World Travel – The Peak District National Park
The Peak District national park was the very first of the UK national parks and was designated in 1951 of which there are now a total of 13 national parks in total, with the recent addition of the New Forest National Park in southern England.
The UK national parks cover a total combined area of 27.3% of the UK landmass.
The Peak District National park actually covers an area of some 555 Square miles and is 636 metres above sea level at its highest point at a place called Kinder Scout and the principal main settlements are Bakewell and Tideswell with the large cities of Sheffield, Huddersfield, Derby and Stoke on Trent also close by.
The peak district largely due in part to its close proximity to so many major cities is the most visited national park in England (and by all accounts the second most visited in the world where recorded).
The Peak district is not only the reserve of the English of course and is also visited by many other international visitors as well from the four corners of the globe.
Being so popular there is a huge demand for accommodation around the park and the area has a thriving trade with a huge diversity of accommodation ranging from the humble (and sometimes not so humble) Peak District B&Bs right up to Peak District Luxury Hotels.
There are also a lot of barn conversions in the area which are ideal for larger groups and families, but for the romantics you can always cuddle up in one of the Peak District holiday cottages that can be found in the area and are the favoured by those f visitors who want to stay for longer periods of time.
The Peak District contrary to it name is not really mountainous as the term would conjure up, but is made up of more rounded hills or uplands and gritty escarpments.
The area is geologically split into two distinct parts namely, what is called the Dark Peak in the northern reaches, predominately moorland based on gritstone. And the southern region known as White peak whose principle geology make up is lime stone.
The Dark Peak area tends to be quite boggy so is not really suitable for agriculture but is widely used as grazing land for the local sheep population and if you are into game shooting this part of the Peak district is widely used for grouse shooting as well.
If you plan to visit the Peak district during your visit to England make sure you also put some time aside to visit the nearby city of Sheffield which is the eighth largest city in England. It’s also known as the city of trees with more trees per capita of population than any other city in Europe. It is also a cultural centre with numerous theatres’ galleries as well as many open parks so is well worth the time for a visit.
