High Peak

Most people arrive in High Peak with boots already in the car, and that is the right instinct. This is the western edge of the Peak District, a landscape of gritstone edges, reservoirs, and moorland that rewards a first-time visitor simply for getting outside and walking. A trip to Mermaid's Pool, tucked into the hills above Kinder Scout, makes a good target for a first day out, and the surrounding paths link up into longer routes if the weather holds and your legs are willing.

Most visitors base themselves in a self-catering cottage rather than a hotel, and High Peak has them in real number, from Anne's Cottage and Bay Tree House to the pair of Basin Retreats and Bings Farm House. These tend to sit in or near the small towns and villages that thread through the area, close enough to walking routes that you can be on the hill within minutes of leaving the door. If you would rather someone else made the bed, there are a handful of hotels and inns too, including the Pack Horse Inn in New Mills and the Waltzing Weasel, both useful bases with a bit more built-in comfort. For those who want to sleep closer to the ground, The Brassic Retreat is the area's campsite option.

Beyond the walking, High Peak is a place to slow down. The towns and villages are the sort where a morning can disappear into a wander around the shops and a long coffee, and the surrounding countryside is as much for pottering as for serious hiking. Photographers and casual walkers alike tend to gravitate towards the reservoirs and edges, and even a short outing gives a real sense of why this corner of Derbyshire draws people back.

A first trip to High Peak works best if you accept its rhythm: walk in the morning while the light is good, find lunch in one of the local cafes, and spend the afternoon exploring whichever village you have landed in. It is not a place of single big-ticket attractions so much as a whole area built for being outside, and that is exactly its appeal.