Peak District guide: where to stay and eat, things to do and best walks

Discover the best things to do in the Peak District, gorgeous country walks and beautiful cottages and hotels to stay in with our visitor’s guide to the national park

By Helen Moat

Published: Monday, 17 April 2023 at 12:00 am

The Peak District may not be Britain’s largest national park (it only ranks sixth) but it is its first, and within its 555 square miles there’s a thrillingly diverse landscape.

The northern part of the Peak District is a brooding landscape of exposed moorland, rocky outcrops and dizzying escarpments. Its fringes are pooled by reservoirs and scattered with gritty mill settlements, rich in industrial heritage.

To the south you’ll find a gentler landscape of meadow and dale, where limestone soil nurtures an abundance of wildflowers and the insects and butterflies that feed off them. Tucked into the uplands and dales are historic stone-built settlements and fine country houses, all inviting exploration.

Experience the full diversity and enchantment of the Peak District landscape with our holiday guide, discovering the best places to stay, things to do and great country walks.

Looking for more outdoor inspiration? Check out our guides to easy mountains for beginners, great hill walks and gorgeous river rambles.

Where is the Peak District?

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The Peak District is a national park in the middle of England/Credit: Getty

The Peak District is a 555 square-mile national park in the middle of England.

The park is landlocked and straddled by a number of major towns and cities, including Manchester to the west, Sheffield to the east, Huddersfield to the north and Stoke on Trent to the south. This makes the Peak District relatively easy to access, yet despite this you’ll find the park still has many wild corners to discover.

Peak District Map

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As you can see from this map, the Peak District is surrounded by large urban areas such as Manchester and Sheffield, but once inside the park there are far less roads and towns, particularly in the north.

Where to stay in the Peak District

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A weir on the River Manifold in the grounds of Ilam Park and Hall/Credit: Getty

From holiday cottages and luxury hotels to camping and Airbnbs, the Peak District has thousands of places to choose from when it comes to places to stay. Here are a few of our favourites.

YHA Ilam Hall

What a location for budget accommodation. The plot was chosen for its magnificent views over Bunster Hill and Thorpe Cloud. Soak in the history of elegant YHA Ilam Hall and its fairy-tale estate village. Private room from £39.

Bassettwood Farm, Tissington

Bassettwood Farm offers cosy farmhouse accommodation on the edge of the estate village. The full English breakfast made with local ingredients will set you up for a day of walking. Double from £75.

Buxton Crescent Spa Hotel

A night in this sumptuous 18th-century crescent of painted ceilings, neoclassical columns and stained glass is a well-deserved treat. Restore aching bones in Buxton Crescent’s spa pools, salt cave, saunas and steam rooms. Double from £145.

T’owd Man’s Cottage

T’owd Man’s Cottage pays homage to the area’s mining heritage. This one-bedroom, mid-terrace stone cottage in Bonsall makes a cosy getaway for one or two people keen to explore the Peak District and the nearby High Peak trail.

The Stone Estate

Close to Ilam is the lovely village of Alstonefield, a great base to explore Lathkill Dale. The Stone Estate has 10 self-catering cottages in the area, ranging from beautiful barn conversions to charming cottages, all built from the limestone of the White Peak.

What to do in the Peak District

Nature reserves

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Wyming Brook is just a stone’s throw form Sheffield/Credit: Getty

Step into the wild side of the Peak District with these unmissable nature reserves.

Wyming Brook Nature Reserve

The broad path sweeps through Wyming Brook down to Rivelin Dams through scented pines, mossy crags and tumbling water. In spring, this SSSI is alive with birdsong. On your Wyming Brook walk, look out for crossbills, dippers, redstarts, wood warblers and pied flycatchers.

Thorswood

Thorswood is a varied reserve rich with heritage, from Iron Age barrows to Industrial Age mining. Rare flora such as mountain pansy and moonwart thrive over 150 acres of limestone grassland and hay meadows, while hares abound.

Brown End Quarry Nature Reserve

The information boards around Brown End Quarry Nature Reserve allow you to visualise the quarry as it was in time immemorial, first as the floor of a tropical ocean teeming with marine life, and then as a frozen waste inhabited by woolly mammoths, reindeer and lemmings. In spring, the site is bright with yellow cowslips.

History and Heritage

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Lyme Hall was used in the 1995 TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice to portray Austen’s Pemberley/Credit: Getty

From Neolithic Britain and the Bronze Age to the more recent history of the Elizabethan era, the Peak District if a playground for history lovers. Here are a few must-visit sites.

Lyme Hall

Credited with the “craziest Elizabethan frontispiece” by architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner, Lyme Hall was built to impress with its Italianate courtyard, classical statues and wood-carved rooms.

