Peak District National Park

The Peak District holds the proud title of Britain's very first national park, officially designated back in April 1951. Spanning around 555 square miles — roughly the same footprint as Greater London — it sits at the geographical heart of England, stretching across five counties: Derbyshire, Cheshire, Staffordshire, Yorkshire and Greater Manchester.

Its location makes it uniquely accessible, sitting within easy reach of major cities like Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham and Derby.

The landscape itself falls into three distinct characters. The Dark Peak is defined by dramatic gritstone edges and sweeping moorland; the White Peak by its steep, winding limestone dales; and the South West Peak by gentler rolling hills and farmland. The highest point, Kinder Scout, rises to just over 2,000 feet. Winding across it all are an extraordinary 26,000 miles of dry stone wall — enough to circle the entire Earth.

Unlike many national parks around the world, which exist as untouched wilderness, the Peak District is very much a living, working landscape — home to around 38,000 residents.

There's no shortage of ways to enjoy the Peak District. Visitors come for walking, cycling, climbing, caving, mountain biking, wildlife watching, photography, and simply soaking up the atmosphere in traditional country pubs and tearooms.

Walkers are particularly well served. The famous Pennine Way — Britain's oldest long-distance trail — sets off from the village of Edale and winds 268 miles all the way to the Scottish border. The park also contains 202 square miles of open access land, meaning walkers can roam freely without being confined to marked paths, supported by 1,600 miles of public rights of way. On top of that, the National Park Authority maintains 34 miles of traffic-free trails, many following the routes of old railway lines ~ one of which, The Tissington Trail, is located 5 minutes from Wildhive Callow Hall and guests can use the hotel bikes to explore.

The Peak District supports a remarkably varied range of wildlife across its different habitats. The limestone dales of the White Peak are rich in wildflowers and orchids, while the Dark Peak's peat bogs are internationally significant for their rare birds and plant life.

Notable species include mountain hares — found nowhere else in England outside the Scottish Highlands — along with red deer, water voles, ring ouzels and several birds of prey including peregrine falcons, goshawks and merlins. The peat bogs are also home to unusual plants like the round-leaved sundew among vast carpets of sphagnum moss.

Three-quarters of the world's heather moorland is found in the UK, with a significant portion lying within the Peak District. The park's blanket peat bogs are among the most ecologically valuable habitats on the planet, storing vast amounts of carbon in a way that rivals the effectiveness of tropical rainforest.

The Peak District has long captured the imagination of writers and filmmakers. Jane Austen set much of Pride and Prejudice in and around Bakewell, with Chatsworth House serving as her vision of Mr Darcy's Pemberley. Charlotte Brontë stayed at North Lees Hall near Hathersage, and the house later inspired Thornfield Hall in Jane Eyre.

Wordsworth, Conan Doyle and many others have drawn inspiration from the landscape, and it continues to provide the backdrop for crime novelist Stephen Booth's popular series. On screen, the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudicewas filmed here, as was the 2005 feature film starring Keira Knightley.

In a remarkable wartime chapter, RAF 617 Squadron — the legendary Dambusters — trained over Derwent and Howden reservoirs before their famous raid on the Ruhr Valley dams in 1943.