumb incorporates the quarrying round Buxton, thus avoiding the conflict between conservation and destruction. In more recent times, there has been much controversy over the re-opening and extending of quarries within the Peak Park, such as Longstone Edge and Stanton Moor. Despite the protests of conservation groups and local people, who will inevitably be affected by heavier traffic, more noise and dust, the mining companies always seem to win out - I wonder why? Ah well, money talks!
Still, I shouldn't complain. Several of the worked out quarries left behind rock faces of interest to Peak District climbers, local activists like Gary Gibson and ‘Sid’ Siddiqui have created large numbers of bolted climbs (thanks guys) and some have trad routes, notably Staden Quarry. Access can be a little sensitive, the quarry owners are not always sympathetic to climbing!brbr