Nine Ladies Stone Circle

The Early Bronze Age site stands in a woodland clearing on Stanton Moor, the ladies and their fiddler allegedly turned to stone for dancing on
a Sabbath.

Ilam Hall

Explore the Ilam Hall‘s model village, estate grounds and church with its 13th-century tomb of Saxon saint and hermit St Bertram.

Tegg’s Nose Country Park

The path along the disused quarry of Tegg’s Nose exposes an industrial and geological past dotted with aggressive-sounding equipment, including a stone crusher and swing jaw.

Minninglow Burial Mound

A five-minute detour up to Minninglow reveals a Neolithic chambered tomb and two Bronze Age bowl barrows.

Museums

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Masson Mills/Credit: Alan Heardman, Geograph

There’s still plenty to do on a rainy day in the Peak District. Why not check out one of these museums?

Masson Mills

Now a World Heritage Site, Derwent Valley was a cradle of the Industrial Revolution. Richard Arkwright opened the first water-powered cotton mill at Cromford in the 1770s. In Matlock Bath, Arkwright’s showpiece Masson Mills is the grandest example of his entrepreneurial zeal and has a textile museum.

Peak District Lead Mining Museum

Nearby is the Peak District Lead Mining Museum, which boasts a real lead mine and a beautiful mineral collection.

Shopping

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Chatsworth Estate Farm Shop/Credit: Wesley Trevor Johnston, Geograph

There’s a vibrant mix of shopping in the Peak District, from family-owned locally sourced butchers and bakeries, to farmer’s markets and specialist shops.

Wirksworth Farmer’s Market

Held on the first Saturday of the month, Wirksworth Farmer’s Market offers wonderful fare from producers all based less than 20 miles from Wirksworth.

David Mellor Country Shop

David Mellor Country Shop in Hathersage stocks the finest British rural crafts plus designs from international manufacturers. It is dog-friendly.

Chatsworth Estate Farm Shop

Find fresh fruit and vegetables, delicious pastries, meat, fish and tempting cheeses at Chatsworth Estate Farm Shop.

Towns

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Visit the Victorian town of Bollington/Credit: Getty

The Peak District is dotted with villages and small towns, offering visitor’s plenty of home comforts after a day of walking in the hills. Here are a few of our favourites.

Bollington

The path along Kerridge edge is a fine approach to the Cheshire town of Bollington. Pause at the monument of White Nancy (occasionally given a colourful themed makeover) and take in the town at your feet. Bollington showcases Victorian engineering ingenuity at its best with its canal, aqueduct, railway viaduct and monumental mills of soaring chimney stacks. Explore Bollington on bike.

Marsden

Backed by the bleak beauty of Wessenden Moors, a gentler pastoral Colne Valley at its feet, the gritty West Yorkshire town is fast becoming gentrified with galleries, boutiques and cafés. Rest weary bones by taking a narrowboat along Huddersfield Narrow Canal and into a canal tunnel of superlatives: Britain’s longest, deepest and highest.

Buxton

Buxton, the Bath of the north, makes a fine base for exploring the national park. Here the Romans discovered the health-giving properties of its natural mineral water. Gather ideas for your visit at the Pump House, an exquisite information centre of painted ceilings and marbled arches, wander through Cavendish Arcade, with its barrel-shaped stained-glass ceiling, and the opulent Buxton Opera House. Stroll through the Winter Garden, Octagonal Hall and Garden Pavilions, then climb the hill to the monumental Derbyshire Dome.

Peak District Boundary Walk

Following on from the work of countryside enthusiast Ethel Haythornthwaite, Friends 
of the Peak District has created a 190-mile long-distance walk using existing public footpaths, trails and lanes. The Peak District Boundary Walk wriggles in and out 
of the national park’s edgelands and across the counties of Derbyshire, Cheshire, Staffordshire and Yorkshire.

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Peak District walks

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Walks the hills and dales around Headstone Viaduct and the River Wye/Credit: Getty

Discover the Peak District on foot with our pick of the national park’s best walks, from the valleys of Chee Dale and Derwent to the heights of Kinder Scout and Chrome Hill.

Derwent Reservoir

A 10.5-mile circular walk around the majestic reservoirs and through the mixed woodland of the glorious Upper Derwent Valley in the Peak District.

10.5 miles/16.9km | 6–7 hours | moderate.  Derwent Reservoir walk.

The Roaches

Look out for wallabies while enjoying folklore and oatcakes amid striking Staffordshire gritstone outcrops with this 9.3km walk in the Peak District National Park. Late summer is a wonderful time of year to walk The Roaches ridgeline as it flushes purple with flowering heather.

