Editing Peak District

{{Short description|Upland area in England}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox mountain
| fetchwikidata     = NONE
| name              = Peak District
| other_name        = 
| country           = England
| geology           = Primarily [[Sedimentary rock|sedimentary]]
| age               = Primarily [[Carboniferous]]
| highest           = [[Kinder Scout]]
| elevation         = {{cvt|636|m|ft}}
| coordinates       = {{Wikidatacoord|Q1330811|type:mountain_scale:100000|display=inline,title}}
| photo             = Mam Tor.jpg
| photo_caption     = A view of [[Mam Tor]]
| location          = [[Cheshire]], [[Derbyshire]], [[Greater Manchester]], [[South Yorkshire]], [[Staffordshire]], [[West Yorkshire]]
| district_type     = Largest settlements
| district          = [[Glossop]], [[Bakewell]], [[Buxton]]
| subdivision1_type = Areas
| subdivision1      = [[Dark Peak]], [[White Peak]]
| mapframe-zoom     = 8
| mapframe-frame-height = 225
| module            = {{Infobox protected area
 |child            = yes
 |alt_name         = '''Peak District National Park'''
 |iucn_category     = V
 |map_image         = Peak District National Park UK location map.svg
 |map_caption       = Peak District National Park (shaded green) within England
 |area_sqmi         = 555
 |designated        = {{start date|1951|4|17|df=yes}}
 |visitation_num   = Over 13&nbsp;million
 |visitation_year  = 
 |visitation_ref   = <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/learning-about/news/mediacentrefacts |title=Peak District Local Government |access-date=8 November 2016 |archive-date=27 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627231450/http://peakdistrict.gov.uk/learning-about/news/mediacentrefacts |url-status=dead}}</ref>
 |administrator    = Peak District [[National Park Authority]]
 |website          = {{URL|https://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/}}
 }}
}}
The '''Peak District''' is an [[Highland|upland]] area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the [[Pennines]]. Mostly in [[Derbyshire]], it extends into [[Cheshire]], [[Greater Manchester]], [[Staffordshire]], [[West Yorkshire]] and [[South Yorkshire]]. It is subdivided into the [[Dark Peak]], [[moorland]] dominated by [[gritstone]], and the [[White Peak]], a [[limestone]] area with valleys and gorges. The Dark Peak forms an arc on the north, east and west of the district, and the White Peak covers central and southern areas. The highest point is [[Kinder Scout]] ({{cvt|2087|ft|m}}). Most of the area is within the '''Peak District National Park''', a protected landscape designated in 1951.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2011 |title=Quarrying and mineral extraction in the Peak District National Park |url=http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/79227/factsheet4-quarrying.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127055057/http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/79227/factsheet4-quarrying.pdf |archive-date=27 January 2012 |access-date=17 April 2012 |publisher=Peak District National Park Authority}}</ref>

A 2021 report states that "the Park's own population numbers around 40,000 and supports an estimated 18,000 jobs, predominantly through farming, manufacturing and, inevitably, tourism".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.derby.ac.uk/blog/70-years-peak-district-national-park/ |title=ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF 70 YEARS OF THE PEAK DISTRICT NATIONAL PARK |date=16 April 2021 |work=University of Derby |access-date=14 December 2023 |quote= |archive-date=14 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231214214152/https://www.derby.ac.uk/blog/70-years-peak-district-national-park/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The area has been inhabited since the [[Mesolithic]] era; it was largely used for agricultural purposes until mining arose in the Middle Ages. During the [[Industrial Revolution]], several [[cotton mill]]s were constructed in the area's valleys by [[Richard Arkwright]]. As mining declined, quarrying grew. Tourism came with the railways, spurred by the landscape, [[spa town]]s and [[Castleton, Derbyshire|Castleton]]'s show caves.

==Toponymy==
The upland area of the Peak District, centred around Derbyshire, has historically been known as Peakland and The Peak. The [[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]] of 924 AD recorded the region's name as Peaclond (meaning hill country in [[Old English]]), home of the [[Pecsaetan]] tribe. From the [[Renaissance]], prominent authors (such as [[Thomas Hobbes]], [[Daniel Defoe]], [[Samuel Pepys]] and [[Charles Cotton]]) referred to the area as just The Peak.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Roland |title=The Peak National Park |publisher=Webb & Bower |year=1987 |isbn=9780863501357 |pages=17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Peak District (Red Guide) |publisher=Ward, Lock & Co. |year=1958 |pages=5}}</ref>

==Geography==
The Peak District forms the southern extremity of the Pennines.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Location and overview of the Peak District |url=http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/microsites/sopr/overview/location-and-overview-of-the-peak-district |website=Peak District National Park |access-date=5 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180805233640/http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/microsites/sopr/overview/location-and-overview-of-the-peak-district |archive-date=5 August 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Much of it is upland above {{convert|1000|ft|m|-2}}, its highest point being [[Kinder Scout]] at {{cvt|2087|ft|m}}.<ref name="Nuttall">{{Cite book |title=The Mountains of England & Wales – Volume 2: England |last1=Nuttall |first1=J. |last2=Nuttall |first2=A. |year=1990 |publisher=Cicerone |location=Milnthorpe |isbn=1-85284-037-4 |url=http://www.nuttalls.com/mountains/england.htm |access-date=23 August 2009 |archive-date=20 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120011300/https://www.nuttalls.com/mountains/england.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite its name, the landscape has fewer sharp peaks than rounded hills, [[plateau]]s, valleys, limestone [[Canyon|gorge]]s and gritstone [[escarpment]]s (the "edges").<ref name="Landscape">{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/microsites/sopr/landscape |title=Landscape |publisher=Peak District National Park State of the Park |access-date=28 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914172129/http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/microsites/sopr/landscape |archive-date=14 September 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Gritstone Edges">{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrictonline.co.uk/peak-district-gritstone-edges-c101334.html |title=Gritstone Edges |publisher=Peak District Online |access-date=28 June 2017 }}</ref> The mostly rural area is surrounded by conurbations and large urban areas, including [[Manchester]], [[Huddersfield]], [[Sheffield]], [[Derby]] and [[Stoke-on-Trent]].

The [[national park]] has formal boundaries. It covers most of the [[Dark Peak]] and [[White Peak]], but the wider Peak District is less well defined.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Peak District |url=https://www.heathrowshuttle.com/pages/peak-district |website=Heathrow Shuttle |access-date=13 February 2018 |archive-date=14 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180214014636/https://www.heathrowshuttle.com/pages/peak-district |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Dark Peak is largely uninhabited [[moorland]] and gritstone escarpments in the northern Peak District and its eastern and western margins. It encloses the central and southern White Peak, which is where most settlements, farmland and limestone gorges are found.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Accommodation in Derbyshire and the Peak National Park |url=http://www.derbyshire-peakdistrict.co.uk/accommodation.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050305084254/http://www.derbyshire-peakdistrict.co.uk/accommodation.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=5 March 2005 |website=Discover Derbyshire and the Peak District |access-date=12 May 2018}}</ref><ref name="Character areas">{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/learning-about/about-the-national-park/character-areas |publisher=Peak District.gov |title=Character areas |access-date=14 September 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914125324/http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/learning-about/about-the-national-park/character-areas |archive-date=14 September 2017 }}</ref> Three of [[Natural England]]'s [[National Character Area]]s (NCAs) cover parts of it. The Dark Peak NCA includes the northern and eastern parts of the Dark Peak and the White Peak NCA most of the White Peak. The western margins of the Dark Peak are in the South West Peak NCA, where farmland and pastured valleys are found with gritstone edges and moorland.<ref name="Character areas"/><ref name="South West Peak">{{Cite web |title=South West Peak |url=http://www.snh.org.uk/wwo/sharinggoodpractice/cci/cci/eastmidlands/053b.htm |website=Scottish Natural Heritage |access-date=12 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180513081158/http://www.snh.org.uk/wwo/sharinggoodpractice/cci/cci/eastmidlands/053b.htm |archive-date=13 May 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 

Outside the park, the wider Peak District extends from the gritstone moorlands of the [[South Pennines]] to the north, separated approximately by the [[River Tame, Greater Manchester|Tame Valley]], [[Standedge]] and [[Holme Valley]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/511867 |publisher=Natural England |title=NCA Profile: 36 Southern Pennines (NE323) |access-date=14 September 2017 |archive-date=27 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227093021/http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/511867 |url-status=live }}</ref> It continues south and roughly ends at the [[Weaver Hills]] near the [[River Churnet|Churnet Valley]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Walks in the Ancient Peak District |date=September 2005 |publisher=Robert Harris |page=143 |isbn=9781850588221 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gdeM_QLFjZsC&q=white+peak+weaver+hills&pg=PA143 |access-date=29 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Banks |first1=Francis Richard |title=English Villages |isbn=9787240005989 |page=175 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u2pnAAAAMAAJ&q=weaver+hills+southern+end+pennines |year=1963 |publisher=B.T. Batsford |access-date=15 March 2025 }}</ref> It often includes the area approximately between [[Disley]] and Sterndale Moor, encompassing [[Buxton]] and the [[Peak Dale]] corridor. It may also include some of the outer fringes and foothills, such as the Churnet<ref>{{cite book |first1=Martin |last1=Walters |first2=Bob |last2=Gibbons |title=Britain |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=220–221 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Q4fJsgiDZgC&q=churnet+valley+edge+of+peak+district&pg=PA220 |access-date=14 February 2018 |isbn=9780198504337 |year=2003 }}</ref> and [[River Derwent, Derbyshire|lower Derwent]] Valleys,<ref name="Slow Travel The Peak District">{{cite book |first=Helen |last=Moat |title=Slow Travel The Peak District |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Za2qCwAAQBAJ&q=peak+district+lower+derwent+valley&pg=PA201 |pages=200–203 |publisher=Bradt Travel Guides Ltd |access-date=5 October 2017 |isbn=9781784770075 |date=16 February 2016 }}</ref> and the area approximately between [[The Cloud (hill)|The Cloud]] and [[Mow Cop]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Emily |last=Hardy |title=Advertiser Notes and Queries |date=1882 |publisher=Swain and Company, Limited |page=22 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_GMuAAAAMAAJ&dq=is+the+area+between+the+cloud+and+mow+cop+considered+in+peak+district&pg=PA22 |access-date=23 March 2025 }}</ref> Conversely, while the rural west of the [[City of Sheffield]] falls in the park boundaries, the urban area of the city is usually excluded,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/your-city-council/sheffield-profile/introduction.html |title=City Profile Introduction |date=31 January 2013 |publisher=Sheffield City Council |access-date=23 March 2025 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019173822/https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/your-city-council/sheffield-profile/introduction.html |archive-date=19 October 2014 }}</ref> alongside the other surrounding large urban areas. The rest of the region is surrounded by lowlands,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Peak District |url=http://www.peakdistrictonline.co.uk/the-peak-district-c2672.html |publisher=Peak District Online |access-date=31 March 2018 |archive-date=1 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180401075331/http://www.peakdistrictonline.co.uk/the-peak-district-c2672.html |url-status=live }}</ref> including the [[Cheshire Plain]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Byrde Baddeley |first1=Mountford John |title=The Peak District of Derbyshire and Neighbouring Counties |date=1884 |publisher=Dulau |isbn=9781019523247 |page=63 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QwwHAAAAQAAJ&dq=cheshire+plain+and+peak+district&pg=RA1-PA63 |access-date=21 March 2025 }}</ref> and [[Greater Manchester Built-up Area]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Manchester Conurbation - Description |url=https://nationalcharacterareas.co.uk/manchester-conurbation/description/ |website=Natural England |access-date=21 March 2025 |archive-date=21 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250321100754/https://nationalcharacterareas.co.uk/manchester-conurbation/description/ |url-status=live }}</ref> to the west. The [[South Yorkshire Coalfield|Derbyshire and Yorkshire Coalfields]] lie to the east<ref>{{cite web |title=Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Yorkshire Coalfield - Description |url=https://nationalcharacterareas.co.uk/nottinghamshire-derbyshire-and-yorkshire-coalfield/description/ |website=Natural England |access-date=21 March 2025 |archive-date=21 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250321100753/https://nationalcharacterareas.co.uk/nottinghamshire-derbyshire-and-yorkshire-coalfield/description/ |url-status=live }}</ref> while the lowlands of the [[Midlands]] are to the south, near the north of the [[River Trent|Trent Valley]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Boraas |first1=Tracey |title=England |date=2003 |publisher=Bridgestone Books |isbn=9780736809375 |page=10 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d8rRsMwbJT8C&dq=peak+district+and+lowlands+of+the+midlands+to+the+south&pg=PA10 |access-date=21 March 2025}}</ref>

The national park covers {{convert|555|sqmi|km2}},<ref name="Area">{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrict-education.gov.uk/Fact%20Sheets/fz16pop.htm |title=The Peak District National Park – Fact Zone |publisher=PDNP Education |year=2000 |access-date=22 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100308043914/http://www.peakdistrict-education.gov.uk/Fact%20sheets/fz16pop.htm |archive-date=8 March 2010 }}</ref> including most of the region in Derbyshire and extends into Staffordshire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester and South and West Yorkshire. Its northern limit is on a track near Deer Hill in [[Meltham]]; its southernmost point is on the [[A52 road]] near [[Ashbourne, Derbyshire|Ashbourne]]. The boundaries were drawn to exclude built-up and industrial areas; in particular Buxton and the quarries at the end of the Peak Dale corridor are surrounded on three sides by the park. [[Bakewell]] and many villages are in the national park, as is much of the rural west of Sheffield. In 2010 it became the fifth largest national park in England and Wales.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nationalparks.gov.uk/learningabout/factsandfigures.htm |title=National Park facts and figures |publisher=National Parks |year=2009 |access-date=13 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111052829/http://www.nationalparks.gov.uk/learningabout/factsandfigures.htm |archive-date=11 January 2012 }}</ref> In the UK, designation as a national park means that planning and other functions are provided by a national park authority, with additional restrictions that enhance protection from inappropriate development. Land within this national park as in others is in a mix of public and private ownership.

