Arran Cross is a photographer, filmmaker and writer. He lives in Sheffield, UK, and works all over the world.
The Peak District is the oldest national park in England and Wales, and it's also one of most iconic thanks to its roughly 555 square miles of sweeping heather and granite moorland. Thousands of miles of trails lead over the steep rocky peaks and through the wild, and the deep valleys and dales that characterize this northern section of the United Kingdom's Pennine uplands. The park’s rugged geography is punctuated by winding rivers, chocolate box villages, and some of the UKs finest historical homes and holiday cottages.
Divided amongst Derbyshire, Cheshire, Staffordshire, Yorkshire, and Greater Manchester counties, the Peak District is made up of a Dark Peak and a Light Peak, each characterized by their topography and geology as well as distinct flora and fauna. These areas have been inhabited since the Mesolithic era and history fills the landscape with evidence of Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman settlements across the entire region.
Today, Peak District National Park is a haven for hikers, climbers, campers, wild swimmers, and kayakers from across the UK and beyond. The park is within easy reach of cities like Manchester and Sheffield and has excellent transport links from almost anywhere in the UK. With a typically British climate, the Peak District is a year-round destination; its bitingly cold winters attract adventurous hikers and ice climbers just as its balmy summers are a magnet for fairweather cyclists and casual ramblers. And when the weather turns for the worst (as it often does) there’s a host of stately homes and caves to explore. The area is also home to some of the best traditional pubs in the country, where you can pull up a seat by the fire and enjoy a pint of real ale (start with The Packhorse at Little Longstone).
Accommodation in the Peak District is easy to come by and available at a wide range of prices. Most of it is decorated and styled in the traditional English country aesthetic—there's no shortage of quaint Peak District cottages—but there are also architectural marvels, Scandi-inspired cabins that take seclusion to the next level. You'll find all those and more below.
