The Peak District: A Weekend Guide

Last weekend, Aaron and I took a spontaneous trip to the Peak District for a weekend. When I say spontaneous, I mean we booked accommodation on the Saturday before, in time for the following Friday! This trip required no annual leave to be taken and was a very wallet-friendly weekend break. However, I must stress that for a trip like this, it is very beneficial to own a car.

Mam Tor

ACCOMODATION

As I mentioned above, we were very last minute to book our accommodation. We booked a cute little caravan on air b'n'b which was based in Waterhouses - at the very south of the Peak District. We really enjoyed staying in this quaint little village, as you are surrounded by the Peak District and you also have a little shop and 3 local pubs in walking distance. The downside was that a lot of the hikes and activities we did were based in Edale, so if you want to minimise the travel time during your weekend, you may want to consider staying closer to there. Saying that however, the drives to the hikes were stunning, so I didn't mind the travelling!

Air b'n'b Caravan

TRAVEL

Like I have already mentioned, I would highly recommend doing this trip in a car. It is much easier to get to the starting points of different hikes, and it means you don't need to rely on public transport. There are a few little towns which have train stations and a few that have some bus routes, but generally they have a very limited service - so owning a car would be best!

ITINERARY

Friday

I am based in Norwich, so Friday was a travel day! I finished a day's work and travelled to the Peak District straight after work, arriving around 18:30. By this time it was dark, so we did a little grocery shop for breakfast, lunch and snack foods and settled into our caravan, before taking a stroll to a local pub for some dinner, drinks and games!

Saturday - Kinder Scout and Buxton

We dedicated our Saturday to hiking Kinder Scout. Now this is classed as a 'challenging' hike, but if you engage in regular fitness activities, then this hike shouldn't be a problem. There is not a 'peak' to this hike, but rather it is a circular mountain hike, with various views and landmarks to enjoy throughout. It took us 5 hours in total to hike this 12km, from 09:45-14:45 and that was with taking a 20 minute lunch break and stopping to take multiple photos. The views are beautiful, overlooking valleys and reservoirs. We followed the National Trust guidance for this circular route which you can find here. Another thing to note, is that throughout this hike there are no facilities (cafes, shops, toilets etc.), so ensure you have all you need packed with you!

After a good day's exercise, we drove half way back to Waterhouses, to stop at the little town of Buxton en route for about an hour and a half. This was a really lovely little town, with a small high street, pavilion gardens, an opera house, an arcade which used to be the old 'Buxton Baths' and independent pubs and shops - we only wished we could have stayed longer! We enjoyed a well deserved hot chocolate and slice of cake at 'The Cafe at Green Pavilion' and had a wander through through the town.

Because I was doing all the driving, I was keen to get back to Waterhouses before it got completely dark; with multiple windy and unfamiliar roads - I didn't want to have to experience a tough drive, so we arrived back at around 18:00. We then enjoyed another evening at a different local pub for dinner and some card games!

Kinder Scout

Buxton

Sunday - Mam Tor and the Surrounding Area

After a larger hike on the Saturday, we decided doing a slightly shorter one on the Sunday and hiked Mam Tor. This takes around 2 hours and is approx 7km - we did this hike from 10:00-12:00. Classed as a 'moderate' intensity hike, it is easy to navigate, with a clear path - and plenty of people (so you can't go wrong!). As you can imagine, the views from the top are stunning, and I would say this hike is a must do for going to the Peak District!

We then did a few 'random highlights' of the Peak District as they were all close to Mam Tor - so we just keyed the postcode in the sat nav and drove off! This included driving through Winnat's Pass, Derwent Dam and Snake's Pass. We stopped off at the Millstone Country Inn in Hathersage for a Sunday Carvery, then our final stop was Chatsworth House, in which we had a walk around the grounds because we arrived too late (15:30) to go into the house itself.

Mam Tor

Winnat's Pass

I know you're thinking that this is a lot to do in a weekend... and you're right, it is! However, you can do these activities over a longer period of time, or pick and choose the things that sound most appealing to you and incorporate it into your own itinerary!

Happy Travelling!

Ruth xxx