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 The Peak District National Park, Bakewell, Co. Derbyshire
The Peak District National Park was designated the first of Britain's National Parks, encompassing a wild and atmospheric landscape, between the industrial cities of Manchester and Sheffield.
Covering some 1400 sq km, the Peak District stands at a climactic crossroads between the rugged highlands of the north of England and the gentle sweeping lowlands of the south. This contrasting landscape includes the rolling dales and limestone plateau of the White Peak in the south and the atmospheric Dark Peak of the north and east; a unique combination of wild heather-clad moors, craggy peat bogs and precipitous outcrops, which culminate in Kinder Scout, the tallest point of the Peaks standing 636m tall. The damp climate of the Peak District fosters rivers and underground streams, which over time have carved out great caverns beneath the hills, with numerous stalactites and stalagmites. The largest and most visited of these are Peak Cavern, Speedwell Cavern and Blue John Cavern around the village of Castleton.
Thousands of years of heritage can be found within the Peaks from Megalithic stones such as Arbor Low, referred to as the ‘Stonehenge of the North’, to the world’s first cotton mill in Cromford. The most impressive visitor attractions are the aristocratic sprawls of Haddon Hall and Hardwick Hall and the ‘Palace of the Peak’ Chatsworth House , one of the most splendid homes in Britain, set in stunning grounds landscaped by the eminent Capability Brown.
 Peak District National Park
Dotted around the Peak District are quaint little slate stone villages. The tiny village of Eyam is known as the plague village, when the ‘Black Death’ spread here through a consignment of cloth from London in 1665. The courageous villagers quarantined themselves so as not to spread the disease to outlying villages, when it was lifted 12 months later only a quarter of the population remained. Among the main towns of the Peak District, the most notable are the central Spa town of Buxton famed for its springs, the market town of Bakewell famed for its tarts.
The Peak District is one of Europe’s most popular National Parks, attracting a great many outdoor enthusiasts all year round, from walkers along its footpaths, climbers along its rock faces and pot-holers to its deep underground caverns.
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