Peak District National Park

The Peak District became Britain's first national park in 1951, and its geography explains why the campaign started here: wedged between Manchester and Sheffield, it put wild country within walking distance of millions, and the 1932 mass trespass on Kinder Scout - the peat-hagged plateau that is the park's highest ground - became a landmark in the long story of public access to the hills. The park splits into two characters. The Dark Peak is gritstone: brooding moors, the climbing edges of Stanage and the Roaches, the shivering face of Mam Tor above the Hope Valley. The White Peak is limestone: green dales threaded with clear rivers, the stepping stones of Dovedale, the show caverns of Castleton with their unique Blue John stone, and the arched viaducts of the traffic-free Monsal Trail. Chatsworth House, the palatial seat of the Dukes of Devonshire, adds art and gardens, and Bakewell contributes its famous pudding.

What you actually see

• Mam Tor and the Great Ridge - the skyline walk above the Hope Valley.
• Dovedale - stepping stones and limestone spires in the prettiest dale.
• Castleton's caverns - show caves and the Blue John stone.
• Chatsworth House - the palace in its Capability Brown park.

When to go

April to October for the walking; heather turns the Dark Peak purple in late August. Fine-weather weekends bring Manchester and Sheffield out in force - weekdays transform the honeypots.

Honest expectations

This is one of the most visited national parks anywhere, and Dovedale or Mam Tor on a sunny Sunday means queues for stepping stones and full car parks by ten. Dark Peak moorland is bleak, boggy and navigationally serious in mist. Chatsworth's entry prices are stately-home steep.

Nearby

Buxton's spa architecture, Sheffield's western edges and the Derwent Valley's mill heritage.