National park hub

The Peak District

Designated in 1951 as England's first national park, the Peak District sits within an hour of Manchester, Sheffield, and Derby — which makes it the most-visited national park in the country by a wide margin. It splits roughly into the Dark Peak (gritstone moorland and edges to the north) and the White Peak (limestone dales and villages to the south). Below are the five places that actually reward the drive, plus what to know before you go.

Designated1951 — first UK national park

Highest pointKinder Scout, 636 m

Nearest citiesManchester & Sheffield, ~1 hr

Kinder Scout

Where 400-plus ramblers walked in defiance of private grouse-moor owners on 24 April 1932 — the mass trespass that fed directly into Britain's postwar right-to-roam movement.

River Dove stepping stones beneath Thorpe Cloud hill

Dovedale

A National Trust valley with genuine stepping stones across the Dove and a steep, short climb up Thorpe Cloud — one of the busiest short walks in the whole park.

Castleton

Four real show caves in a half-mile radius, including a boat trip through a flooded 18th-century lead mine and the only known source of Blue John stone.

Stanage Edge

Four miles of gritstone escarpment above the Hope Valley — the Peak District's best-known climbing and scrambling ground, and a genuine Pride and Prejudice filming location.

Bakewell

A working market town on the River Wye, and the true home of the Bakewell pudding — not the almond tart sold under its name almost everywhere else.