70 Best Days Out in the Peak District
The Peak District National Park was founded on 17 April 1951, the first national park ever to be created in the UK. It covers 555 square miles of the most beautiful parts of Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire, Yorkshire and even parts of Greater Manchester.
To celebrate the 70th birthday of our very favourite place, we’ve collected together what we consider to be the 70 Best Days Out in the Peak District to inspire you to visit more of this wonderful area. Have a browse through our collection below to get suggestions for entirely new spots to discover, or to remind yourself to revisit old favourites.
You’ll find all the region’s best attractions in here, as well as the most popular beauty spots and a few hidden gems as well, not to mention some wonderful little villages and many of the vibrant towns on the borders.
Join us in celebrating the very best that the Peak District has to offer, not just in this special birthday year but in every year to come!
A trip to Speedwell Cavern in the pretty village of Castleton is a truly unique Peak District cavern experience, where visitors can travel by boat along an underground river deep under the hills. Once a lead mine, the watery tunnels of Speedwell Cavern were originally blasted over 200 years ago by miners searching for lead reserves with primitive tools. Those same tunnels now provide a fantastic glimpse of the beauty underneath the Peak District for visitors to this area, allowing explorers to discover a fascinating subterranean world.
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Mam Tor, literally meaning ‘Mother Hill’, is an iconic peak just outside the pretty Peak District village of Castleton in Derbyshire. The views from the top are well worth the walk - taking in the whole of the Hope Valley on one side and the whole of the Edale Valley to Kinder Scout and the Derwent Moors on the other.
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Dove Stone Reservoir is located in the far north west of the Peak District National Park. It's a spectacular spot in the hills and moors on the edge of Oldham, popular with visitors and families. Our beautiful Dove Stone Reservoir Walk (4 miles) gives you a great tase of the countryside in this part of the Peak District. It takes you briefly into the Chew Hills and the moors of Dove Stone Moss, and then returns for an easy circuit of the lovely reservoir, with fabulous open views of this wonderful area.
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The spa town of Buxton on the edge of the Peak District is a brilliant place to spend a day while in this area. It really does offer something for everyone, with stunning Georgian architecture, beautiful parks, indulgent spas, great shops, top-class theatre, and fantastic dining. For the kids there are caves to wonder at, woodland trails to explore, and a Go Ape experience with thrilling aerial rope walks.
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The beautiful little village of Parwich lies in the Derbyshire hills on the southern edge of the Peak District. It's surrounded by wonderful countryside and walking along the village lanes is like stepping back in time, with quaint stone cottages on quiet streets and a stream running through the centre of the village. No wonder that The Sunday Times named it ‘one of the best places to live in Britain’ in 2015.
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A day out in the beautiful village of Eyam is the perfect choice for visitors to this part of the Peak District. Set in a stunning location, surrounded by wonderful Derbyshire countryside, Eyam has a fascinating and inspiring history, reminders of which lie around every corner. Eyam today is a pretty, characterful village, with a range of small shops and cafés, a beautiful Jacobean Hall that's open to the public, a wonderful pub, a Museum and a small Visitor Information Centre.
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Full of history and character, the beautiful town of Ashbourne in Derbyshire is known as the Gateway to the Peak District. Situated on the southern edge of the Peak District, it boasts beautiful architecture, independent shops and lovely cafés, and it's the perfect base from which to explore the spectacular White Peak countryside.
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