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 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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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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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 picture-perfect town of Bakewell in Derbyshire is often referred to as the ancient capital of the Peak District, and it’s the only town that lies wholly within the boundary of the National Park. Bakewell is a relatively small market town with a population of less than 5,000, but its peaceful setting on the River Wye and its wealth of historic buildings, shops and restaurants make it a very popular destination for visitors. We think it’s a wonderful place to explore, with pretty riverside walks, narrow lanes and hidden courtyards.
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At 2,087 feet high, Kinder Scout is the highest point in the Peak District National Park, and one of the few true mountains in the region, although it's far more of a high moorland plateau than a traditional mountain. The views from its edges are awe-inspiring in the truest sense of the words. Walking to the summit from the little village of Edale takes the traveller through a huge variation in landscape and perfectly illustrates the diversity of the Peak District.
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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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The Roaches is a stunning gritstone ridge that rises up from moorland close to Leek in Staffordshire, on the south west edge of the Peak District. At its highest point the ridge reaches 505m and provides spectacular views over Staffordshire, Cheshire and even into Lancashire and Wales. it's a great place to spend a day in the Great Outdoors, with more than 975 acres of rocky upland to explore, providing a perfect playground for walkers and climbers.
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