An A to Z of the Peak District - Lets Go Peak District

The Peak District National Park is filled with 555 square miles of wonderful spots in rural Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire and even areas of Greater Manchester, from picture-perfect villages to sweeping moorlands and wooded valleys. To help in your exploration of this beautiful national park, we’ve collected together some of our very favourite places to create an A to Z of the Peak District for your viewing pleasure. We hope it inspires you to discover some new gems and reminds you to revisit some old favourites!

An A - Z of the Peak District

A is for Ashford-in-the-Water

There were so many possible choices for A in our A to Z of the Peak District! Where would you have chosen? Alstonefield? Alport Castles? Arbor Low? In the end we felt we it was very hard to beat the beautiful Peak District village of Ashford-in-the-Water. If you’re looking for a perfect chocolate-box village to visit in the Peak District National Park, you’d be hard pressed to find one as lovely as Ashford-in-the-Water. It has everything that a country village needs: an idyllic riverside setting, complete with a medieval sheepwash bridge, pretty limestone cottages, narrow lanes, a classic English tearoom and a couple of cosy country pubs. The records of Ashford-in-the-Water date back to the 10th Century. In the Domesday Book of 1086 it was referred...

An A - Z of the Peak District

B is for Bradfield

We were utterly spoilt for choice with B in our A to Z of the Peak District! Bakewell? Butterton? Baslow? Birchover? They're all wonderful places, but we chose the lovely village of Bradfield in Yorkshire. There's so much to see and do here, with loads of history and stunning scenery. The village of Bradfield lies just 7 miles out of Sheffield but is surrounded by beautiful, wild moorland countryside, on the edge of the Peak District National Park in Yorkshire. It has the distinction of being the largest civil parish in England, although in fact it is made up of two villages, High Bradfield, which is situated on the hillside, and Low Bradfield, which sits down in the valley alongside the River Loxley. High Bradfield...

An A - Z of the Peak District

C is for Castleton

C also left us very spoilt for choice in our A to Z of the Peak District! Where would you have picked? Chatsworth is a perennial favourite, of course, but the lovely villages of Calver, Chelmorton and Crowdecote all deserve a look in too. And who doesn't love exploring Curbar Edge?! In the end, though, Castleton won the day - there's so much to see and do here, with the heights of Mam Tor to climb, the four lovely show caves to discover and the history of Peveril Castle to enjoy. We think a day in the beautiful village of Castleton should feature in the itinerary of every visitor to the Peak District. It’s surrounded by stunning scenery, nestled in the hills at the western end of...

An A - Z of the Peak District

D is for Dovedale

There was an obvious standout choice for the letter D in our A to Z of the Peak District: the beautiful valley of Dovedale. It's a favourite with so many people, and it has so much to offer beyond those famous stepping stones. Did you know that it was one of the areas proposed for the very first national park in 1931? Or that its name has nothing to do with doves, but comes from the pre-Saxon word 'Dub', meaning black, referring to the river's dark course through the gorge? The stunning limestone valley of Dovedale is one of the best loved beauty spots in the Peak District National Park, and indeed one of the most visited natural sites in Britain. Its steep, verdant crags tower above...

An A - Z of the Peak District

E is for Edensor

There were so many great possibilities for E in our A to Z of the Peak District! Where would you have chosen? The fascinating plague village of Eyam was definitely a contender, as was Edale, nestled at the start of the Pennine Way. Then there's lovely Elton near Bakewell and Earl Sterndale at the foot of Parkhouse and Chrome Hills. But in the end we chose the wonderful little village of Edensor, set within the Chatsworth House estate. For a small place it packs a very big punch! Edensor (pronounced ‘Enzer’) is a small but pretty village situated within the grounds of the Chatsworth House estate in the Peak District National Park. The original village was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, at which time it was located...

An A - Z of the Peak District

F is for Froggatt

There were so many wonderful places to choose from for the letterF in our A to Z of the Peak District. The picture-perfect village of Foolow was well up there, and definitely a favourite for Villager Jim, of course! But don't forget pretty Flagg, or Fenny Bentley, or Flash, the highest village in England. Where would you have chosen? In the end, our top spot went to the beautiful village of Froggatt nestled alongside the River Derwent. This small but perfectly formed place is a cluster of stone houses on narrow lanes, all overlooked by the mighty gritstone escarpment of Froggatt Edge. The pretty Derbyshire village of Froggatt lies on the banks of the River Derwent, and one of the landmarks of the village is...