Just because of its catchy name, Peak District, you will want to go to this national park in the middle of England. In the county of Derbyshire, east of the cities of Nottingham and Sheffield, you will find beautiful roads and peaks with names like 'Long Hill', 'Axe Edge', 'Cat & Fiddle', 'Mam Tor' and 'Winnats Pass'. Place names like Windmill and Bakewell will also bring a grin to many a face. We went exploring to pick out some highlights in this beautiful region. Will you join us next time you cycle in the Peak District?
The park itself
This hilly area was England's first national park in the 1950s. It is not only in Derbyshire, but also covers part of Cheshire, Staffordshire and other counties You can roughly divide the park into two sections:
- Dark Peak: this is the rougher, northernmost part of the park. You will also find the highest peaks here, including Kinder Scout, the highest point at 636 metres
- White Peak: this is the lower part, mainly in the south, with large limestone plateaus. This section is up to 400 metres high and is actually somewhat enclosed by Dark Peak.
In the park you will find several villages, including the spa resort of Buxton, where a visit to the local Buxton Brewery should not be missed. Of course, this park also contains many old castles or mansions (it's just how you look at it. You can find all the info on the site of the tourism office
Cycling
The park offers a variety of cycling opportunities. There are quite a few paths that are traffic-free and are excellent for a nice gravel ride or a ride on an ATB/MTB. For example, the Tideswell & Millersdale route, which runs along an old railway line. In 30 kilometres you ride 527 altimeters on (mostly) unpaved terrain.
The roads around the village of Matlock, where you can look out over the surrounding area magnificently, are also worthwhile. That one is a bit heftier too, with 700hm in almost 40km of cycling.
But now back to the road, because that is what we also like to look at. In the park itself, the roads are well maintained and you can go in all sorts of different directions. What should at least not be missed on your route is a drive along Winnats Pass and past Mam Tor
Winnats Pass
The name Winnats pass is again derived from 'windy gates' because it can be so nice and windy here. So you have to be mindful of that and definitely not stick your wheels too high. This beautiful hill is only 2.5 kilometres long but the views are truly magnificent. Make sure you go up quite a bit because the average on this climb is 9.2% and there is a peak of 18(!)% in between. Be sure to catch your breath at the end and enjoy the view. Looking all the way from the top, it looks like there is some kind of crater in the earth through which this pass runs. A must-do if you are here.
Peaslows
If you do want to head towards Winnats pass, you can combine it nicely with another calving bite called Peaslows. Start in the village of Chapel-en-le-Frith (what's in a name) and head to Winnats pass via Sparrowpit. Then you pick up this little climb. You can't really call it a warm-up as it's at 11% on average over almost 2 kilometres. In case you haven't warmed up yet, you'll be puffing at the top.
Mum Tor
This 'Mother Hill' in the Peak district is stunning. Need we say more with pictures like these? As for the climb itself, you have two options. From the north or from the south. The southern variant starts off fairly briskly with 7% for a few kilometres but then really flattens out to all the way down to 0 before going up steeply for the last few hundred metres.
The northern variant, starting from the town of Hope, eigneljk has a very long run-up of 9 kilometres hilly, between 2% and 5% before finally the last two kilomter suddenly shoots up in altitude. You then ride 1 kilometre at 11% on average, so that's pretty tough.
Snake Pass
This one actually belongs on the list too. Mainly because this is reminiscent of a real climb. You can go up almost seven kilometres at an average of 5.3%. The climb is very gradual, making it perhaps the ideal training climb in this area. The landscape almost reminds you of Sweden or Canada with its trees. But it is really England after all.
Route and more
If you want to ride Winnats Pass, you can also take in some other beautiful things in the area. Here's a taster.
There is much more to explore besides the above. What do you want in a park that is almost 1,500 kilometres in size. You can find all the information you need to visit this stunning area on The Peak District site. Should you still manage to make it this year (2021), you will also experience the 70th anniversary of this park. Nice, isn't it?
