manchester tourist guide regional sightseeing
Friday, 25th July 2003
The Peak DistrictCheek by jowl with Manchester to the east is the Peak District National Park. This is riven in two between the Dark Peak and White Peak. The Dark Peak is dominated by Kinder Scout, 640 metres of rock and peat stretching out towards Bleaklow and Black Hill. The tiny village of Edale is in its shadow, and is the start of the 270 mile Pennine Way.
Glossop is the main centre in the north, an attractive town easily reached by train from Manchester. Nearby are the handsome townships of Hayfield and New Mills, the latter with an impressive gorge and award-winning footbridge. The main road from here to Sheffield goes over the aptly named Snake Pass. Over the other side of the summit is Ladybower Reservoir in the Derwent Valley, a monument to Victorian civil engineering. This is great walking and mountain-biking country. Nearby is Eyam, where a C17 plague wiped out much of the population. In August, the well dressing ceremony takes place here, one of many in Derbyshire, a tradition dating back to Pagan times.
The White Peak is a limestone region famous for its caves. Buxton in the south of the district is a former Spa town, reached by train from Manchester, with a splendid opera house in a delightful park. In the centre of the park is Mam Tor, the shivering mountain, adorned by an Iron Age hill fort, and Castleton with its dramatic stalactites and stalagmites.
Two further highlights of the Peak District are Chatsworth and Dovedale. The former is the Duke of Devonshire's impressive stately home in stunning landscaped grounds near the River Derwent at Baslow, while in the far south of the park is Dovedale, a beautiful river gorge studded with caves and forests, where angling was developed into an art form by Isaak Walton. The next valley over, the Manifold, is as beautiful but less used. Links within ManchesterOnline
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