Peak District PLEASURES

Vicky Smith, who grew up nearby, chooses her favourite towns and villages in Britain’s oldest national park

Unfolding across six English counties, but mainly in Derbyshire, the Peak District is Britain’s oldest national park and my undisputed favourite. I grew up nearby, so it’s become fondly familiar, but there’s more to my reasoning than local bias – not least that it’s spectacularly diverse. From brooding moorlands and Dark Peak’s gritstone edges to White Peak’s glassy streams and plunging limestone dales, the scenery is constantly in flux. Elsewhere, you’ll find wildflower meadows, gentle hills crisscrossed with dry stone walls and yawning caverns veined with purply Blue John fluorite. Enjoy outdoor activities? You can try rock climbing, rambling, even paragliding… and they’re just for starters. For the less adventurous among us, more sedate attractions abound too, from industrial heritage and Bronze Age monuments to almost 3,000 listed buildings, but…

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Discover Britain (Digital) - 1 Issue, December 2024 - January 2025

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