Guide to High Peak walks - northern Peak District, England, UK

• Location
• Description
• Contents
• Introduction
• Sample Route
• Maps

This guide is the first part of a two-volume survey designed to balance the marvellous diversity and wealth of walking country contained in the Peak District National Park.

High Peak Walks encompasses the Dark Peak moors of Black Hill, Bleaklow, Kinder Scout, the higher eastern edges and the annexed western gritstone uplands from Windgather to The Roaches. A second volume will deal with the softer limestone region of the White or Low Peak.

The present area is characterised by great swelling moorland composed of sandstones and shales capped by a coarse gritstone, known as Millstone Grit, outcropping along the plateau edges and scarps. Gritstone is pervious but a climatic quirk caused a thin impervious sedimentation to stop water penetration and triggered the formation of a thick blanket of peak over the Pennine uplands. The process is now subject to rapid degeneration caused by numerous agencies including climatic change, air pollution, fire, over-grazing and regretfullly excessive localised recreational use. This ecological decline may have cyclical characteristics, but the present rate of erosion is little short of alarming, threatening not just the visual charm of the moors, but more insidious, their future economic values.

Twenty-two day-long circular walks and one linear challenge walk, carefullly researched and described, offer walkers a practical and entertaining means of acquainting themselves with this popular moorland region. Each walk is designed to embrace particular localities, drawing on the contrasting qualities of each to sustain interest and develop appreciation of the wild, dramatic and often shy beauty peculiar to this northern sector of Peakland. As circular walks they comply to no rigid form, walkers being at liberty to embellish the routes to suit their own inclinations, mindful of the terms and bounds of Access land with the further obligation to use only Access Points when entering or leaving Access Land.

The walks are a fine initiation to the delights of moorland walking and for the normally active person should few problems in fair weather...