PEAK DISTRICT

The Peak District, the very centre of England and so quintessentially English

The Peak District National Park is a delightful county of contrasts. Peaks, dales and rivers alongside stately country houses, remains of our Victorian industrial successes and quaint villages still home to busy, local and 21st century communities living and working together.

In the north are the first steps of the ancient Pennine Way, the backbone of England, running from Edale to Cumbria; caves and caverns with ancient mining history at Castleton, below the 3 peaks of Mam Tor, Winn Hill and Lose Hill; Kinder Scout where ramblers first secured their enduring "Right to Roam" in the 1932 mass trespass which finally allowed free access to all, across Derbyshire's stunning moorland.

Ride ponies over the moors, walk the High and White peaks and see Dovedale and The Goyt Valley at the heart of the first National Park in Britain. Come to Bakewell, home to the original Bakewell Pudding , Monday is still market day.

Surely the jewel in Derbyshire's crown is Chatsworth House, set in 1000 acres of English county parkland, amid formal mad informal gardens. The Emperor Fountain, an 18th century maze, conical hunting tower and all set against a working estate background among red deer and sheep. The River Derwent offers fly fishing and thousands of visitors each year are welcomed by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire to experience their own home and heritage and to walk through the galleries of priceless art treasures in the house. The Cavendish Hotel at Baslow and The Derbyshire Arms at Beeley are both on the estate and offer superb hospitality and a very English experience to all their guests.

No visit to Derbyshire is complete without experiencing Hardwick Hall, 16th century home to Bess of Hardwick, a fiesty contemporary of Queen Elizabeth the first, her namesake and rival at times too. Haddon Hall and Hassop hall two further properties on the Chatsworth Estate are also well worth a visit.