Peak District
Britain'S First National Park (1951), A Plateau Of Gritstone Edges, Moorland, Limestone Dales And Show Caves Around Kinder Scout (636 M), Within An Hour Of Five Million People. Mam Tor, Edale, Dovedale, Stanage Edge And The Pennine Way Start. The Busiest National Park In Europe At Weekends · Castleton, England
The Peak District was Britain's first national park, created in 1951 on a plateau between Manchester and Sheffield. It is a country of gritstone edges, wide peat moors, green limestone dales and quiet villages, and it sits within an hour of about five million people, which makes it one of the busiest national parks in Europe. The High Peak around Kinder Scout (636 m) is wild and boggy: the 1932 mass trespass here helped win the right to roam, and the Pennine Way begins at Edale. Mam Tor, the Shivering Mountain, gives a famous ridge walk above Hope Valley. At Castleton, four show caves - Peak, Speedwell, Blue John and Treak Cliff - go underground, and Stanage Edge draws climbers. Dovedale has stepping stones, Bakewell has its pudding and a market. Weekend traffic is heavy, fog can cover the moors in minutes, and car parks fill early. It is a plateau and moorland, not a single summit or peak.
Castleton, Edale, Bakewell and Hathersage, in the Peak District National Park between Manchester and Sheffield, Castleton, England, United Kingdom
The national park itself is open all day and all year, and walking on the open moors and public footpaths is FREE. Parts of the access land can close to walkers on some days for grouse shooting or after dry-weather fire risk, so check the notices at each gate. The show caves keep set hours, commonly from about 10 am to 4 or 5 pm, with tours on the hour, and are CLOSED on some weekdays in winter and on Christmas Day - confirm before you go. Visitor centres in Edale, Castleton and Bakewell close in the late afternoon and may be shut midweek in winter. The Hope Valley train runs daily with fewer services on Sundays. Check each cave and car park near your date, since hours change by season.