Index
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An Introduction To The Peak District
 Introduction
The Peak District is the area of upland at the bottom of the Pennine
range. For many who live to the south, the Peak District is the first
area of wild country that they come too. It is said that nearly half of
the population of England live within a few miles of the Peak District,
and on a sunny bank holiday weekend it can seem as if they have all come
to visit. The walker can take heart from the odd statistic that over 90%
of visitors to the Peak District do not venture more than ¼ of a mile
from their cars.
On many occasions the walker can find places just beyond the popular
centres, and spend hours with only the wildlife for company. It is not
all idyllic scenes, the Peak District has its fair share of bad weather
as well as good. The wild moorland can be very wild indeed and bad weather
can punish the ill prepared. Although dangerous, poor weather can show
the Peak District in another light. Fog in the valley can clear on the
tops, the sun breaks through thick rain clouds, or a thick dusting of
snow changes familiar features. This kind of experience makes the Peak
District the popular place that it is today.
Geography
Naming the area the Peak District is a bit of an anomaly, as there is
no single summit in the area. The word peak comes from the old English
word ‘peac’, meaning knoll or hill. In a.d. 924 the area was known as
‘peacland’. It is an area of opposites, the bleak, black northern moors
are starkly contrasted by the patchwork of pale walled fields to the south.
The Peak District is naturally split into two distinct areas, known as
the dark peak and the white peak. The dark peak is mainly gritstone, composed
of bleak featureless moorland, steep rocky edges, isolated odd shaped
rocky tors, steep sided cloughs and hidden swift running streams. The
dark peak is usually associated with the high moorland to the north, but
geographically it also includes the moorland running down the western
and eastern extremes of the region.
The area was formed over many millions of years. The oldest rock is the
limestone, which was formed in the carboniferous period 330 million years
ago from the shells of sea creatures. The limestone also contains pockets
of other rocks; siliceous chert and silica sand were deposited while basalt
was formed as the result of volcanic action. Later volcanic action resulted
in the significant amounts of lead ore and the smaller amounts of
copper that were deposited in veins in the region.
The limestone was covered in later periods with shales, grits and sandstones,
and this promoted the growth of vegetation. This vegetation died off to
become the moorland coal. Finally the area was lifted up to create an
enormous dome. The upper rocks have since weathered away, leaving a central
limestone plateau, with the younger millstone grit surrounding it on three
sides.
The dark peak is one of the loneliest regions of the country, in spite
of its close proximity to the industrial centres of northern England.
This is best highlighted flying over the region at night, the bright lights
of the industrial centres on the outskirts surround an area of complete
darkness. Perhaps this accounts for the large number of aircraft that
have been wrecked in the region, in the days before modern navigational
aids.
The soil is very acid in the dark peak, with peat being predominant.
This accounts for the distinct lack of farming. Adding this to its harsh
climate, the place is only good for hardy sheep and grouse. The vegetation
of the dark peak is composed of cotton grass, with stretches of heather.
On better drained areas ling and bracken thrive. As far as wildlife is
concerned, in addition to the sheep, the only other inhabitants are the
curlew, the golden plover, the fox and the mountain hare.
The white peak is the limestone heart of the Peak District, and it could
not be more different than the dark peak. The landscape is really white,
the main feature being the miles of gleaming white limestone dry stone
walls. The hills are mostly low with clumps of trees dotted all over them.
The most dramatic features of the region appear when water cuts through
the landscape, with steep sided dales, cliffs, caves and pinnacles.
The white peak countryside is softer and more fertile than the dark peak.
Much of the land is given over to farming, but very little of this is
arable land. The flora and fauna of the white peak is much more varied
than the dark peak. It is closer in habitat to the more southerly parts
of England, and it is the northern boundary of the habitats of many species
of plants and animals.
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