The Peak District National Park
(Taken from derbyshireuk.net/peakdistrict)
“The Peak District is situated at the southern end of the Pennines in Central England covering most of northern Derbyshire as well as parts of Cheshire, Yorkshire and Staffordshire.
The Peak District National Park , designated in 1951 and covering 555 square miles, was the first designated national park in the British Isles. Buxton in Derbyshire and other built up and industrial are not included within the park boundaries.
Over 22 million day visits are made to the Peak District National Park every year, making it the second-most visited National Park in the world.
The Peak District is split into the gritstone northern Dark Peak, where most of the high moorland is found and the southern mainly limestone-based White Peak, where most of the population lives.
Large reservoirs such as Ladybower, Derwent and Howden were built from the late 19th century onward to supply the growing urban areas surrounding the Peak District, often flooding large areas of farmland and depopulating the surrounding land in an attempt to improve the water purity.
The towns and villages are often quite isolated and built of the abundant native stone, Limestone.
The many gritstone outcrops, such as Stanage and the Roaches, are recognised as some of the finest rock climbing sites in the world.
Some of the area's large reservoirs (for example, Carsington Water) have become centres for water sports, including sailing, fishing and canoeing, in this most landlocked and beautiful part of the UK.”
The best bit?
This is where I live!
(pictures taken by My Dad. I'm at Uni at the moment, so had to make do with ones nicked from his website)
I live in the white peak. This is what the countryside surrounding my house looks like - rolling farmland, criss-crossed with the typical dry stone walls. Yes, my local hunt jumps these things!):
The dark peak is mainly moorland,with some forest and reservoirs:
Chatsworth House - one of the filming locations for Pride and Predudice. It's only a few miles away, and we regularly go riding in the deer park.
My local town Bakewell, where I went to secondary school, and where I work on a Saturday. It's only got a population of around 10,000 but it's the largest town in the Peak District. My nearest city, Sheffield, is over 40 minutes away by car.
I'm not saying I wouldn't want to live anywhere else, but I have yet to find an area that I love as deeply. Seriously people, google it, it's gorgeous, it's my home and always has been.