The [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]], a charity that conserves historic and natural landscapes, owns about 12 per cent of the land in the national park.<ref>''Handbook for Members and Visitors 2004'', [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|The National Trust]].</ref> Its three estates ([[High Peak Estate|High Peak]], [[White Peak Estate|White Peak]] and [[Longshaw Estate|Longshaw]]) include ecologically or geologically significant areas at [[Bleaklow]], [[Derwent Edge]], [[Hope Woodlands]], [[Kinder Scout]], the [[River Manifold|Manifold]] valley, [[Mam Tor]], [[Dovedale]], [[Milldale (Peak District)|Milldale]] and [[Winnats Pass]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-highpeakestate.htm |title=High Peak Estate |publisher=[[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|The National Trust]] |year=2009 |access-date=22 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090426230500/http://nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-highpeakestate.htm |archive-date=26 April 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="South_Peak">{{Cite web |url=http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-ilampark |title=Ilam Park and South Peak Estate |publisher=[[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|The National Trust]] |year=2010 |access-date=26 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715195938/http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-ilampark |archive-date=15 July 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-longshawestate.htm |title=Longshaw Estate |publisher=[[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|The National Trust]] |year=2009 |access-date=22 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090510093420/http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-longshawestate.htm |archive-date=10 May 2009 }}</ref> The park authority owns around 5 per cent; other major landowners include several water companies.<ref name="Landuse">{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/learning-about/secondary-resources/factsheets |title=Peak District National Park Authority factsheets |publisher=Peak District National Park Authority |year=2012 |access-date=4 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140630152742/http://peakdistrict.gov.uk/learning-about/secondary-resources/factsheets |archive-date=30 June 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[Image:Near the High Peak - pano.jpg|800px|thumb|center|A [[High Peak Estate|High Peak]] panorama between [[Hayfield, Derbyshire|Hayfield]] and [[Chinley]]]]

===Settlements===
[[File:Towns of the Peak District.png|thumb|Towns around the Peak District (National Park shaded green)]]
Bakewell is the largest settlement and only town in the national park and the site of the National Park Authority offices. Its [[Bakewell Bridge|five-arched bridge]] over the River Wye dates from the 13th century.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.places-to-go.org.uk/Bakewell.htm |title=Bakewell |publisher=Places-to-go.org.uk |year=2003 |access-date=18 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224022217/http://www.places-to-go.org.uk/Bakewell.htm |archive-date=24 February 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Castleton is the centre of production of a semi-precious mineral, [[Blue John (mineral)|Blue John]]. [[Eyam]] village is known for a self-imposed quarantine during the [[Black Death in England|Black Death]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/case_plague/index.html |title=Mystery of the Black Death |publisher=[[Secrets of the Dead]] |access-date=18 June 2009 |archive-date=15 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090315090710/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/case_plague/index.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Edale]] is the southern end of the [[Pennine Way]], a 268-mile [[National Trails|national trail]] which traverses most of the Pennines and ends at [[Kirk Yetholm]] in the [[Anglo-Scottish border|Scottish border]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/pennine-way |title=Trail stats, Pennine Way |access-date=27 May 2019 |work=National Trails Homepage |publisher=[[The Countryside Agency]] |archive-date=1 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601062146/https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/pennine-way |url-status=live }}</ref> The park also contains the highest village in the United Kingdom, [[Flash, Staffordshire|Flash]], at {{convert|1519|ft|m|0}}.<ref>{{Cite news |title=The UK's highest mountain? It's not what you think |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/articles/uk-highest-places/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/articles/uk-highest-places/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |website=The Telegraph |date=9 October 2017 |access-date=8 October 2021 |last1=Smith |first1=Oliver}}{{cbignore }}</ref> Other villages in the park include [[Hathersage]], [[Hartington, Derbyshire|Hartington]], [[Ilam, Staffordshire|Ilam]] and [[Tideswell]].

The towns of [[Glossop]], [[Chapel-en-le-Frith]], [[Buxton]], [[Macclesfield]], [[Leek, Staffordshire|Leek]], Ashbourne, [[Matlock, Derbyshire|Matlock]] and [[Chesterfield, Derbyshire|Chesterfield]] are on the national park's fringes. The [[spa town]] of Buxton was built up by the [[Duke of Devonshire|Dukes of Devonshire]] as a genteel health resort in the 18th century<ref name="Visit Buxton">{{Cite web |url=http://www.visitbuxton.co.uk/ |title=Visit Buxton |publisher=VisitBuxton.co.uk |year=2007 |access-date=18 June 2009 |archive-date=1 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101104224/https://www.visitbuxton.co.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref> while the [[spa]] at [[Matlock Bath]], in the River Derwent valley, was popularised in Victorian times. [[Hayfield, Derbyshire|Hayfield]] is at the foot of Kinder Scout, the area's highest summit. Other towns and villages fringing the park include [[Whaley Bridge]], [[Hadfield, Derbyshire|Hadfield]], [[Tintwistle]], [[Darley Dale]] and [[Wirksworth]] in Derbyshire, [[Stocksbridge]] in South Yorkshire and [[Marsden, West Yorkshire|Marsden]] and [[Holmfirth]] in West Yorkshire.

===Rivers, reservoirs and canals===
[[File:Rivers of the Peak District.png|alt=|thumb|Rivers around the Peak District]]
Several rivers have sources on the moorland plateaux of the Dark Peak and the high ridges of the White Peak. Many rivers in the Dark Peak and outer fringes were dammed to create reservoirs for supplying drinking water. Streams were dammed to provide headwater for [[watermill|water driven mills]]; [[weir]]s were built for the same purpose. The reservoirs of the [[Longdendale Chain]] were completed in February 1877 to provide compensation water, ensuring a continuous flow in the [[River Etherow]], which was essential for local industry and provided drinking water for Manchester.<ref name="Quayle"/> In a report for the [[Manchester City Council|Manchester Corporation]], [[John Frederick Bateman]] wrote in 1846:

{{Blockquote|Within ten or twelve miles of Manchester, and six or seven miles from the existing reservoirs at Gorton, there is this tract of mountain land abounding with springs of the purest quality. Its physical and geological features offer such peculiar features for the collection, storage and supply of water for the use of the towns in the plains below that I am surprised that they have been overlooked.
|John Frederick Bateman<ref name="Quayle">{{Cite book |last=Quayle |first=Tom |title=Manchester's Water: The Reservoirs in the Hills |year=2006 |publisher=[[Tempus Publishing]] |location=Stroud |isbn=0-7524-3198-6 |page=15}}</ref>
}}

The western Peak District is drained by the Etherow, the [[River Goyt|Goyt]] and the [[River Tame, Greater Manchester|Tame]], all tributaries of the [[River Mersey]]. The north-east is drained by tributaries of the [[River Don, South Yorkshire|River Don]]. Of the tributaries of the [[River Trent]] draining south and east, the [[River Derwent, Derbyshire|River Derwent]] is the most prominent. It rises on Bleaklow just east of [[Glossop]] and flows through the [[Upper Derwent Valley]], where it is constrained by the [[Howden Reservoir|Howden]], [[Derwent Reservoir (Derbyshire)|Derwent]] and [[Ladybower reservoir]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bevan |first=Bill |title=The Upper Derwent: 10,000 Years in a Peak District Valley |year=2004 |publisher=[[Tempus Publishing]] |location=Stroud |isbn=0-7524-2903-5 |pages=141–159 }}</ref> The reservoirs of the Upper Derwent Valley were built from the early to mid-20th century to supply drinking water to the [[East Midlands]] and South Yorkshire.

The [[River Noe|rivers Noe]] and the [[River Wye, Derbyshire|Wye]] are tributaries.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrictonline.co.uk/content.php?categoryId=1593 |title=River Derwent |publisher=Peak District Online |year=2009 |access-date=1 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127030700/http://www.peakdistrictonline.co.uk/content.php?categoryId=1593 |archive-date=27 November 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[River Manifold]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cressbrook.co.uk/features/manifold.php |title=The Manifold is a sister river to the Dove |work=Peak District Information |publisher=Cressbrook Multimedia |year=2008 |access-date=1 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511192326/http://www.cressbrook.co.uk/features/manifold.php |archive-date=11 May 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[River Dove, Central England|River Dove]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cressbrook.co.uk/features/dove.php |title=The Dove is the major river of the South Peak |work=Peak District Information |publisher=Cressbrook Multimedia |year=2008 |access-date=1 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509075028/http://www.cressbrook.co.uk/features/dove.php |archive-date=9 May 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> in the south-west, whose sources are on [[Axe Edge Moor]], flow into the Trent. The [[River Dane]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cressbrook.co.uk/features/dane.php |title=The Dane flows west into Cheshire |work=Peak District Information |publisher=Cressbrook Multimedia |year=2008 |access-date=1 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071027151036/http://www.cressbrook.co.uk/features/dane.php |archive-date=27 October 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> flows into the [[River Weaver]] in Cheshire.

[[Image:Bugsworth 058079.jpg|thumb|right|upright|The Bugsworth Basin on the Peak Forest Canal]]
There are no canals in the national park, although the [[Standedge Tunnels]] on the [[Huddersfield Narrow Canal]] run underneath the extreme north of it. Outside the park, waters from the Dark Peak feed the [[Macclesfield Canal|Macclesfield]], [[Ashton Canal|Ashton]], and Huddersfield Narrow Canals and waters from the White Peak fed the [[Cromford Canal]]. The [[Peak Forest Canal]] brought [[Lime (material)|lime]] from the quarries at [[Dove Holes]] for the construction industry. It terminated at [[Bugsworth Basin]] and the journey was completed using the [[Peak Forest Tramway]].

The Cromford Canal, from [[Cromford]] to the [[Erewash Canal]], served lead mines at [[Wirksworth]] and [[Sir Richard Arkwright]]'s cotton mills. The [[Caldon Canal]] from [[Froghall]] was built to transport limestone from quarries at Cauldon Low for the iron industry and flints for the pottery industry.<ref name="Caldon Canal">{{Cite web |title=Caldon Canal |url=https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/canal-and-river-network/caldon-canal |website=Canal River Trust |access-date=1 October 2017 |archive-date=17 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200617014452/https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/canal-and-river-network/caldon-canal |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Climate===
Most of the area is over {{convert|1000|ft|m|-2}} above sea level,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrictinformation.com/features/kinder.php |title=Kinder Scout – the highest gritstone peak in the Peak District |publisher=Peak District Information |year=2008 |access-date=21 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722195737/http://www.peakdistrictinformation.com/features/kinder.php |archive-date=22 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> in the centre of the country at a latitude of 53°N, bringing relatively high annual rainfall averaging {{convert|40.35|in|mm}} in 1999. The Dark Peak tends to receive more rainfall than the White Peak, as it is higher. The higher rainfall does not affect the temperature, which averages the same as the rest of England and Wales at {{cvt|10.3|°C|°F}}.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrict-nationalpark.info/place/rivers/climate.html |title=Peak District Climate |publisher=Peak District National Park |year=2003 |access-date=13 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523234641/http://www.peakdistrict-nationalpark.info/place/rivers/climate.html |archive-date=23 May 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the 1970s, the Dark Peak regularly had more than 70 days of snowfall. Since then the number has fallen. The hills still see long periods of continuous snow cover in some winters. Snow in mid-December 2009 on some hill summits created some snow patches that lasted until May 2010. In the same winter, the A635 (Saddleworth Moor) and A57 (Snake Pass) were closed due to snow for almost a month. Frost cover is seen for 20–30 per cent of the winter on moorland in the Dark Peak and 10 per cent in the White Peak.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.thepeakdistrict.info/fast/html/peak_district_general_informat.html |title=About the Peak District&nbsp;... |publisher=ThePeakDistrict.info |year=2007 |access-date=23 May 2009 |archive-date=26 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090426010916/http://www.thepeakdistrict.info/fast/html/peak_district_general_informat.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Moorland Indicators of Climate Change Initiative was set up in 2008 to collect data in the area. Students investigated the interaction between people and the moorlands and their effect on climate change, to discover whether the moorlands are a net [[carbon sink]] or source, based on the fact that Britain's upland areas contain a major global carbon store in the form of [[peat]]. Human interaction in terms of direct erosion and fire, with the effects of global warming, are the main variables they considered.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/learning-about/learning-projects/climatechangeproject |title=Moorland Indicators of Climate Change Initiative 2012 |publisher=Peak District |year=2012 |access-date=3 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120122183958/http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/learning-about/learning-projects/climatechangeproject |archive-date=22 January 2012}}</ref>

==Geology==
{{Main|Geology of the Peak District National Park}}
The Peak District is formed almost wholly of [[sedimentary rock]]s of the [[Carboniferous]] period. They make up the [[carboniferous limestone]] overlying [[gritstone]], and the [[coal measures]] that occur only on the margins and infrequent outcrops of [[igneous rock]]s, including [[lava]]s, [[tuff]]s and [[volcano|volcanic vent]] [[agglomerate]]s.<ref>Paul Gannon, ''Rock Trails Peak District: A Hillwalker's Guide to the Geology and Scenery'', Pesda Press, 2011. {{ISBN|978-1-906095-24-6 }}</ref> The general geological structure is that of a broad [[dome (geology)|dome]], whose western margins have been intensely [[fault (geology)|fault]]ed and [[fold (geology)|fold]]ed. [[Geologic uplift|Uplift]] and [[erosion]] have sliced the top off the [[Derbyshire Dome]] to reveal a [[concentric]] [[outcrop]] pattern with coal-measured rocks on the eastern and western margins, carboniferous limestone at the core and rocks of [[millstone grit]] between them. The southern edge of the Derbyshire dome is overlain by [[sandstone]]s of [[Triassic]] age, though they barely impinge on the National Park. The White Peak forms a central and southern section with carboniferous limestone found at or near the surface.<ref name="NCA Profile: 52 White Peak (NE534)">{{Cite web |title=NCA Profile: 52 White Peak (NE534) |url=http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/6364771410509824 |website=Natural England |access-date=13 February 2018 |archive-date=1 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201171617/http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/6364771410509824? |url-status=live }}</ref> The Dark Peak to the north, east and west is marked by millstone grit outcrops and broad swathes of moorland.<ref name="NCA Profile: 51 Dark Peak (NE378)">{{Cite web |title=NCA Profile: 51 Dark Peak (NE378) |url=http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/3684793 |website=Natural England |access-date=13 February 2018 |archive-date=9 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109005153/http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/3684793? |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="South West Peak"/>

Earth movements after the Carboniferous period resulted in the up-doming of the area and, particularly in the west, the folding of the rock strata along north–south axes. The region was raised in a north–south line which resulted in the dome-like shape<ref name="Geology_explained">{{Cite book |title=Geology Explained in the Peak District |last=Cope |first=F.&nbsp;W. |year=1976 |isbn=0-7153-6945-8 |publisher=[[David & Charles]] }}</ref> and the [[shale]]s and sandstones were worn away until limestone was exposed. At the end of this period, the Earth's crust sank here which led to the area being covered by sea, depositing a variety of new rocks.<ref name="Geology">{{Cite web |url=http://www.cressbrook.co.uk/features/geology.php |title=The Peak District is a very interesting area geologically |work=Peak District Information |publisher=Cressbrook Multimedia |year=2008 |access-date=24 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415104420/http://www.peakdistrictinformation.com/features/geology.php |archive-date=15 April 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Some time after its deposition, mineral veins were formed in the limestone. The veins and rakes have been mined for lead since [[Ancient Rome|Roman times]].<ref name="Geology"/>
[[Image:Thor's cave.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Thor's Cave]] seen from the [[Manifold Way]]]]
The Peak District was iced over in at least one of the [[ice age]]s of the last two million years, probably the [[Anglian (stage)|Anglian]] glaciation of some 450,000 years ago, as shown by patches of glacial till or boulder clay found across the area. It was not iced over in the [[last glacial period]], which peaked about 20,000–22,000 years ago. A mix of Irish Sea and Lake District ice abutted its western margins. Glacial meltwaters eroded a complex of sinuous channels along this margin of the district.<ref>N. Aitkenhead, et al., ''British Regional Geology: the Pennines and adjacent areas'' (4th ed., 2002), BGS, Nottingham.</ref> Glacial meltwaters contributed to the formation and development of many caves in the limestone area.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Geology of Britain |last=Macdougall |first=D. |year=2006 |isbn=0-520-24824-4 |publisher=University of California Press |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/frozenearthoncef00macd }}</ref> Remains of wild animal herds roaming the area have been found in several caves.<ref name="Geology"/>

Various rock-types beneath the soil strongly influence the landscape; they determine the type of [[vegetation]] and ultimately the type of animal inhabiting the area.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Geology of Britain |last=Toghill |first=P. |year=2002 |isbn=1-84037-404-7 |publisher=Crowood Press }}</ref> [[Limestone]] has fissures and is [[Solubility|soluble]] in water, so that rivers could carve deep, narrow valleys. These often find routes underground, creating cave systems. Millstone grit is insoluble but [[Porosity|porous]], absorbing water that seeps through the grits, until it meets the less porous shales beneath, creating [[Spring (hydrosphere)|springs]] where it reaches the surface. The shales are friable and easily attacked by frost, forming areas vulnerable to landslides, as on Mam Tor.<ref name="Geology_explained"/>

==Ecology==
The gritstone and shale of the Dark Peak supports [[Ericaceae|heather]] moorland and [[blanket bog]], with rough sheep pasture and [[grouse]] shooting as the main land uses, though parts are also farmed,<ref name="NCA Profile: 51 Dark Peak (NE378)"/> especially the South West Peak NCA.<ref name="NCA Profile: 53 South West Peak (NE453)">{{Cite web |title=NCA Profile: 53 South West Peak (NE453) |url=http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/12392045 |website=Natural England |access-date=26 September 2017 |archive-date=4 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004224354/http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/12392045? |url-status=live }}</ref> The limestone plateaus of the White Peak are more intensively farmed, with mainly dairy usage of improved pastures.<ref name="NCA Profile: 52 White Peak (NE534)"/> Woodland forms some 8 per cent of the Peak National Park.<ref name="Landuse"/> Natural broad-leaved [[woodland]] appears in the steep dales of the [[White Peak]] and cloughs of the Dark Peak. Reservoir margins often have coniferous plantations.

