Beautiful Countryside. (Peak District)

Member Name: daseaford

Product:	Peak District
Date:	02/10/00 (65 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great views.

Disadvantages: None.

For me the beauty of the Peak District is encapsulated in the dry stone walls that snake across the hillsides for mile after mile in this wonderful part of the country.

Away from the Midlands it seems that not too many people are aware of the Peak District, but for the people in this area it is a very popular place to visit with a great variety of attractions.

The Peak District nestles between four major cities (Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham and Derby) and this is one of the reasons for the popularity of this National Park as people from the cities can very quickly travel into the hills and dales and away from the hustle and bustle of town life.

Bakewell is the only town of any size within the Peak District, and although Matlock and Buxton are technically outside of the National Park, most people think of them as being part of the Peak District.

If you have watched the television programme “Peak Practice” then you may already have seen some of the beautiful scenery that there is in this area. Across the Peak District there are a wealth of attractive villages with many small craft shops, tea rooms, pubs and churches.

During the Summer there are the Well Dressing festivals when villagers decorate the local wells with flowers to show off a feature or history of the village. These floral displays can be over ten feet tall and are made with thousands of flower heads with a skill that has been handed down the generations. At any one time there may be four or five festivals taking place and normally there may be other activities taking place in the village during the well dressing period.

The southern half of the Peak District tends to be more gentle hills and is ideal for casual walking or cycling. The northern half tends to be more rugged and this is the area for the serious hill walkers. The Pennine Way starts from the village of Edale (and continues up to Scotland) and the area around the hills of Ki
nder Scout is very bleak and challenging.

The geology of the area is a mixture of Limestone with igneous intrusions. This gives the dramatic effects of cracks and splits in the Limestone and a whole wealth of caves throughout the whole area. Everywhere in the Limestone you can see fossils, you only need to look at the dry stone walls. Please remember that as a National Park it is an offence to remove any of the rocks without permission, so please don’t be tempted to take the fossils home, leave them for everybody else to enjoy.

The igneous veins in the rocks have brought minerals to the area, particularly Lead and Blue John which have been mined for centuries. They do also say that there is gold in the hills so do keep your eyes open. Of course the Limestone itself is quarried extensively for road chippings and cement, but the quarries are very well hidden and do not affect the beauty of the area.

Sheep graze throughout the hills and this keeps the grass short and ideal for walking. There are an enormous number of footpaths throughout the area and the vast majority are very well marked, however I would strongly recommend you take a map along with you, especially if you are walking in the north of the area.

There are so many individual delights in the Peak District that you really do need to travel into the area to appreciate them all.

In time I hope to write more reviews on the attractions in the area and why people like us are drawn to the area over and over again.

I would highly recommend the Peak District and if you do visit the area then don’t just drive around. Get out of your car and wander into the hills and really appreciate what this area is all about.

Summary: