The Peak District National Park is Britain's oldest national park - 540 square miles of beautiful countryside, encompassing traditional villages and historic towns, grand stately homes and gardens. There is plenty here to attract the visitor although it still manages to remain unspoilt. In the south, a landscape of beautiful valleys, rivers and dales make this ideal terrain for walkers. Walking routes are signposted everywhere, from easy walking along disused railway lines such as the picturesque Monsal Trail, to more challenging long-distance paths. Cyclists are also catered for with a number of cycle hire centres and trails.

In the north, the landscape changes to provide some of England's wildest scenery characterised by grit stone and sheer rock edges. The rugged moorlands of Kinder Scout (2088ft) provide further walking opportunities as part of the Pennine Way. This 250 mile, long distance trail begins in the village of Edale, where the information centre provides maps, guides and details of all walks in the area. The limestone caverns at Castleton in the Hope Valley, open to visitors, are another peculiar geological feature of the area. At Speedwell Cavern, 105 steps take the visitor down to a series of old lead-mine tunnels where they board a small boat for a journey through a tunnel to the cavern itself, 600 feet underground.

Other attractions include the grand house at Chatsworth, famed for its landscaped gardens featuring a great water cascade, and romantic Haddon Hall with its rose garden. The historic spa town of Buxton, a minor rival to Bath in Georgian times, and Bakewell, famous for its pudding, are also worth a visit. In the latter, the unusual custom of "well-dressing", during which certain wells and springs are elaborately decorated to celebrate the water's life giving powers, can be observed if visiting in early June.