5.8 miles/9.3km | 4 hours | moderate. The Roaches walk

Chrome Hill

The Dragon’s Back range are often cited as the only true peaks in the Peak District; a line of pinnacles said to resemble the ‘plates’ along the spine of a stegosaurus dinosaur. This exhilarating 10km walk includes seven short, steep climbs to each summit.

6.2 miles/10km | 4 hours | moderate. Chrome Hill walk

Mam Tor

Traditionally, the sign of a Cheshire cheese swinging in front of a pub was used to show it offered a warm welcome, and that a roaring fire, hearty meal and tankard of ale awaited within. This is certainly true of the Cheshire Cheese which lies nestled in the village of Hope in the Peak District. This is the sort of cosy pub you long to stumble across after an invigorating day in the hills.

8.7 miles/14km | 5 hours | moderate-challenging. Mam Tor walk

Kinder Scout

Sandwiched between Manchester and Sheffield in Derbyshire, the bleak but beautiful upland plateau of Kinder Scout is a landscape of wind-swept waterfalls and rocky crags, perfect for hikers and scramblers alike.

16.3 miles/26.3km | 9 hours | challenging. Kinder Scout walk

Chee Dale

Deep in the White Peak east of Buxton is a captivating area of countryside; a union of natural bounty and majestic engineering that together create a truly astounding landscape. Although it may have its challenges, this 6.8km loop walk is readily accessible to all with a measure of agility and a sense of adventure.

4.2 miles/6.8km | 3 hours | moderate. Chee Dale walk

Birchover

Surrounding the Peak District village of Birchover is a haunting landscape of gritstone bluffs, standing stones, burial mounds and Bronze-Age stone circles, hidden in inky woodland or exposed on windswept upland. The paths here are littered with the history and mythology of the south-east Peak. Explore this prehistoric landscape on a 8.6km walk.

5.3 miles/8.6km | 3 hours | moderate. Birchover walk

Discover more Peak District walks

The Peak District National Park in Derbyshire is one of Britain’s most iconic landscapes – hike over hills, moors and mountains, amble beside idyllic rivers and climb through deep gorges with our guide to the best Peak District walks.

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Where to eat and drink in the Peak District

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Old Horns Inn/Credit: Terry Robinson, Geograph

The Peak District has a fine selection of places to eat and drink, from village cafes to historic pubs. Here are a few not to miss.

Old Horns Inn, High Bradfield

Enjoy dizzying views from the Old Horns Inn beer garden across to Agden Reservoir and Bradfield Moors, and a decent selection of real ales.

The Pack Horse, Hayfield

The Pack Horse is a traditional village pub tucked below Kinder Scout. It serves succulent roasts and fine wines, and prides itself on its seasonal and sustainable menu.

Fleece Pantry, Holme

The Fleece Pantry is an Aladdin’s cave of culinary takeaway delights, from freshly baked bread, pies and pastries to breakfast in a roll.

Caudwell’s Mill, Rowsley

Enjoy comfort food, from homity pie to lemon drizzle cake, in rustic leat-side Caudwell’s Mill. The historic water mill itself was built in 1874 and the mill shop sells a wide range of flour.

Village Green café

The village of Eyam was once a lead-mining centre, although its popularity now rests on the legend of its self-imposed quarantine during the plague outbreak of 1665. The sunny Village Green café has a mouth-watering afternoon tea menu, with a cup of spiced citrus tea to warm you up, and a beautifully presented selection of sandwiches, all-butter scones with strawberry and Champagne jam and a selection of treats.

Three Stags Head

Run by earthenware potter Geoff Fuller and his wife Pat, the Three Stags Head in Wardlow Mires holds a special place in Derbyshire’s affections. It’s basic: open fires, flagstone floors, whitewashed walls, impromptu folk music, great cooking involving game and excellent beer from Abbeydale. Dogs are welcome and you might see a hawk, too. Look out for the stuffed, and armed, fox in the window. Open weekends only. 01298 872 268

Design Museum Café

Based in the David Mellor Design Museum, this stylish venue boasts light lunches,cakes and puddings, all made with local produce. Designed by Corin Mellor, the award-winning café is a fine example of informal modern dining style. Hathersage, Sheffield S32 1BA, 01433 650220.

The Devonshire Arms

Situated on the Chatsworth Estate, the Devonshire Arms offers a fascinating mix of a traditional bar area and an ultra-modern, colourful restaurant serving a mix of culinary classics and more contemporary fare, much of it featuring produce from the estate, such as Gloucester Old Spot pork, lamb and gammon. Beeley DE4 2NR, 01629 733259.