===Flora===
White Peak habitats include [[calcareous grassland]], ash woodlands and rock outcrops for lime-loving species.<ref name="The Flora of Derbyshire."/> They include [[Orchis mascula|early purple orchid]] (''Orchis mascula''), [[Epipactis atrorubens|dark-red helleborine]] (''Epipactis atrorubens'') and [[Ophrys insectifera|fly orchid]] (''Ophrys insectifera''), [[Helianthemum nummularium|common rockrose]] (''Helianthemum nummularium''), [[Helianthemum nummularium|spring cinquefoil]] (''Helianthemum nummularium'') and [[Parnassia palustris|grass of parnassus]] (''Parnassia palustris''). Lead rakes, the spoil heaps of ancient mining activity, form another distinctive White Peak habitat, supporting a range of rare [[metallophyte]] plants, including [[Minuartia|spring sandwort]] (''Minuartia verna''; also known as leadwort), [[Thlaspi caerulescens|alpine pennycress]] (''Thlaspi caerulescens'') and [[Viola lutea|mountain pansy]] (''Viola lutea'').<ref name="Lead">{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/lead |title=Biodiversity Action Plan – The Lead Legacy |publisher=Peak District |year=2004 |access-date=13 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720112405/http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/lead |archive-date=20 July 2011}}</ref>

Two [[Endemism|endemic]] vascular plants are found nowhere else in the world: [[Hieracium naviense|Derby hawkweed]] (''Hieracium naviense''), found only in [[Winnats Pass]],<ref name="The Flora of Derbyshire."/> is a native perennial of limestone cliffs discovered by J. N. Mills in 1966 and described as a new species in 1968;<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mills |first1=J.&nbsp;N. |title=A new species of Hieracium in Derbyshire |journal=Watsonia |date=1968 |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=40–42 |url=http://archive.bsbi.org.uk/Wats7p40.pdf |access-date=25 April 2018 |publisher=BSBI |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304094302/http://archive.bsbi.org.uk/Wats7p40.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> and leek-coloured hawkweed (''H. subprasinifolium''), which was believed extinct until rediscovered on banks beside the [[Monsal Trail]] in [[Chee Dale]] in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Extinct plant rediscovered in the Peak District National Park |url=https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/extinct-plant-rediscovered-in-the-peak-district-national-park-1-8739153 |website=The Star |date=6 September 2017 |access-date=25 April 2018 |archive-date=26 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426012016/https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/extinct-plant-rediscovered-in-the-peak-district-national-park-1-8739153 |url-status=live }}</ref> The endemic [[Thamnobryum angustifolium|Derbyshire feather moss]] (''Thamnobryum angustifolium'') occurs in one Derbyshire limestone dale, its sole world location intentionally kept confidential; the colony covers about {{convert|3|m2}} of a rock face with small subsidiary colonies nearby.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.slu.se/Global/externwebben/centrumbildningar-projekt/bryoconservation/Pdf%20ArtFaktablad/Faktablad/Thamnobryum_angustifolium.PDF |title=''Thamnobryum angustifolium'': Derbyshire feather-moss |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151210213710/http://www.slu.se/Global/externwebben/centrumbildningar-projekt/bryoconservation/Pdf%20ArtFaktablad/Faktablad/Thamnobryum_angustifolium.PDF |publisher=Joint Nature Conservation Committee |first=Nick&nbsp;G. |last=Hodgketts |date=March 2001 |archive-date=10 December 2015 |access-date=2 October 2017}}</ref>

[[Polemonium caeruleum|Jacob's-ladder]] (''Polemonium caeruleum''), a rarish species characteristic of limestone dales in the White Peak, has been Derbyshire's county flower since 2002.<ref name="The Flora of Derbyshire.">{{Cite book |last1=Willmott |first1=Alan |last2=Moyes |first2=Nick |title=The Flora of Derbyshire |year=2015 |publisher=Pisces Publication |isbn=978-1-874357-65-0 }}</ref> It grows on grassland, light woodland, screes and rock ledges, and by streams in [[River Lathkill|Lathkill]], Wolfscote, Taddington, [[River Wye, Derbyshire|Wye]] Dale and other dales. Pollen evidence from peat bogs shows it was widespread throughout Britain just after the last ice age. Much planted in gardens from where it has established itself in other parts of the area, as a native it is restricted to the White Peak and the [[Yorkshire Dales]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Polemonium caeruleum |url=https://secure.derby.gov.uk/flora/?SpeciesID=1326 |website=Derby City Council |access-date=25 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426012039/https://secure.derby.gov.uk/flora/?SpeciesID=1326 |archive-date=26 April 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Dark Peak heathlands, bogs, gritstone edges and acid grasslands contain relatively few species; [[Calluna|heather]] (''Calluna vulgaris''), [[Empetrum nigrum|crowberry]] (''Empetrum nigrum''), [[Vaccinium myrtillus|bilberry]] (''Vaccinium myrtillus'') and [[Eriophorum vaginatum|hare's-tail cotton grass]] (''Eriophorum vaginatum'') dominate the high moors.<ref name="The Flora of Derbyshire."/> After decades of decline due to pollution, ''Sphagnum'' mosses are returning, with species such as ''[[Sphagnum cuspidatum|S. cuspidatum]]'' particularly dominant.

===Fauna===
====Mammals====
Most Peak District mammals are generalists and widespread across the UK, but the [[mountain hare]]s on heather moorland in the Dark Peak form the only wild population in England. They were reintroduced in the Victorian era for sporting purposes.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.derbyshiremammalgroup.org.uk/species_status/mountain_hare.html |title=Mountain Hare ''Lepus timidus'' |publisher=Derbyshire Mammal Group |access-date=12 March 2018 |archive-date=11 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241211202513/https://www.derbyshiremammalgroup.org.uk/species_status/mountain_hare.html |url-status=live }}</ref> A feral population of [[Red-necked wallaby|red-necked wallabies]] lived around [[The Roaches]] from the 1940s onwards, but may now be extinct.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/naturestudies/the-decline-and-fall-of-the-peak-district-wallabies-8503546.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/naturestudies/the-decline-and-fall-of-the-peak-district-wallabies-8503546.html |archive-date=25 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=The decline and fall of the Peak District wallabies |newspaper=The Independent |date=20 February 2013 |first=Michael |last=McCarthy |access-date=12 March 2018 }}</ref> [[Red deer]] herds, assumed to be derived from animals escaped from [[Deer park (England)|deer park]]s at [[Lyme Park]] and [[Chatsworth House|Chatsworth]], are established in the upper reaches of the [[River Goyt|Goyt valley]] and on the moors above [[Baslow]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.derbyshiremammalgroup.org.uk/species_status/red_deer.html |title=Red Deer Cervus elaphus |publisher=Derbyshire Mammal Group |access-date=12 March 2018 |archive-date=11 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241211185931/https://www.derbyshiremammalgroup.org.uk/species_status/red_deer.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=The Red Deer of the Peak District – photograph special |url=http://www.derbyshirelife.co.uk/out-about/wildlife/the-red-deer-of-the-peak-district-photograph-special-1-4307436 |newspaper=Derbyshire Life |first=Paul |last=Hobson |date=12 November 2015 |access-date=11 March 2018 |archive-date=29 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129131928/http://www.derbyshirelife.co.uk/out-about/wildlife/the-red-deer-of-the-peak-district-photograph-special-1-4307436 |url-status=live }}</ref> and a herd on [[Wharncliffe Crags]] outside the national park north of Sheffield may derive from hunting stock of Wharncliffe Chase.<ref>{{Cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DyzwAwAAQBAJ&q=red+deer&pg=PA30 |chapter=The dynamic influence of history and ecology on the restoration of a major urban heathland at Wharncliffe, South Yorkshire |first1=Ian&nbsp;D. |last1=Rotherham |first2=John&nbsp;C. |last2=Rose |first3=Chris |last3=Percy |publisher=Landscape Conservation Forum |editor-first1=Ian&nbsp;D. |editor-last1=Rotherham |editor-first2=Christine |editor-last2=Handley |title=Wild by Design and Ploughing on Regardless: Landscape Archaeology and Ecology Special Series |date=August 2012 |isbn=9781904098393 |access-date=12 March 2018 }}</ref> [[Biodiversity action plan]]s have been prepared for mountain hare, [[European hare|brown hare]], [[brown long-eared bat]], [[Hazel dormouse|dormouse]], [[Eurasian harvest mouse|harvest mouse]], [[European hedgehog|hedgehog]], [[noctule bat]], [[Eurasian otter|otter]], [[European pine marten|pine marten]], [[European polecat|polecat]], [[soprano pipistrelle]] and [[European water vole|water vole]].<ref name="Biodiversity Action Plan Species Found in the Peak District">{{Cite web |title=Biodiversity Action Plan Species Found in the Peak District |url=http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/610716/PDNPA-BAP-Species-Table-240815.pdf |website=Peak District National Park |access-date=11 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122101834/http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/610716/PDNPA-BAP-Species-Table-240815.pdf |archive-date=22 November 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The status of the pine marten is unclear, though confirmed sightings have occurred in recent decades in Derbyshire and north Staffordshire<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.derbyshiremammalgroup.org.uk/species_status/pine_marten.html |title=PINE MARTEN Martes martes |publisher=Derbyshire Mammal Group |access-date=12 March 2018 |archive-date=12 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241212053623/https://www.derbyshiremammalgroup.org.uk/species_status/pine_marten.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and a specimen from an introduced Welsh population<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-45331872 |title=Mystery of pine marten found dead '100 miles from home' |publisher=BBC |date=28 August 2018 |access-date=28 August 2018 |archive-date=29 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829055249/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-45331872 |url-status=live }}</ref> was found dead outside the national park on a road between [[Ripley, Derbyshire|Ripley]] and [[Belper]] in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.derbyshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/news/rare-pine-marten-discovered-derbyshire |title=Rare pine marten discovered in Derbyshire |publisher=Derbyshire Wildlife Trust |date=24 August 2018 |access-date=25 August 2018 |archive-date=26 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180826043913/https://www.derbyshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/news/rare-pine-marten-discovered-derbyshire |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Birds====
As with mammals, many Peak bird species are widespread generalists. The Dark Peak moors still support breeding populations of several upland specialists, such as [[twite]],<ref name="pdnp">{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/looking-after/biodiversity/peak-district-biodiversity/peak-district-species/moorland-species |title=Moorland Species |publisher=Peak District National Park |access-date=23 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425032053/http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/looking-after/biodiversity/peak-district-biodiversity/peak-district-species/moorland-species |archive-date=25 April 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://britishbirds.co.uk/article/notes-neglected-colony-twite-central-england/ |title=Notes on a neglected colony of Twite in central England |journal=British Birds |date=15 June 2016 |first1=Jamie |last1=Dunning |first2=Roy |last2=Frost |first3=Steve |last3=Christmas |first4=Mick |last4=Pearson |access-date=23 April 2018 |archive-date=25 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425114632/https://britishbirds.co.uk/article/notes-neglected-colony-twite-central-england/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[short-eared owl]],<ref name="pdnp"/><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.derbyshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/species/short-eared-owl |title=Short-eared Owl ''Asio flammeus'' |publisher=Derbyshire Wildlife Trust |access-date=23 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425114846/https://www.derbyshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/species/short-eared-owl |archive-date=25 April 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[European golden plover|golden plover]],<ref name="pdnp"/> [[dunlin]],<ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://britishbirds.co.uk/article/recovery-breeding-dunlin-population-peak-district-response-blanket-bog-restoration/ |title=Recovery of a breeding Dunlin population in the Peak District in response to blanket bog restoration |journal=British Birds |date=8 February 2017 |first1=Dave |last1=O'Hara |first2=Jon |last2=Bird |first3=Kate |last3=Hanley |first4=Geoff |last4=Carr |access-date=23 April 2018 |archive-date=25 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425114755/https://britishbirds.co.uk/article/recovery-breeding-dunlin-population-peak-district-response-blanket-bog-restoration/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[ring ouzel]],<ref name="pdnp"/> [[northern wheatear]]<ref name="Peak Birds Project">{{Cite web |url=http://ww2.rspb.org.uk/Images/peakdistrictbirds_tcm9-132780.pdf |title=Where to find birds in the Peak District |publisher=Peak Birds Project |access-date=23 April 2018 |archive-date=25 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425032401/http://ww2.rspb.org.uk/Images/peakdistrictbirds_tcm9-132780.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[merlin (bird)|merlin]].<ref name="pdnp"/> The populations of twite and golden plover are the southernmost confirmed breeding populations in England,<ref name="bto">{{cite book |first1=D.&nbsp;E. |last1=Balmer |first2=S. |last2=Gillings |first3=B.&nbsp;J. |last3=Caffrey |first4=R.&nbsp;L. |last4=Swann |first5=I.&nbsp;S. |last5=Downie |first6=R.&nbsp;J. |last6=Fuller |title=Bird Atlas 2007–11: the breeding and wintering birds of Britain and Ireland |publisher=BTO Books |date=2013 |location=Thetford |isbn=978-1-908581-28-0 }}</ref> and the Peak District Moors Special Protection Area (SPA) is a European designation for its populations of merlin, golden plover and short-eared owl.<ref name="pdnp"/> The Peak District lacks the concentrations of breeding [[wader]]s found further north in the Pennines, though the moors and their fringes accommodate breeding [[Eurasian curlew|curlew]] and [[Northern lapwing|lapwing]],<ref name="Peak Birds Project"/> and less noticeable wading birds such as dunlin and [[Common snipe|snipe]].<ref name="Peak Birds Project"/>

Commercial [[driven grouse shooting]] occurs on the heather moorlands of the Dark Peak, where the [[red grouse]] population is maintained by gamekeepers employed by shooting estates.<ref name="marsland">{{Cite journal |title=Birds of the Peak District |first=Michael |last=Marsland |journal=Bird Study |date=1974 |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=135–140 |doi=10.1080/00063657409476409 |bibcode=1974BirdS..21..135M}}</ref><ref name="malp">{{Cite web |url=http://ww2.rspb.org.uk/Images/PeakMalpractice_tcm9-132666.pdf |title=Peak Malpractice: What's happening to wildlife in the Peak District National Park? |publisher=RSPB |date=2006 |access-date=23 April 2018 |archive-date=25 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425032302/http://ww2.rspb.org.uk/Images/PeakMalpractice_tcm9-132666.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> A population of [[black grouse]] became extinct in 2000,<ref name="bto"/> but reintroduction was attempted in 2003.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.birdguides.com/articles/black-grouse-in-the-upper-derwent-valley-an-update/ |title=Black Grouse in the Upper Derwent Valley – an Update |publisher=BirdGuides |date=21 March 2006 |first=Matthew |last=Capper |access-date=23 April 2018 }}</ref> Quarries and rock outcrops provide nest sites for [[peregrine falcon]] and [[common raven]]. Ravens and [[common buzzard]]s are increasingly found as their British range expands eastwards, perhaps because of general reductions in persecution. Illegal persecution has limited populations of rare raptors such as [[Eurasian goshawk]], peregrine and [[hen harrier]].<ref name="malp"/> Following the [[RSPB]]'s publication of ''Peak Malpractice'', a 2006 report highlighting wildlife crime,<ref name="malp"/> the Peak District Bird of Prey Initiative was set up in 2011 by conservationists and shooting bodies to try to boost populations of birds of prey.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/1055570/Bird-of-Prey-Initiative-2016-17-Report.pdf |title=Peak District Bird of Prey Initiative – 2016 & 2017 Report |publisher=Peak District Bird of Prey Initiative |date=2018 |access-date=26 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202151716/http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/1055570/Bird-of-Prey-Initiative-2016-17-Report.pdf |archive-date=2 February 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The park authorities expressed disappointment at the limited results<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/learning-about/news/current-news/peak-district-bird-of-prey-initiative |title=Peak District Bird of Prey Initiative |publisher=Peak District National Park |date=25 January 2018 |access-date=23 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425033329/http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/learning-about/news/current-news/peak-district-bird-of-prey-initiative |archive-date=25 April 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the RSPB withdrew from the partnership in January 2018 citing continued efforts by the Moorland Association and National Gamekeepers' Organisation which together had "frustrated any possibility of progress" on the issue.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.rspb.org.uk/about-the-rspb/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/rspb-ends-involvement-in-failed-peak-district-bird-of-prey-initiative/ |title=RSPB ends involvement in failed Peak District Bird of Prey Initiative |publisher=RSPB |date=23 January 2018 |access-date=23 April 2018 |archive-date=30 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430012129/https://www.rspb.org.uk/about-the-rspb/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/rspb-ends-involvement-in-failed-peak-district-bird-of-prey-initiative/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Fast-flowing rivers attract specialists such as [[grey wagtail]],<ref name="marsland"/> [[White-throated dipper|dipper]],<ref name="lgre">{{Cite book |first=Lee&nbsp;G.&nbsp;R. |last=Evans |title=The Ultimate Site Guide to Scarcer British Birds |publisher=BirdGuides |date=2009 |isbn=978-1898110491}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.moorsforthefuture.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/MFF%20RN01%202004%20Breeding%20bird%20survey%20of%20the%20Peak%20District%20moorlands.pdf |title=Breeding Bird Survey of the Peak District Moorlands:Moors for the Future Research Note No 1 |publisher=Moors for the Future |date=May 2005 |access-date=23 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425032246/http://www.moorsforthefuture.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/MFF%20RN01%202004%20Breeding%20bird%20survey%20of%20the%20Peak%20District%20moorlands.pdf |archive-date=25 April 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[common sandpiper]],<ref name="marsland"/> [[mandarin duck]]<ref name="birdreport"/> and [[Common merganser|goosander]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/817772/State-of-Nature-in-the-Peak-District-Report-by-Penny-Anderson-for-Nature-Peak-District.pdf |title=State of Nature in the Peak District |publisher=Nature Peak District |year=2016 |first=Penny |last=Anderson |at=Section 5.22 |access-date=23 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170610161929/http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/817772/State-of-Nature-in-the-Peak-District-Report-by-Penny-Anderson-for-Nature-Peak-District.pdf |archive-date=10 June 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Wooded and semi-wooded areas attract [[common redstart|redstart]],<ref name="Peak Birds Project"/> [[European pied flycatcher|pied flycatcher]],<ref name="Peak Birds Project"/> [[wood warbler]]<ref name="Peak Birds Project"/> and [[tree pipit]],<ref name="marsland"/> and coniferous plantations house [[Eurasian siskin|siskin]] and [[Red crossbill|common crossbill]].<ref name="lgre"/> Upland reservoirs in the Dark Peak are generally [[oligotroph]]ic and attract few birds, but lower-lying reservoirs on the southern fringes such as [[Carsington Water]] and [[Ogston Reservoir]] regularly attract rare migrants and wintering rarities such as various waders, wildfowl, gulls and terns.<ref name="birdreport"/> The area is regularly overflown by wintering populations of [[pink-footed geese]]<ref name="birdreport">{{Cite journal |title=Derbyshire Bird Report |issue=various |publisher=Derbyshire Ornithological Society }}</ref> moving between East Anglia and Morecambe Bay.

Dipper, golden plover, hen harrier, merlin and short-eared owl are local [[biodiversity action plan]] priority species.<ref name="Biodiversity Action Plan Species Found in the Peak District"/>

Fossil records show that the Peak District was once inhabited by an eclectic mix of species, many of them no longer found in Britain, such as [[alpine swift]], [[demoiselle crane]] and [[long-legged buzzard]]. Species lost from the Peak District through human activity include [[hazel grouse]], [[western capercaillie|capercaillie]] and [[golden eagle]].<ref name="lees">{{Cite web |url=https://www.derbyshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/envisioning-brighter-future-birds-dark-peak |title=Envisioning a brighter future for the birds of the Dark Peak |first=Lees |last=Alexander |date=15 April 2020 |publisher=Derbyshire Wildlife Trust |access-date=18 April 2020 |archive-date=27 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927160608/https://www.derbyshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/envisioning-brighter-future-birds-dark-peak |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Other taxa====
Amphibians and reptiles such as [[Viviparous lizard|common lizard]]s, [[grass snake]]s, [[Northern crested newt|great crested newt]]s and [[Anguis fragilis|slow worm]]s are found in the district.<ref name="Biodiversity Action Plan Species Found in the Peak District"/> The eastern moors are a stronghold for [[Vipera berus|adder]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.sorby.org.uk/v2/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/SS11_1997_Reptiles_Amphibians_OCRc.pdf |title=Reptiles and Amphibians of the Sheffield Area and North Derbyshire |publisher=Sorby Natural History Society |location=Sheffield |year=1997 |first=Derek |last=Whiteley |access-date=23 April 2018 |archive-date=26 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426075857/http://www.sorby.org.uk/v2/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/SS11_1997_Reptiles_Amphibians_OCRc.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Native fish in the Peak District include [[Atlantic salmon]], [[brown trout]], [[European eel]],<ref name="Biodiversity Action Plan Species Found in the Peak District"/> [[European bullhead|bullhead]], [[brook lamprey]] and [[Thymallus|grayling]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rivers and Streams |url=http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/158646/Rivers-and-Streams.pdf |website=Peak District National Park |access-date=11 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130625005756/http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/158646/Rivers-and-Streams.pdf |archive-date=25 June 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A possibly unique population of "wild" [[rainbow trout]] survives on the [[River Wye, Derbyshire|Derbyshire Wye]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://theriverbeat.blogspot.com/2012/07/wild-rainbows-of-river-wye-derbyshire.html |title=Wild Rainbows of the River Wye, Derbyshire |publisher=The River Beat |type=blog |date=3 July 2012 |access-date=22 August 2018 |archive-date=23 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823005851/http://theriverbeat.blogspot.com/2012/07/wild-rainbows-of-river-wye-derbyshire.html |url-status=live }}</ref> following their introduction at the turn of the 20th century.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/sport/angling/rainbows-the-pride-of-the-river-wye-1-483071 |title=Rainbows: the pride of the river Wye |newspaper=Derbyshire Times |date=25 March 2009 |access-date=22 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180822214311/https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/sport/angling/rainbows-the-pride-of-the-river-wye-1-483071 |archive-date=22 August 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Butterflies in the region include the [[dingy skipper]], [[Aricia agestis|brown argus]], [[small blue]] and [[white-letter hairstreak]]. Moths include the [[Stilbia anomala|anomalous]], [[Ceramica pisi|broom moth]], [[dot moth]], [[garden dart]], [[mouse moth]] and [[Spilosoma lubricipeda|white ermine]]. Other invertebrates include the [[Bombus monticola|bilberry bumblebee]], [[Monocephalus|broad groove-head spider]], [[mole cricket]], [[Lipsothrix|northern yellow splinter]], [[Formicoxenus nitidulus|shining guest ant]], [[Meloe violaceus|violet oil beetle]] and [[Austropotamobius pallipes|white-clawed crayfish]].<ref name="Biodiversity Action Plan Species Found in the Peak District"/>

== National Park ==
The Peak District National Park was the first national park to be designated in the United Kingdom, on 17 April 1951 (following the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949 and a resulting public enquiry to establish its boundary).<ref>{{Cite web |title=D4721 - Peak District National Park Authority, formerly Peak Park Planning Board - 1935-c1990 |url=https://calmview.derbyshire.gov.uk/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=D4721&pos=1 |access-date=29 February 2024 |website=Derbyshire Record Office |archive-date=29 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229104237/https://calmview.derbyshire.gov.uk/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=D4721&pos=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> It was one of ten parks created in the 1950s in the wake of the 1945 Dower Report and 1947 [[Arthur Hobhouse|Hobhouse]] Report, which recommended the creation of national parks in England and Wales.<ref>{{cite web |title=70 Years of the Peak District National Park |url=https://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/learning-about/news/70-years-of-the-peak-district-national-park |access-date=12 June 2023 |website=Peak District National Park |archive-date=12 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230612111708/https://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/learning-about/news/70-years-of-the-peak-district-national-park |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=History of our National Park |url=https://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/learning-about/about-the-national-park/our-history |access-date=12 June 2023 |website=Peak District National Park |archive-date=14 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190714041006/https://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/learning-about/about-the-national-park/our-history |url-status=live }}</ref> The park has an area of {{convert|1438|km2|sqmi}} and receives approximately 13&nbsp;million visitors each year.<ref>{{cite web |title=Peak District facts |url=https://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/learning-about/news/70-years-of-the-peak-district-national-park/peak-district-facts |access-date=12 June 2023 |website=Peak District National Park |archive-date=12 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230612111710/https://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/learning-about/news/70-years-of-the-peak-district-national-park/peak-district-facts |url-status=live }}</ref> 90% of the national park is privately owned, with the largest single owner being the [[National Trust]] (12%).<ref>{{cite web |date=15 February 2011 |title=Peak District National Park, England – National Geographic |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/peak-district-england |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220820032032/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/peak-district-england |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 August 2022 |access-date=12 June 2023 |website=Travel}}</ref>

The national park is governed by the Peak District National Park Authority, which was established under the 1995 Environment Act, replacing the Peak Park Planning Board.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Peak District National Park Authority |url=https://calmview.derbyshire.gov.uk/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Persons&id=DS/UK/496 |access-date=29 February 2024 |website=Derbyshire Record Office }}</ref> The authority has 30 members, 14 appointed by the [[Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs|Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs]] and 16 appointed by the local authorities covered by the park. The local authorities and the number of members they appoint are as follows:<ref>{{Cite web |title=The National Park Authorities (England) Order 2015, schedule 1 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/770/schedule/1 |access-date=12 June 2023 |website=legislation.gov.uk}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Local authority
!Members
|-
|[[Cheshire East Council]]
|1
|-
|[[Derbyshire County Council]]
|4
|-
|[[Staffordshire County Council]]
|1
|-
|[[Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council]]
|1
|-
|[[Derbyshire Dales]] District Council
|2
|-
|[[High Peak Borough Council]]
|2
|-
|[[Kirklees Council|Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council]]
|1
|-
|[[North East Derbyshire]] District Council
|1
|-
|[[Oldham Council|Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council]]
|1
|-
|[[Sheffield City Council]]
|1
|-
|[[Staffordshire Moorlands]] District Council
|1
|}

==History==
[[Image:Kinder plateau.jpg|thumb|right|upright|A view of the [[Edale]] valley from [[Mam Tor]]]]
The Peak has been inhabited from the earliest periods of human activity, as shown by finds of [[Mesolithic]] flint artefacts and [[Palaeogeography|palaeo-environmental]] evidence from caves in Dovedale and elsewhere. Signs of [[Neolithic]] activity include monumental earthworks or [[Tumulus|barrows]] such as the one at [[Margery Hill]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.eng-h.gov.uk/ArchRev/rev94_5/margery.htm |title=Margery Hill, South Yorkshire |publisher=[[English Heritage]] |year=1994 |access-date=22 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012232222/http://www.eng-h.gov.uk/ArchRev/rev94_5/margery.htm |archive-date=12 October 2008}}</ref>

The [[Bronze Age]] saw the area well populated and farmed. Evidence remains in [[henge]]s such as [[Arbor Low]] near [[Youlgreave]] and the [[Nine Ladies|Nine Ladies stone circle]] at [[Stanton Moor]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bevan |first=Bill |title=Ancient Peakland |year=2007 |publisher=Halsgrove |location=Wellington |isbn=978-1-84114-593-8}}</ref>{{page needed|date=April 2021}} In the same period and into the [[Iron Age]], hill forts such as Mam Tor's were created. The [[Roman Britain|Romans]] drew on the area's rich mineral veins, exporting lead from the Buxton area along well-used routes. Buxton was a Roman settlement known as "[[Aquae Arnemetiae]]" for its spring.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.roman-britain.org/places/aquae_arnemetiae.htm |title=Aquae Arnemetiae |publisher=RomanBritain.org |year=2005 |access-date=22 May 2009 |archive-date=17 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090617031809/http://www.roman-britain.org/places/aquae_arnemetiae.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[Pecsaetan]] or peaklanders, an [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] tribe, inhabited the central and northern parts of the area from the 6th century CE, when it belonged to the Anglian kingdom of [[Mercia]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakscan.freeuk.com/peak_district_history_.htm |title=Peak District history: Anglo Saxons to Present |publisher=Peakscan |access-date=28 June 2009 |archive-date=7 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207011412/http://www.peakscan.freeuk.com/peak_district_history_.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=A History of Derbyshire, Volume 1 |last=Turbutt |first=G. |year=1999 |publisher=Merton Priory |location=Cardiff |isbn=1-898937-34-6}}{{page needed|date=April 2021}}</ref>{{page needed|date=April 2021}} Barrows from the [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] period are present, including [[Benty Grange]], where the [[Benty Grange helmet|eponymous helmet]] was found.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1013767 |desc=Benty Grange hlaew, Monyash |access-date=10 February 2018}}</ref>

===Mining and quarrying===
{{See also|Derbyshire lead mining history}}
In medieval and early modern times, the area was mainly agricultural, with sheep farming, rather than arable the main activity in upland holdings. From the 16th century, the mineral and geological wealth became increasingly significant. Not only lead, but coal, [[fluorite]], copper from [[Ecton Mines]], [[zinc]], [[Iron ore|iron]], [[manganese]] and silver have been mined.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Rocks and Scenery of the Peak District |last=Ford |first=T.&nbsp;D. |author-link=Trevor D. Ford |year=2002 |isbn=1-84306-026-4 |publisher=Landmark Publishing}}{{page needed|date=April 2021}}</ref>{{page needed|date=April 2021}} [[Celia Fiennes]], describing a journey through the Peak in 1697, wrote of:
{{Blockquote|...Craggy hills Whose Bowells are full of mines of all kinds off Black and white and veined Marbles, and some have mines of Copper, others tinn and Leaden mines, in w<sup>ch</sup> is a great deale of silver. |author=Celia Fiennes |source=''Through England on a Side Saddle in the Time of William and Mary''<ref>{{Cite book |title=Through England on a Side Saddle in the Time of William and Mary |last=Fiennes |first=C. |author-link=Celia Fiennes |year=1888 |publisher=Field and Tuer, The Leadenhall Press |location=London |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/text/chap_page.jsp?t_id=Fiennes&c_id=15 |access-date=22 May 2009 |archive-date=6 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606140154/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/text/chap_page.jsp?t_id=Fiennes&c_id=15 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

Coal measures occur on the Peak's western and eastern fringes. Evidence of past workings can be found from Glossop to [[The Roaches]], and from [[Stocksbridge]] to [[Baslow]]. The coal measures in the east are at the western edge of the [[South Yorkshire Coalfield]].<ref name="The Yorkshire Coalfield">{{Cite web |url=https://hemingfieldcolliery.wordpress.com/the-yorkshire-coalfield/ |title=The Yorkshire Coalfield |date=5 August 2015 |publisher=The Friends of Hemingfield Colliery |access-date=17 September 2017 |archive-date=17 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917172046/https://hemingfieldcolliery.wordpress.com/the-yorkshire-coalfield/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Those in the west are part of the Cheshire section of the [[Lancashire Coalfield]].<ref name="Manchester and Its Region">{{Cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mqXnAAAAIAAJ&q=south+lancashire+coalfield+cheshire+plain&pg=PA3 |title=Manchester and Its Region |publisher=The University of Manchester |access-date=17 September 2017 |year=1962 }}</ref> Mining started in [[Middle Ages|medieval times]], was at its most productive in the 18th and early 19th centuries, and continued into the early 20th century. The earliest mining took place around [[outcrop]]s, where miners followed the seams deeper into the hillsides. At Goyt's Moss and [[Axe Edge Moor|Axe Edge]], deep seams were worked and steam engines raised the coal and dewatered the mines.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.coal.gov.uk/media/EB466/Enviro%2012%20P14.pdf |title=Goyt's Moss and Axe Edge Moor Update |publisher=Environment News 12 |access-date=13 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040726124922/http://www.coal.gov.uk/media/EB466/Enviro%2012%20P14.pdf |archive-date=26 July 2004 }}</ref> Coal from the east was used in lead smelting and from the west for lime burning.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrict-nationalpark.info/time/industry/coalmining.html |title=Peak District Coal Mining |publisher=Peak District National Park |year=2003 |access-date=13 November 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20100809072725/http://www.peakdistrict-nationalpark.info/time/industry/coalmining.html |archive-date=9 August 2010}}</ref>

Lead mining peaked in the 17th and 18th centuries; high concentrations were found in the area from this period, along with peat on Kinder Scout, suggesting that lead smelting occurred.<ref name="Mining">{{Cite web |url=http://www.thepeakdistrict.info/peak-district-mining.php |title=Mining in the Peak District of Derbyshire Lead and Copper Minerals |publisher=A Taste of the Peak District |access-date=24 June 2009 |archive-date=20 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020050436/http://www.thepeakdistrict.info/peak-district-mining.php |url-status=live }}</ref> Lead mining declined from the mid-19th century, with the last major mine closing in 1939. Lead is a by-product of fluorite, baryte and calcite mining.<ref name="Lead"/> [[Bell pit]]s were sunk to access ore that lay close to the surface.<ref name="Mining"/>

Fluorite or fluorspar is called [[Blue John (mineral)|Blue John]] locally, its name possibly from the French ''bleu et jaune'' describing its colour. Blue John is scarce and now only a few hundred kilograms are mined each year for ornamental and [[lapidary]] use. The [[Blue John Cavern]] in Castleton is a [[show cave]]. Small-scale mining takes place in [[Treak Cliff Cavern]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bluejohnstone.co.uk/ |title=Blue John Stone |publisher=BlueJohnStone.co.uk |year=2007 |access-date=30 June 2009 |archive-date=17 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117060951/http://www.bluejohnstone.co.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Industrial limestone quarrying to make soda ash started around Buxton in 1874. In 1926 the operation of the [[Buxton lime industry]] became part of [[Imperial Chemical Industries|ICI]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tarmac.co.uk/buxtoncement/companyhistory.aspx |title=The Buxton Story |publisher=[[Tarmac Limited|Tarmac]] |year=2006 |access-date=1 July 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130505103000/http://www.tarmac.co.uk/buxtoncement/companyhistory.aspx |archive-date=5 May 2013 }}</ref> Large-scale limestone and gritstone quarrying flourished as lead mining declined, and is an important if contentious industry. Of the twelve large limestone quarries in operation, [[Tunstead, Derbyshire|Tunstead]] is one of the largest in Europe.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bgs.ac.uk/foundation-web/GenericInd.html |title=Peak District industry |publisher=[[British Geological Survey]] |access-date=22 May 2009 |archive-date=17 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417040016/http://www.bgs.ac.uk/foundation-web/GenericInd.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Total limestone output was substantial: at the 1990 peak, 8.5&nbsp;million tonnes was produced.<ref name="Mineral_factsheet"/>

===Textiles===
Textiles have been exported for hundreds of years. In the 14th century, the area traded in unprocessed wool.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.peaklandheritage.org.uk/index.asp?peakkey=30800521 |title=Textiles |publisher=Peakland Heritage |access-date=23 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211134344/http://www.peaklandheritage.org.uk/index.asp?peakkey=30800521 |archive-date=11 December 2007 }}</ref> There were several skilled hand spinners and weavers in the area. By the 1780s, [[Richard Arkwright]] had developed machinery to produce textiles faster and to a higher standard. The early Arkwright [[Cotton mill|mills]] were of light construction, narrow, about {{convert|9|ft|m}} wide and low, the ceiling height being only {{convert|6|to|8|ft}} and lit by daylight. The new machines were powered by [[water wheel]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Cotton Mills of Greater Manchester |last=Williams |first=M. |year=1992 |isbn=0-948789-89-1 |page=49 |publisher=Carnegie Publishing }}</ref> The Peak was the ideal location, with its rivers and humid atmosphere. The local pool of labour was quickly exhausted and [[Litton Mill]] and [[Cressbrook|Cressbrook Mill]] in [[Millers Dale]] brought in children as young as four from the [[workhouse]]s of London as apprentices.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cottontimes.co.uk/childreno1.htm |title=Children of the Revolution |work=Cotton Times |access-date=31 March 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430143222/http://www.cottontimes.co.uk/childreno1.htm |archive-date=30 April 2009}}</ref>

As technology advanced, narrow valleys proved unsuited to larger steam-driven mills, but Derbyshire mills remained to trade in finishing and niche products. Glossop benefited from the textile industry. Its economy was tied to a spinning and weaving tradition that evolved from developments in [[textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution]]. Until the First World War, Glossop was the headquarters of the largest [[Calico (textile)|textile]] printworks in the world, but after the [[Wall Street crash]] its product lines became vulnerable and the industry declined.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Small-Town Politics: A Study of Political Life in Glossop |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/smalltownpolitic0000birc |chapter-url-access=registration |last=Birch |first=A.&nbsp;H. |year=1959 |isbn=0-273-70161-4 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/smalltownpolitic0000birc/page/8 8–38] |chapter=2 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref>

===Modern history===
The [[Mass trespass of Kinder Scout|Kinder Trespass]] in 1932 was a landmark in the campaign for open access to moorland in Britain and eventually led to the formation of Britain's [[national park]]s. Before the trespass, open moorland was closed to all. Moorland estates were the private property of landed gentry who used them for only 12 days a year and were guarded by their gamekeepers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Renton |first=D. |title=Kinder Trespass: Context in 1932 |url=http://kindertrespass.com/index.asp?ID=36 |publisher=The Kinder Trespass 75 organising committee |date=23 February 2007 |access-date=28 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221190036/http://kindertrespass.com/index.asp?ID=36 |archive-date=21 February 2009 }}</ref> The Peak District National Park became the United Kingdom's first national park on 17 April 1951.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nationalparks.gov.uk/press/history.htm |title=National Parks Listed in Chronological Order of Date Designated |date=27 June 2005 |publisher=National Parks |access-date=17 April 2020 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130421112821/http://www.nationalparks.gov.uk/press/history.htm |archive-date=21 April 2013 }}</ref> Campaigner [[Ethel Haythornthwaite]] played an important part in the development of the national park.<ref>{{cite web |last= |title=Our history |url=https://www.cprepdsy.org.uk/about-us/our-history/ |access-date=30 October 2022 |website=CPRE Peak District and South Yorkshire |archive-date=30 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221030074032/https://www.cprepdsy.org.uk/about-us/our-history/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The first [[Long-distance footpaths in the United Kingdom|long-distance footpath]] in the United Kingdom was the [[Pennine Way]], which opened in 1965 and starts at the Nags Head Inn, in Grindsbook Booth, part of [[Edale]] village.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pennine Way – Ramblers |url=https://www.ramblers.org.uk/go-walking/routes-and-places-to-walk/paths-index/national-trail/pennine-way.aspx |access-date=30 October 2022 |website=www.ramblers.org.uk |archive-date=25 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220325054450/https://www.ramblers.org.uk/go-walking/routes-and-places-to-walk/paths-index/national-trail/pennine-way.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Peak & Northern Footpaths Society]] (PNFS) was formed in 1894 to monitor, protect, and improve the footpath network of the Peak District and surrounding areas. The organisation is the oldest existing regional footpath society in the UK.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PNFS: Welcome to the PNFS |url=http://www.peakandnorthern.org.uk/ |access-date=18 June 2020 |website=peakandnorthern.org.uk |archive-date=27 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627124323/http://www.peakandnorthern.org.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Saddleworth Moor]] and [[Wessenden Valley|Wessenden]], above Meltham, gained notoriety after the [[Moors murders]] in the 1960s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Moors Murders: Search for Keith Bennett ends with no evidence found |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-63173146 |website=BBC News |date=7 October 2022 |access-date=28 October 2022 |archive-date=28 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028093108/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-63173146 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=In Memory of my Keith |url=https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/in-memory-of-my-keith-5089037 |website=Examiner Live |date=24 June 2004 |publisher=Yorkshire Live |access-date=29 October 2022 |archive-date=28 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028093109/https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/in-memory-of-my-keith-5089037 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Economy==
[[File:Tunstead Quarry - geograph.org.uk - 865006.jpg|right|thumb|Tunsted Quarry]]
Agriculture remains a significant sector for the park. A Park District report stated that in 2019, over 87% of the Peak District was being farmed.<ref name="State of Park Report">{{cite web |url=https://reports.peakdistrict.gov.uk/sotpr/docs/settlement-%26-communities/local-rural-economy.html |title=State of Park Report |date=1 May 2020 |work=Peak District Government |access-date=14 December 2023 |quote= |archive-date=14 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231214211020/https://reports.peakdistrict.gov.uk/sotpr/docs/settlement-%26-communities/local-rural-economy.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Another report, updated in 2023, added this information: "Farming is also one of the largest contributors to the park's economy employing over 3500 people, which makes up 18.5% of total employment in the national park.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.peakdistrict.org/peak-district-economy-sustainable-yet-dynamic/ |title=Peak District Economy, Sustainable Yet Dynamic |date=23 July 2023 |work=Peak District |access-date=14 December 2023 |quote= |archive-date=14 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231214211620/https://www.peakdistrict.org/peak-district-economy-sustainable-yet-dynamic/ |url-status=live }}</ref> That is understandable, since as of 2019, over 87% of the Peak District was being farmed.<ref name="State of Park Report"/> A State of the Park report indicated that in 2019, "at least 1 in 3 businesses in the Peak District [were] in the agricultural, forestry and fishing industries".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://reports.peakdistrict.gov.uk/sotpr/docs/settlement-%26-communities/business-jobs.html/local-rural-economy.html |title=Business and jobs |date=1 May 2020 |work=Peak District Government |access-date=14 December 2023 |quote= |archive-date=15 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215052325/https://reports.peakdistrict.gov.uk/sotpr/docs/settlement-%26-communities/business-jobs.html/local-rural-economy.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Tourism in the park and Derbyshire was negatively affected by the pandemic.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://visitpeakdistrict.com/industry/research-insights/plans-and-strategy-documents |title=Peak District & Derbyshire Sustainable Tourism Action Plan |date=11 March 2023 |access-date=14 December 2023 |quote= |archive-date=15 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215052327/https://visitpeakdistrict.com/industry/research-insights/plans-and-strategy-documents |url-status=live }}</ref> However, according to a September 2022 report, this sector is a major industry in the "Peak District and Derbyshire, attracting 45&nbsp;million visitors annually, generating an output of £2.5&nbsp;billion into the economy and supporting 31,000 jobs.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.local.gov.uk/case-studies/peak-district-and-derbyshire-hospitality-sector |title=Peak District and Derbyshire Hospitality Sector |date=1 September 2022 |work=Local Government Association |access-date=14 December 2023 |quote=As a sector, hospitality has a vital role in rural and village economies, often providing the main opportunities for enterprise and employment. |archive-date=14 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231214210104/https://www.local.gov.uk/case-studies/peak-district-and-derbyshire-hospitality-sector |url-status=live }}</ref> (Data are not available for the park area only.)

Other sources of employment for park residents according to a 2009 report: Manufacturing (19%) and [[#Quarrying|quarrying]] (12%) are also important.<ref name="Place_called_home">{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/index/living-in.htm |title=A place called home |publisher=Peak District |year=2009 |access-date=22 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519001312/http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/index/living-in.htm |archive-date=19 May 2009 }}</ref> The [[Hope Cement Works|cement works]] at [[Hope Valley, Derbyshire|Hope]] is the largest single employer in the park.<ref name="Mineral_factsheet">{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrict-nationalpark.info/studyArea/factsheets/11.html#4 |title=Peak District National Park: Study Area |publisher=Peak District National Park |year=2003 |access-date=22 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20050620074557/http://www.peakdistrict-nationalpark.info/studyArea/factsheets/11.html |archive-date=20 June 2005 }}</ref> Limestone is the most important mineral quarried, mainly for roads and cement; shale is extracted for cement at Hope, and several [[gritstone]] quarries are worked for building stone.<ref name="Mineral_factsheet"/> [[Derbyshire lead mining history|Lead mining]] is no longer economic, but [[fluorite]], [[baryte]] and [[calcite]] are extracted from lead veins and small-scale Blue John mining occurs at Castleton.

The springs at Buxton and Ashbourne are exploited for bottled [[mineral water]] and many [[plantation]]s are managed for [[Lumber|timber]]. Other manufacturing includes [[David Mellor (cutler)|David Mellor]]'s [[cutlery]] factory in [[Hathersage]], [[Ferodo]] [[brake lining]]s in [[Chapel-en-le-Frith]] and [[Electronics|electronic equipment]] in Castleton.

==Tourism==
''De Mirabilibus Pecci'' or ''The Seven Wonders of the Peak'' by [[Thomas Hobbes]] was an early touring description published in 1636.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/texts/tourists/de/darbyshire.html |title=1678 – De Mirabilibus Pecci – Being the Wonders of the Peak in Darby-shire |publisher=[[British Library]] |access-date=22 May 2009 |archive-date=22 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922134759/http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/texts/tourists/de/darbyshire.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Much scorn was poured on the seven wonders by visitors, including [[Daniel Defoe]], who called the moors by [[Chatsworth, Derbyshire|Chatsworth]] "a waste and houling wilderness" and scorned particularly [[Peak Cavern]] near Castleton, known as the "Devil's Arse".<ref>{{Cite book |title=A tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain, divided into circuits or journies |last=Defoe |first=D. |author-link=Daniel Defoe |year=1927 |publisher=[[J. M. Dent]] |location=London |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/text/chap_page.jsp?t_id=Defoe&c_id=30 |access-date=22 May 2009 |archive-date=29 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180429222402/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/text/chap_page.jsp?t_id=Defoe&c_id=30 |url-status=live }}</ref> Visitor numbers did not rise until the [[Victorian era]], when railways provided access and cultural appreciation of the [[Picturesque]] and [[Romanticism|Romantic]] developed. [[John Mawe]]'s ''Mineralogy of Derbyshire'' (1802)<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Mineralogy of Derbyshire |last=Mawe |first=J. |author-link=John Mawe |year=1802 |publisher=William Phillips |location=London |url=http://www2.odl.ox.ac.uk/gsdl/cgi-bin/library?e=d&a=d&c=munahi10&cl=CL1.3&d=munahi010-abp |access-date=22 May 2009 |archive-date=9 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200909152327/https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and William Adam's ''Gem of the Peak'' (1843)<ref>{{Cite book |title=Gem of the Peak or Matlock Bath and its vicinity |last=Adam |first=W. |year=1843 |publisher=[[Longman]] |location=London |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qAEHAAAAQAAJ&q=Matlock+Bath+and+its+Vicinity |access-date=22 May 2009 }}</ref> raised interest in the area's unique geology.

A tradition of public access and outdoor recreation grew up in what is a natural hinterland and rural escape for the people of industrial Manchester and Sheffield, and remains a valuable resource in a largely [[post-industrial economy]]. In a 2005 survey of visitors, 85 per cent of respondents cited "scenery and landscape" as a draw.<ref>[http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/microsites/sopr/landscape/landscape-character "Landscape Character"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130911185336/http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/microsites/sopr/landscape/landscape-character |date=11 September 2013}} Peak District National Park, retrieved 20 August 2015</ref>

===Buxton===
[[File:Buxtoncres1.jpg|thumb|left|Buxton Crescent and St Ann's Well]]
Buxton became a spa through its geothermal spring, which rises at a constant temperature of 28&nbsp;°C. It was settled by the Romans around 78 CE, then known as Aquae Arnemetiae – the spa of the goddess of the grove. [[Bess of Hardwick]] and her husband the [[George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury|Earl of Shrewsbury]] "took the waters" in 1569, bringing [[Mary, Queen of Scots]] there in 1573.<ref name="Buxton06">{{Cite web |url=http://quest.bris.ac.uk/workshops/annual06/Buxton.pdf |title=Things to do in Buxton |publisher=Quantifying and Understanding the Earth System |access-date=28 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110825112931/http://quest.bris.ac.uk/workshops/annual06/Buxton.pdf |archive-date=25 August 2011 }}</ref> The town largely grew in importance in the late 18th century when it was developed by the [[William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire|5th Duke of Devonshire]] in style of the spa of [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]].

A resurgence in the 18th century attracted [[Erasmus Darwin|Dr Erasmus Darwin]] and [[Josiah Wedgwood]],<ref>{{Cite book |title=The correspondence of Charles Darwin |last=Darwin |first=C. |author-link=Charles Darwin |year=1985 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |location=Cambridge |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ao2I3-8PXBgC&q=levett+darwin&pg=PA265 |access-date=28 June 2009 |isbn=9780521824132 }}</ref> who were drawn by the reputed healing properties of the waters. The railway reached Buxton in 1863.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Railways of the Peak District |last1=Blakemore |first1=B. |last2=Mosley |first2=D. |year=2003 |isbn=1-902827-09-0 |publisher=Great Northern Books}}{{page needed|date=April 2021}}</ref>{{page needed|date=April 2021}}
Buxton's notable buildings are The Crescent (1780–1784), modelled by [[John Carr (architect)|John Carr]] on Bath's [[Royal Crescent]], the Devonshire (1780–1789), the Natural Baths, and the Pump Room by [[Henry Currey (architect)|Henry Currey]]. The [[Buxton Pavilion Gardens|Pavilion Gardens]] opened in 1871.<ref name="Buxton06"/> [[Buxton Opera House]] was designed by [[Frank Matcham]] in 1903.

===Historic buildings===
Historic buildings in the park include [[Chatsworth House]], seat of the Dukes of Devonshire and among Britain's finest stately homes; the medieval [[Haddon Hall]], seat of the [[Duke of Rutland|Dukes of Rutland]]; and [[Lyme Park]], an Elizabethan manor house transformed by an [[Italianate architecture|Italianate]] front. Other historic buildings in the park include [[Eyam Hall]], [[Ilam Park|Ilam Hall]] and [[Tissington Hall]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Halls in the Peak District |url=http://www.peakdistrictonline.co.uk/peak-district-halls-c101023.html |publisher=Peak District Online |access-date=5 August 2018 |archive-date=5 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180805234034/http://www.peakdistrictonline.co.uk/peak-district-halls-c101023.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Many villages and towns have fine parish churches, including the 14th-century [[St John the Baptist, Tideswell|Church of St John the Baptist]] at Tideswell, sometimes dubbed the "Cathedral of the Peak", and the 12th-century [[Church of St Nicholas, Bradfield|Church of St Nicholas]] at [[High Bradfield]]. '[[Little John]]'s Grave' is in the churchyard at [[Hathersage]]. [[Peveril Castle]], overlooking Castleton, was built by the [[Normans]].<ref name="Peak District Attractions">{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrictonline.co.uk/peak-district-attractions-c1736.html |title=Peak District Attractions |publisher=Peak District Online |access-date=28 April 2016 |archive-date=12 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412213341/http://www.peakdistrictonline.co.uk/peak-district-attractions-c1736.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Museums and attractions===
Inside the park, [[Eyam Museum]] has displays on the village's history during the [[Black Death in England|Black Death]].<ref name="Eyam Museum and Plague Village">{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrictinformation.com/visits/eyammus.php |title=Eyam Museum and Plague Village |publisher=Peak District Information |access-date=14 September 2017 |archive-date=15 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915023122/http://www.peakdistrictinformation.com/visits/eyammus.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> Castleton has four show caves; [[Peak Cavern]], [[Blue John Cavern|Blue John]], [[Treak Cliff Cavern|Treak Cliff]] and [[Speedwell Cavern|Speedwell]]. In the outer fringes, the area's industrial heritage is represented by the [[Peak District Mining Museum|mining museum]] at Matlock Bath, with the Temple Lead Mine, the [[Derwent Valley Mills]] [[World Heritage Site]] and [[Brindley Water Mill]] at Leek. Preserved railways such as the [[Peak Rail]], [[Ecclesbourne Valley Railway|Ecclesbourne Valley]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Exploring Duffield & Wirksworth on the Ecclesbourne Valley Line, Derbyshire |url=https://www.derbyshirelife.co.uk/out-about/places/exploring-duffield-wirksworth-on-the-ecclesbourne-valley-line-derbyshire-1-1645078 |website=Derbyshire Life and Countryside |date=30 June 2011 |access-date=23 August 2018 |archive-date=24 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180824042617/https://www.derbyshirelife.co.uk/out-about/places/exploring-duffield-wirksworth-on-the-ecclesbourne-valley-line-derbyshire-1-1645078 |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Churnet Valley Railway|Churnet Valley]] lines,<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of the CVR – LMS & BR Days – History of the Churnet Valley Line |url=https://www.churnetvalleyrailway.co.uk/lmsbr |website=Churnet Valley Railway |access-date=23 August 2018 |archive-date=24 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180824002319/https://www.churnetvalleyrailway.co.uk/lmsbr |url-status=live }}</ref> the [[National Tramway Museum]] at [[Crich]] and the [[Cromford Canal]] chart the area's transport history. Matlock Bath also has the show caves and mines of the [[Heights of Abraham]], which can be reached by cable car, and the [[Gulliver's Kingdom]] theme park.<ref name="Peak District Attractions"/> Buxton has an opera house and theatre, museum and art gallery and [[Poole's Cavern]] show cave.<ref name="Visit Buxton"/> Other attractions in the fringes include the [[Alton Towers]] theme park<ref name="Peak District Attractions"/> and the [[Peak Wildlife Park]].
[[Image:Welldressing Hayfield.jpg|thumb|200px|A [[well dressing]] at Hayfield]]
[[Well dressing]] ceremonies are held in many villages in the spring and summer months, a tradition said to date from pagan times.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.welldressing.com/extra.php |title=More about Well Dressings |publisher=WellDressing.com |access-date=18 June 2009 |archive-date=13 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513210101/http://welldressing.com/extra.php |url-status=live }}</ref> Other local customs include [[Castleton Garland Day]] and Ashbourne's [[Royal Shrovetide Football]], played annually since the 12th century. Buxton hosts two opera festivals, the [[Buxton Festival]] and the [[International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival]], and the Buxton Festival Fringe, and the [[Peak Literary Festival]] is held at various locations twice a year. Peak District food specialities include the dessert [[Bakewell pudding]], very different from the nationally available [[Bakewell tart]], and the famous cheese [[Stilton (cheese)|Stilton]] and other local cheeses are produced in the village of [[Hartington, Derbyshire|Hartington]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hartington Creamery {{!}} Award Winning Stiltons and Cheeses |url=http://www.hartingtoncreamery.co.uk/hartingtoncreamery-ourstory.php |access-date=3 June 2020 |website=hartingtoncreamery.co.uk |archive-date=3 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603164245/http://www.hartingtoncreamery.co.uk/hartingtoncreamery-ourstory.php |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Activities===
[[Image:Mamtor-paragliding.jpg|thumb|right|[[Paragliding]] from Mam Tor]]
An extensive network of public footpaths and long-distance trails of over {{convert|1800|mi|km|-2}} in total<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrict-nationalpark.info/studyArea/factsheets/02.html#problems |title=Peak District National Park: Study Area |publisher=Peak District National Park |access-date=22 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20050331060949/http://www.peakdistrict-nationalpark.info/studyArea/factsheets/02.html |archive-date=31 March 2005 }}</ref> and large open-access areas are available for hillwalking and hiking. The [[Pennine Way]] traverses the Dark Peak from Edale to the park's northern boundary just south of [[Standedge]]. [[Bridlepath|Bridleways]] are used by [[mountain biking|mountain bikers]], as well as horse riders. The [[Tissington Trail]] and [[High Peak Trail]], which reuse former railway lines, are well used by walkers, horse riders and cyclists.<ref name="Tissington_Trail"/> The [[Peak District Boundary Walk]] is a circular {{convert|190|mi|adj=on}} walking trail around the national park.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.friendsofthepeak.org.uk/boundary-walk/ |title=Boundary Walk |date=12 October 2017 |website=Friends of the Peak District |access-date=9 March 2020 |archive-date=11 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811003634/https://www.friendsofthepeak.org.uk/boundary-walk/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Several old rail routes were converted into multi-purpose cycle trails. After the Woodhead Line closed between [[Hadfield, Derbyshire|Hadfield]] and [[Penistone]], some of the trackbed was used for the [[Longdendale Trail]] section of the [[Trans Pennine Trail]] between Hadfield and [[Woodhead, Derbyshire|Woodhead]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.derbyshire-peakdistrict.co.uk/glossopandlongdendale.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012002515/http://www.derbyshire-peakdistrict.co.uk/glossopandlongdendale.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=12 October 2007 |title=Glossop/Longdendale Walk |publisher=Discover Derbyshire and the Peak District |access-date=1 July 2009 }}</ref> The Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway between [[Rowsley]] and Buxton contributed to the [[Monsal Trail]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.derbyshire-peakdistrict.co.uk/monsaltrail.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060615160655/http://derbyshire-peakdistrict.co.uk/monsaltrail.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=15 June 2006 |title=Monsal Trail |publisher=Discover Derbyshire and the Peak District |access-date=1 July 2009 }}</ref> The trackbed of the Cromford and High Peak Railway is open as the High Peak Trail.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.derbyshire-peakdistrict.co.uk/thehighpeaktrail.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041026142056/http://www.derbyshire-peakdistrict.co.uk/thehighpeaktrail.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=26 October 2004 |title=The High Peak Trail |publisher=Discover Derbyshire and the Peak District |access-date=1 July 2009 }}</ref> The Tissington Trail uses another disused rail line between Buxton and Ashbourne,<ref name="Tissington_Trail">{{Cite web |url=http://www.derbyshire-peakdistrict.co.uk/tissingtontrail.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060630023934/http://derbyshire-peakdistrict.co.uk/tissingtontrail.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=30 June 2006 |title=Tissington Trail |publisher=Discover Derbyshire and the Peak District |access-date=1 July 2009 }}</ref> while the [[Manifold Way]] follows the old line of the [[Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway]] between [[Waterhouses, Staffordshire|Waterhouses]] and [[Hulme End]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Manifold Way |url=https://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/visiting/miles-without-stiles/manifold-way |website=Peak District National Park |access-date=25 July 2019 |archive-date=20 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720042935/https://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/visiting/miles-without-stiles/manifold-way |url-status=live }}</ref>

Local authorities run cycle hire centres at Ashbourne, [[Parsley Hay]], [[Middleton-by-Wirksworth|Middleton Top]], the [[Upper Derwent Valley]] and Hulme End.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ohire.co.uk/companies/middleton-top-cycle-hire |title=Middleton Top Cycle hire |access-date=22 May 2019}}{{Dead link|date=May 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/visiting/cycle |title=Cycling |publisher=Peak District National Park |access-date=24 March 2015 |archive-date=21 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321124258/http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/visiting/cycle |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Manifold Cycle Hire |url=https://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/visiting/cycle/cycle-hire-centres/manifold |website=Peak District National Park |access-date=25 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725122233/https://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/visiting/cycle/cycle-hire-centres/manifold |archive-date=25 July 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Wheelchair access is possible at several places on the ex-railway trails, and cycle hire centres offer vehicles adapted to wheelchair users.<ref name="Tissington_Trail"/> A project to make footpaths more accessible to less-agile walkers has replaced stiles with gates.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.roachescottages.co.uk/activities.htm |title=Local Activities in & around the Peak District National Park |publisher=Roaches Holiday Cottages |access-date=22 June 2009 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303201351/http://www.roachescottages.co.uk/activities.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:The Roaches and Hen Cloud.jpg|thumb|Looking southeast over the Roaches and Hen Cloud]]
Gritstone outcrops at [[Stanage Edge]] and [[The Roaches]], are recognised as some of the finest [[rock climbing]] sites in the world.<ref name="Trekking">{{Cite web |url=http://www.trekking-world.com/regional/england/peak-district |title=Peak District |publisher=Trekking World |access-date=22 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113201122/http://www.trekking-world.com/regional/england/peak-district |archive-date=13 November 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Limestone is more unstable but provides many testing climbs. [[Thor's Cave]] was explored in the early 1950s by [[Joe Brown (climber)|Joe Brown]] and others. Eleven limestone routes there are listed by the [[British Mountaineering Council|BMC]], ranging in [[Grade (climbing)|grade]] from Very Severe to E7, and several more have been claimed since the guidebook's publication; a few routes are bolted.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Rock Climbs in the Peak District: Peak Limestone: South |last=Milburn |first=G. |year=1987 |isbn=0-903908-26-3 |publisher=[[British Mountaineering Council]]}}</ref>

[[Caving]] takes place in the natural caves, potholes and old mine workings found in the limestone of the White Peak. Peak Cavern, the largest and most important cave system, is even linked to the [[Speedwell Cavern|Speedwell]] system at Winnats. The largest potholes are Eldon Hole and Nettle Pot. Many old mine workings were often extensions of natural cave systems. They can be found at Castleton, Winnats, Matlock, [[Stoney Middleton]], Eyam, [[Monyash]] and Buxton.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cressbrook.co.uk/outdoors/potholing.php |title=Pot holing |work=Peak District Information |publisher=Cressbrook Multimedia |year=2008 |access-date=30 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070727204836/http://www.cressbrook.co.uk/outdoors/potholing.php |archive-date=27 July 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Reservoirs such as [[Torside Reservoir]], [[Damflask Reservoir]], [[Carsington Water]] and [[Rudyard Lake]] are centres for [[List of water sports|water sports]], including sailing, fishing and [[canoeing]]. Other activities include air sports such as [[hang gliding]] and [[paragliding]], [[birdwatching]], [[fell running]], [[off-roading]], and [[orienteering]].<ref name="Trekking"/>

==Transport==
[[File:Peak District National Park tunnels.svg|thumb|upright|Map showing tunnels beneath the Peak District]]

===Roads===
The first roads constructed by the [[Roman Britain|Romans]] may have followed existing tracks. The Roman network linked the settlements and forts of Aquae Arnemetiae (Buxton), [[Chesterfield, Derbyshire|Chesterfield]], [[Ardotalia]] (Glossop), Navio ([[Brough and Shatton]]) and beyond.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.roman-britain.org/maps/settlement_intro.htm |title=The Romano-British Settlements |publisher=RomanBritain.org |date=10 September 2010 |access-date=26 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100928060305/http://www.roman-britain.org/maps/settlement_intro.htm |archive-date=28 September 2010 }}</ref> Parts of the modern [[A515 road|A515]] and [[A53 road|A53]] roads, south of Buxton, are believed to follow the routes of Roman roads.

[[Packhorse]] routes crossed the Peak in the Middle Ages and some paved causeways, such as the Long Causeway along [[Stanage Edge]], date from that period. No highways appear on [[Christopher Saxton]]'s 1579 map of Derbyshire.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakscan.freeuk.com/routes___stoops___peak_district.htm |title=Peak District Routes, Stoops, Pack Horse Ways, Turnpikes |publisher=Peakscan |year=2008 |access-date=22 May 2009 |archive-date=11 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190911123748/http://www.peakscan.freeuk.com/routes___stoops___peak_district.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Bridge-building improved the transport network.

Journey times fell with the introduction of [[Toll road|turnpike roads]] from 1731,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrict-education.gov.uk/Fact%20Sheets/fz21lgd1.htm |title=Longendale in the Peak National Park |publisher=PDNP Education |year=2000 |access-date=22 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060104204530/http://www.peakdistrict-education.gov.uk/Fact%20Sheets/fz21lgd1.htm |archive-date=4 January 2006 }}</ref> but the ride from Sheffield to Manchester in 1800 still took 16 hours, prompting [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]] to remark that "a tortoise could outgallop us!"<ref name="Stainforth">{{Cite book |title=The Peak: Past and Present |last=Stainforth |first=G. |year=1998 |isbn=0-09-475420-9 |publisher=[[Constable & Robinson|Constable]] }}</ref> From about 1815, better quality turnpike roads were built. The [[Snake Pass]], part of the [[A57 road|A57]], was built under the direction of [[Thomas Telford]] between 1819 and 1821.<ref name="Stainforth"/>

The main roads in the Peak District are:
* The A57 between Sheffield and Manchester;
* The [[A628 road|A628]], ''Woodhead Pass'', between [[Barnsley]] and Manchester, via Longdendale;
* The [[A6 road (England)|A6]] from Derby to Manchester via Buxton;
* The ''[[Cat and Fiddle Road]]'' from Macclesfield to Buxton; and
* In the north, the [[A635 road|A635]] from Manchester to Barnsley.

Roads and lanes are often congested and parking is problematic in towns and villages, especially in summer. A congestion charge was proposed in 2005, but was rejected.<ref>{{cite news |last=Giannangeli |first=M. |title=Peak District may be first national park to impose a congestion charge. |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1504735/Peak-District-may-be-first-national-park-to-impose-a-congestion-charge.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1504735/Peak-District-may-be-first-national-park-to-impose-a-congestion-charge.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=5 December 2005 |access-date=23 May 2009}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Waterways===
[[Cromford Canal]] opened in 1794 to carry coal, lead and iron ore to the [[Erewash Canal]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.derbyshire-peakdistrict.co.uk/cromfordcanal.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041025065224/http://www.derbyshire-peakdistrict.co.uk/cromfordcanal.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=25 October 2004 |title=Cromford Canal |publisher=Discover Derbyshire and the Peak District |access-date=1 July 2009 }}</ref> It closed in 1944. The canals and turnpike roads had to compete with the railways after 1825.<ref name="Stainforth"/>

===Railways===
[[Image:Totley Tunnel western portal.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Totley Tunnel]] on the Manchester to Sheffield ''Hope Valley'' line]]

The first railway, the [[Cromford and High Peak Railway]] from [[High Peak Junction]] to [[Whaley Bridge]], was an industrial line. Passenger services followed, including the [[Woodhead Line]] (Sheffield to Manchester, via Longdendale) and the [[Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway]]. Several railways succumbed to the [[Beeching Axe]] in the 1960s, including passenger services on the Woodhead line. Freight services continued until the line was finally closed in 1981; much of the route has been converted to shared-use paths on the [[Trans Pennine Trail]].

Passenger train services currently operate along the following lines:
* The [[Hope Valley line]] between [[Sheffield station|Sheffield]], [[New Mills Central]] and [[Manchester Piccadilly]], stopping at stations including [[Hathersage railway station|Hathersage]], [[Hope railway station (England)|Hope]] and [[Edale railway station|Edale]];
* The [[Derwent Valley line]] between [[Derby railway station|Derby]] and [[Matlock, Derbyshire|Matlock]];
* The [[Buxton line]] between Manchester Piccadilly, [[Stockport railway station|Stockport]] and [[Buxton railway station|Buxton]];
* The [[Glossop line]], linking [[Glossop railway station|Glossop]] and [[Hadfield railway station|Hadfield]] with Manchester Piccadilly, along the remaining stub of the Woodhead line;
* The [[Huddersfield line]] from Manchester to [[Huddersfield railway station|Huddersfield]], via [[Marsden railway station|Marsden]].<ref name="Public Transport – Peak District National Park Authority">{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/visiting/publictransport |title=Public Transport – Peak District National Park Authority |publisher=Peak District |year=2012 |access-date=3 April 2012 |archive-date=6 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200506032217/https://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/visiting/publictransport |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Buses and coaches===
Coach services provide access to Matlock, Bakewell and Buxton from Derby, [[Nottingham]] and Manchester through [[High Peak (bus company)|TransPeak]] and [[National Express Coaches|National Express]].

There are regular buses from Sheffield, Glossop, Stoke, [[Leek, Staffordshire|Leek]] and Chesterfield.

In rural areas, minibuses operate from towns to smaller villages.

===Air===
The nearest airports are [[Manchester Airport|Manchester]] and [[East Midlands Airport|East Midlands]].<ref name="Public Transport – Peak District National Park Authority"/><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.essentialtravelguide.com/regional-guides/midlands/peak-district-travel-guide/peak-district-facts/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915161438/http://www.essentialtravelguide.com/regional-guides/midlands/peak-district-travel-guide/peak-district-facts/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 September 2017 |title=Peak District Quick Facts & Figures |publisher=Essential Travel Guide |access-date=15 September 2017}}</ref>

===Cycling===
Cycle England invested £1.25&nbsp;million in building and improving cycle routes in the national park for leisure and commuting.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/index/news/news-display-page.htm?id=20324 |title=Pedal power to help residents and visitors lead more active lifestyles – Peak District National Park Authority |publisher=Peak District |date=7 October 2009 |access-date=16 October 2009 |archive-date=7 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707225811/http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/index/news/news-display-page.htm?id=20324}}</ref>

==Conservation issues==
[[Image:Derwent walkers.jpg|thumb|right|Walkers above the [[Derwent Reservoir (Derbyshire)|Derwent Reservoir]]]]
The proximity of the Peak to conurbations and urban areas (some 20&nbsp;million people live within an hour's drive) poses challenges for the area.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bygonederbyshire.co.uk/places/Peak-District-National-Park/article-1772758-detail/article.html |title=Peak District National Park |publisher=ByGoneDerbyshire.co.uk |date=28 January 2010 |access-date=26 September 2010}}{{Dead link|date=May 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The park authority, National Trust and other landowners try to keep the upland landscape accessible for recreation while protecting it from [[intensive farming]], [[erosion]] and visitor pressures. Tension exists between the needs of conservation, of 38,000 residents,<ref name="Place_called_home"/> and of millions who visit.<ref name="Guardian">{{Cite news |last=Moss |first=C. |title=Oops, there goes another bit of Britain |url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2004/feb/28/unitedkingdom.guardiansaturdaytravelsection |work=The Guardian |date=28 February 2004 |access-date=22 May 2009}}</ref>

The uneven distribution of visits creates stresses. Dovedale alone receives about two million visitors a year.<ref name="South_Peak"/> Other much visited areas include Bakewell, Castleton and the [[Hope Valley, Derbyshire|Hope Valley]], Chatsworth, Hartington and the reservoirs of the Upper Derwent Valley.<ref name="Tourism_factsheet">{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrict-nationalpark.info/studyArea/factsheets/02.html#whoVisits |title=Tourism in the Peak District National Park |publisher=Peak District National Park |year=2003 |access-date=22 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20050331060949/http://www.peakdistrict-nationalpark.info/studyArea/factsheets/02.html |archive-date=31 March 2005 }}</ref> Over 60 per cent of visits occur between May and September, with Sunday the busiest day.<ref name="Tourism_factsheet"/>

Footpath users in the more popular walking areas have contributed to serious erosion problems, particularly on the fragile [[peat]] moorlands. The use of some paths by mountain bikers is believed to have exacerbated the problem.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrict-nationalpark.info/studyArea/factsheets/14.html#7 |title=Peak District National Park: Study Area – Footpath Erosion |publisher=Peak District National Park |access-date=22 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20050901152656/http://www.peakdistrict-nationalpark.info/studyArea/factsheets/14.html |archive-date=1 September 2005 }}</ref> Measures to contain the damage include diversion of the official route of the Pennine Way out of Edale, which now goes via Jacob's Ladder rather than following the Grindsbrook, and surfacing moorland footpaths with expensive natural stone.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrict-nationalpark.info/studyArea/factsheets/14.html#9 |title=Peak District National Park: Study Area – The Pennine Way |publisher=Peak District National Park |access-date=22 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20050901152656/http://www.peakdistrict-nationalpark.info/studyArea/factsheets/14.html |archive-date=1 September 2005 }}</ref> Some rights of way have been damaged by legal and illegal use by off-road vehicles such as [[Four-wheel drive|4×4s]] and [[trail bike]]s. Campaigners have sought to reduce their impact.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.friendsofthepeak.org.uk/campaigns/take-back-the-tracks/ |title=Take back the tracks |publisher=Friends of the Peak District |access-date=14 September 2017 |archive-date=6 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806044937/http://www.friendsofthepeak.org.uk/campaigns/take-back-the-tracks/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Large-scale limestone quarrying is contentious. Most mineral extraction licences were issued by national government for 90 years in the 1950s and remain legally binding. The park authority has a policy of considering applications for new quarries and licence renewal in the park in terms of the local and national need for the mineral and how unique the source is, in conjunction with the effects on traffic, residents and the environment.<ref name="Mineral_factsheet"/> Some licences have not been renewed; the RMC Aggregates quarry at [[Eldon Hill]] closed in 1999 and was landscaped.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/bap-report2002.pdf |title=Peak District Biodiversity Action Plan |publisher=Peak District |date=October 2002 |access-date=13 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720111424/http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/bap-report2002.pdf |archive-date=20 July 2011 }}</ref> Proposals from Stancliffe Stone Ltd to reopen dormant gritstone quarries at Stanton Moor in 1999 became a test case, contested by ecological protesters and residents on the grounds that this would threaten Bronze Age remains at the Nine Ladies Stone Circle and damage the natural landscape.<ref name="Guardian"/> In 2007, negotiations took place to relocate the development to Dale View quarry in a less sensitive area.<ref>{{Cite news |title=End in sight for quarry wrangle on historic moor |url=http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/index/news/news-display-page.htm?id=14775 |work=Peak District |date=5 September 2007 |access-date=12 September 2007 |archive-date=20 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720112449/http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/index/news/news-display-page.htm?id=14775}}</ref>

Starting in the 1990s, there has been an intensification in management of the upland moors for [[driven grouse shooting]]. This has involved an increase in the use of rotational burning and predator control. Both practices can be controversial and have led to calls for greater controls over the activities of moorland owners.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://britishbirds.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/BB-Raptor-persecution.pdf |title=Raptor persecution in the Peak District National Park |journal=British Birds |date=May 2018 |volume=111 |pages=275–290 |access-date=18 August 2020 |archive-date=15 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815153254/https://britishbirds.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/BB-Raptor-persecution.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Birds of Prey Initiative has worked to link conservation groups with landowners, to improve the prospects for predatory birds in the Peak District. This has led to improvement in the numbers of breeding birds of prey, but overall numbers remain low.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Peak District Birds of Prey Initiative – 2019 Report |url=https://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0028/99712/Bird-of-Prey-Initiative-2019-report.pdf |publisher=Peak District National Park |access-date=18 August 2020 |archive-date=24 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124063638/https://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0028/99712/Bird-of-Prey-Initiative-2019-report.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The RSPB withdrew support for the scheme in 2018, citing the continued and illegal persecution of raptors by commercial grouse shooting estates, represented within the Initiative by the Moorland Association and National Gamekeepers' Organisation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=RSPB ends involvement in failed Peak District Bird of Prey Initiative |url=https://www.rspb.org.uk/about-the-rspb/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/rspb-ends-involvement-in-failed-peak-district-bird-of-prey-initiative/ |publisher=Royal Society for the Protection of Birds |access-date=23 March 2021 |archive-date=30 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430012129/https://www.rspb.org.uk/about-the-rspb/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/rspb-ends-involvement-in-failed-peak-district-bird-of-prey-initiative/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The grasslands of the White Peak plateau have been improved for intensive farm and food production. The result has been that most of this grassland is of little value to nature conservation, often with only one grass species present. The best areas that remain are the steep sides of limestone valleys. These have international importance, but are fragmented, which makes them vulnerable to loss.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Anderson |first1=Penny |title=State of Nature in the Peak District |url=https://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/94002/State-of-Nature-in-the-Peak-District-Report-by-Penny-Anderson-for-Nature-Peak-District.pdf |access-date=18 August 2020 |archive-date=26 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026220113/https://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/94002/State-of-Nature-in-the-Peak-District-Report-by-Penny-Anderson-for-Nature-Peak-District.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Biodiversity within Britain's national parks has generally fared no better than that in the wider countryside, with similar rates of decline in species numbers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Are national parks in crisis? |date=7 March 2019 |url=https://theecologist.org/2019/mar/07/are-national-parks-crisis |publisher=The Ecologist |access-date=20 August 2020 |archive-date=20 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820214424/https://theecologist.org/2019/mar/07/are-national-parks-crisis |url-status=live }}</ref> One reason may be that their powers are directed primarily at preventing intrusive development to protect the aesthetic and historic appearance of the park, rather than at land management.

The upland moors of the south Pennines suffered some of the worst ecological degradation of any extensive habitat in the UK. This is due mainly to a history of industrial pollution from neighbouring towns during the [[industrial revolution]], worsened by wild fires and erosion. Work to restore this habitat got underway in the 21st century. While progress has been made, there is more to do to make it a sustainable, functioning ecosystem.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Moors for the Future |url=https://www.moorsforthefuture.org.uk/ |access-date=20 August 2020 |archive-date=17 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817044113/https://www.moorsforthefuture.org.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The significance of the habitat degradation is compounded by its being a source of atmospheric carbon dioxide that contributes to climate change through [[global warming]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Peatlands and climate change |date=6 November 2017 |url=https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-briefs/peatlands-and-climate-change#:~:text=Peatlands%20and%20climate%20change%20Peatlands%20are%20a%20type,minimise%20flood%20risk%20and%20help%20address%20climate%20change. |publisher=IUCN |access-date=20 August 2020 |archive-date=27 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827065420/https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-briefs/peatlands-and-climate-change#:~:text=Peatlands%20and%20climate%20change%20Peatlands%20are%20a%20type,minimise%20flood%20risk%20and%20help%20address%20climate%20change. |url-status=live }}</ref>

==In literature and arts==
The landscapes of the Peak have inspired writers for centuries. Various places have been identified by Ralph Elliott and others as locations in the 14th-century poem ''[[Sir Gawain and the Green Knight]]''; [[Lud's Church]] is thought to be the [[Green Chapel]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=A Companion to the Gawain-Poet |last1=Elliott |first1=R.&nbsp;W.&nbsp;V. |last2=Brewer |first2=Derek |author-link2=Derek Brewer |last3=Gibson |first3=J. |chapter=Landscape and Geography |year=1999 |isbn=0-85991-529-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/companiontogawai0000unse/page/105 105–117] |publisher=[[Derek Brewer|Brewer D. S]] |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/companiontogawai0000unse/page/105}}</ref>

[[File:Chatsworth showing hunting tower.jpg|thumb|left|[[Chatsworth House]], the setting for a 2005 adaptation of ''[[Pride and Prejudice]]'']]
Key scenes in [[Jane Austen]]'s 1813 novel ''[[Pride and Prejudice]]'' are set in the Peak.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1342 |title=Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen |publisher=Project Gutenberg |year=2003 |access-date=13 September 2007 |archive-date=28 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071028011226/http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1342 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Peveril of the Peak]]'' (1823) by [[Walter Scott|Sir Walter Scott]] is a historical novel set at Peveril Castle, Castleton, in the reign of [[Charles II of England|Charles II]].<ref>{{PastScape |mnumber=309632 |mname=Peveril Castle |year=2007 |access-date=12 September 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English |last=Ousby |first=I. |editor=Ousby I |year=1993 |edition=2nd |isbn=0-521-44086-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgeguideto00iano_0/page/734 734] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgeguideto00iano_0/page/734 }}</ref> [[William Wordsworth]] was a frequent visitor to Matlock; the Peak inspired several of his poems, including an 1830 [[sonnet]] to Chatsworth House.<ref name="Peak_Experience">{{Cite web |url=http://www.peak-experience.org.uk/tourism/explore-the-guides/peak-experience-guides/peak-film-literature/ |title=Peak Film & Literature |publisher=Peak Experience |access-date=12 September 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070905105904/http://www.peak-experience.org.uk/tourism/explore-the-guides/peak-experience-guides/peak-film-literature/ |archive-date=5 September 2007 }}</ref> The village of [[Morton, Derbyshire|Morton]] in [[Charlotte Brontë]]'s 1847 novel ''[[Jane Eyre]]'' is based on Hathersage, where Brontë stayed in 1845; [[Thornfield Hall]] may have been inspired by nearby North Lees Hall.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Jane Eyre |last=Brontë |first=C. |author-link=Charlotte Brontë |year=1996 |isbn=0-14-043400-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/janeeyre00bron_1/page/526 526] |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |url=https://archive.org/details/janeeyre00bron_1/page/526}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Brontës |last=Barker |first=J. |author-link=Juliet Barker |year=1995 |isbn=1-85799-069-2 |pages=451–453 |publisher=[[Weidenfeld & Nicolson]] }}</ref> Snowfield in [[George Eliot]]'s novel ''[[Adam Bede]]'' (1859) is thought to be based on Wirksworth, where her uncle managed a mill; [[Ellastone]] (as Hayslope) and [[Ashbourne, Derbyshire|Ashbourne]] (as Oakbourne) also feature.<ref name="Peak_Experience"/>

[[Beatrix Potter]], author of [[Peter Rabbit]], visited her uncle Edmund Potter at his printworks in [[Dinting Vale]]. She copied cloth samples from his pattern book for her characters. Mrs Tiggywinkle's shawl, in [[The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle]], is based on pattern number 222714.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Potter |first=E. |author-link=Edmund Potter |title=Dinting Vale Printworks cotton sample pattern book |url=http://www.spinningtheweb.org.uk/sea_cat_display.php?irn=3004030&sub=&theme=overview&crumb= |work=Spinning the Web |publisher=[[Manchester City Council]] |year=1892 |access-date=28 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309000908/http://www.spinningtheweb.org.uk/sea_cat_display.php?irn=3004030&sub=&theme=overview&crumb= |archive-date=9 March 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Children's author [[Alison Uttley]] (1884–1976) was born at [[Cromford]]; her novel ''A Traveller in Time'', set in [[Dethick, Lea and Holloway|Dethick]], recounts the [[Babington Plot]] to free [[Mary, Queen of Scots]], from imprisonment.<ref name="Peakland_Heritage">{{Cite web |url=http://www.peaklandheritage.org.uk/index.asp?peakkey=40600721 |title=Peakland Writers |publisher=Peakland Heritage |year=2008 |access-date=12 September 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071107175202/http://www.peaklandheritage.org.uk/index.asp?peakkey=40600721 |archive-date=7 November 2007 }}</ref> [[Crichton Porteous]] (1901–1991) set several books in Peak locations; ''Toad Hole'', ''Lucky Columbell'' and ''Broken River'' take place in the [[Upper Derwent Valley|Derwent Valley]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.aboutderbyshire.co.uk/cms/people/crichton-porteous-derbysh.shtml |title=Crichton Porteous – Derbyshire Writer |publisher=About Derbyshire |date=3 June 2007 |access-date=12 September 2007 |archive-date=29 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929094633/http://www.aboutderbyshire.co.uk/cms/people/crichton-porteous-derbysh.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Geraldine Brooks (writer)|Geraldine Brooks]]'s first novel, ''[[Year of Wonders]]'' (2001), blends fact and fiction in the story of the plague village of Eyam.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://geraldinebrooks.com/the-books/year-of-wonders/ |title=Year of Wonders |publisher=GeraldineBrooks.com |year=2007 |access-date=13 November 2013 |archive-date=12 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512053252/http://geraldinebrooks.com/the-books/year-of-wonders |url-status=live }}</ref> Eyam also inspired ''Children of Winter'' by children's novelist [[Berlie Doherty]], who has set several other works in the Peak, including ''Deep Secret'', based on the drowning of the villages of [[Derwent, Derbyshire|Derwent]] and [[Ashopton]] by the Ladybower Reservoir, and ''Blue John'', inspired by the cavern at Castleton.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.berliedoherty.com/novelsf.html |title=Berlie Doherty: novels |publisher=BerlieDoherty.com |year=2003 |access-date=12 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070802221528/http://www.berliedoherty.com/novelsf.html |archive-date=2 August 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{Clear}}
 
[[File:Ladybower.jpg|thumb|right|[[Ladybower Reservoir]] in the Upper Derwent Valley, set location for ''[[The Dam Busters (film)|The Dam Busters]]''{{disputed inline|Disputed: Dambusters – Ladybower Reservoir image and caption|date=January 2021}}]]
Many works of crime and horror have been set in the Peak. ''[[The Terror of Blue John Gap]]'' by [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]] (1859–1930) recounts terrible events at the Blue John mines.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/537 |title=Tales of Terror and Mystery by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle |publisher=Gutenberg |year=2008 |access-date=13 September 2007 |archive-date=10 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111010182240/http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/537 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Sherlock Holmes]] investigates the kidnapping of a child in ''[[The Adventure of the Priory School]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/prio.htm |title=The Adventure of the Priory School |publisher=Camden House – The Complete Sherlock Holmes |year=1998 |access-date=13 September 2007 |archive-date=26 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126024543/http://ignisart.com/camdenhouse/canon/prio.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Many horror stories by local author [[Robert Murray Gilchrist]] feature Peak settings.<ref name="Peak_Experience"/> [[Stephen Booth (writer)|Stephen Booth]] has set a crime-fiction series in real and imagined Peak locations,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.stephen-booth.com/New%20books.htm |title=Stephen Booth – New Books |publisher=StephenBooth.com |access-date=12 September 2007 |archive-date=5 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190605154726/http://www.stephen-booth.com/New%20books.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> while ''In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner'', an [[The Inspector Lynley Mysteries|Inspector Lynley mystery]] by [[Elizabeth George]], is set on the fictional Calder Moor.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.elizabethgeorgeonline.com/books/in_pursuit_of_sinner.htm |title=Novel – In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner |publisher=Elizabeth George Online |access-date=12 September 2007 |archive-date=26 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126031224/http://www.elizabethgeorgeonline.com/books/in_pursuit_of_sinner.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Another local author who sets crime novels there is [[Sarah Ward (novelist)|Sarah Ward]].<ref>[https://crimepieces.com/ Author site.]</ref>

Other writers and poets who lived in or visited the Peak include [[Samuel Johnson]], [[William Congreve]], [[Anna Seward]], [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]], [[George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron|Lord Byron]], [[Thomas Moore]], [[Richard Furness]], [[D. H. Lawrence]], [[Vera Brittain]], [[Richmal Crompton]] and [[Nathaniel Gould|Nat Gould]].<ref name="Peak_Experience"/><ref name="Peakland_Heritage"/> The landscapes and historic houses are popular settings for film and television. The classic 1955 film ''[[The Dam Busters (film)|The Dam Busters]]'' was filmed at the Upper [[Derwent Reservoir (Derbyshire)|Derwent Valley reservoirs]], where practice flights for the bombing raids on the [[Ruhr (river)|Ruhr]] dams had been made during the Second World War.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046889/locations |title=Filming locations for The Dam Busters |publisher=[[IMDb]] |year=1990 |access-date=13 September 2007 |archive-date=1 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091001093352/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046889/locations |url-status=live }}</ref>

In adaptations of ''Pride and Prejudice'', [[Longnor, Staffordshire|Longnor]] has featured as Lambton, and Lyme Park and Chatsworth House have stood in for [[Pemberley]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112130/locations |title=Filming locations for Pride and Prejudice (1995) |publisher=[[IMDb]] |year=1995 |access-date=12 September 2007 |archive-date=26 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070326171154/http://imdb.com/title/tt0112130/locations |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0414387/locations |title=Filming locations for Pride and Prejudice (2005) |publisher=[[IMDb]] |year=2005 |access-date=12 September 2007 |archive-date=5 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070305232014/http://imdb.com/title/tt0414387/locations |url-status=live }}</ref> Haddon Hall doubled as [[Thornfield Hall]] in two adaptations of ''Jane Eyre'' and has appeared in several films, including ''[[Elizabeth (film)|Elizabeth]]'', ''[[The Princess Bride (film)|The Princess Bride]]'' and ''[[The Other Boleyn Girl (2008 film)|The Other Boleyn Girl]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.haddonhall.co.uk/film.htm |title=Film & Photoshoots |publisher=Haddon Hall |access-date=22 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302025645/http://www.haddonhall.co.uk/film.htm |archive-date=2 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The television medical drama ''[[Peak Practice]]'' set in the fictional village of Cardale was filmed in [[Crich]], Matlock and other Peak locations.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106097/locations |title=Filming locations for Peak Practice |publisher=[[IMDb]] |year=1993 |access-date=12 September 2007 |archive-date=6 September 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040906053255/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106097/locations |url-status=live }}</ref> The world's longest-running sitcom, ''[[Last of the Summer Wine]]'', was filmed in [[Holmfirth]] and the surrounding [[Holme Valley]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Last of the Summer Wine country, Holmfirth, West Yorkshire |url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2009/jun/07/summer-wine-walking-guide-holmfirth |newspaper=The Guardian |date=7 June 2009 |access-date=2 May 2019 }}</ref> The [[psychological thriller]] ''[[Dead Man's Shoes (2004 film)|Dead Man's Shoes]]'' was filmed in 2003 in and around [[Matlock, Derbyshire|Matlock]], [[Bonsall, Derbyshire|Bonsall]], [[Darley Dale]], [[Tansley]] and [[Riber]], and featured [[Riber Castle]].{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Cheshire}}
* [[Derbyshire moors]]
* [[Forest of High Peak]], a royal hunting reserve in medieval times in the area
* [[List of hills in the Peak District]]
* [[:Category:Peak District-related lists|Peak District-related lists]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Peak District}}
{{Wikivoyage|Peak District}}
* [http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/ Official website of the Peak District National Park Authority] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013054706/http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/ |date=13 October 2016 }}
* [http://peakdistrict.nationaltrust.org.uk/ Peak District] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130907221938/http://peakdistrict.nationaltrust.org.uk/ |date=7 September 2013 }} at [[The National Trust]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060828212309/http://bgs.ac.uk/foundation-web/Foundation_Home.html Foundations of the Peak] – geological information at [[British Geological Survey]]
* [https://www.visitpeakdistrict.com/ Visit Peak District & Derbyshire] official tourist information

{{National parks in the UK}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Peak District| ]]
[[Category:Climbing areas of England]]
[[Category:Geography of Cheshire]]
[[Category:Geography of Derbyshire]]
[[Category:Geography of Greater Manchester]]
[[Category:Geology of Derbyshire]]
[[Category:Geography of Staffordshire]]
[[Category:Geography of South Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Geography of West Yorkshire]]
[[Category:National parks in England]]
[[Category:Natural regions of England]]
[[Category:Parks and open spaces in Derbyshire]]
[[Category:Protected areas established in 1951]]