Our trip to the Peak District | UK Breaks
In part 1 of our holiday we spent a few days in the Cotswolds, click to read that post first, or if you’re planning to visit the Peak District soon keep scrolling to read Part 2!
Following on from our UK break in the Cotswolds, we finished up our Llama trek in Northamptonshire and ventured north to the Peaks!
The Peak District has been high on our list to ‘properly’ do for years. If you’re anything like Neil and I, in love with the outdoors, hikes and country pubs, it’s Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty like the Peak District that will make for such a memorable holiday.
While we have been once before and vowed to come back, we really owe a lot of the inspiration to return and ‘properly’ explore the area to the writer, photographer and hillwalker Athena Mellor and her partner Harvey.
Athena filmed her rambles in the Peak District where she used to live (and now the Lake District) on her Youtube channel which provided amazing escapism throughout lockdown for us. We love her vibe.
She founded the Ramble Co., and released a Peak District guide for the modern hillwalker – which we bought and honestly can’t recommend it highly enough if you’re heading there.
You know a book isn’t just good… it’s GREAT… when another hillwalker spots it in your hands and shouts over “Amazing book, that’s how I found this walk!”
Where we based ourselves in the Peak District: Castleton
The Peak District is split into two parts. The Dark Peak (above Castleton in the north where lots of walkers base themselves.) We rented a self-catering AirBnb here.
And The White Peak (below Castleton in the south where we stayed on our previous trip).
The difference in the two is down to geology. The Dark Peak is known for being much wilder and more craggy with gritstone rock and heather moors. The White Peak is known for its green rolling hills.
We wanted heights, we wanted a challenge and we wanted something different to our experience of the Peak District before, so for us, the craggy Dark Peak offered us all of this and it certainly left a lasting impression on us!
Our Peak District Itinerary – Day 1/Arrival
I spent the car journey from Northamptonshire to Castleton book marking pages in Athena’s guide, mapping out a loose itinerary and with our bags in tow, we checked into our AirBnB in the centre of the village.
We didn’t get any pics of the Airbnb itself but what an amazing location! Our host Marieanne went above and beyond to welcome us. She left us Derbyshire oatcakes that came in handy for our pre-trek brekkies, a bottle of wine, local shortbread and a bakewell tart made in nearby town Bakewell, home of the traditional recipe. SO lovely. Those little touches are everything, aren’t they?
There are 7 pubs in Castleton within a 5-10min walk from where we stayed so we had no shortage of choices. And WOW it felt like heaven to finally be sitting in beer gardens in the sun.
The weather was insanely good the whole week, so we kicked off Day 1 with a couple of pints and a pizza at The George Inn who had The Pizza Box cooking up a storm in their beer garden.
After dinner, we took a wander around the village to suss out what was around.
THE MOST PHOTOGRAPHED HOUSE IN CASTLETON!
What we found was… errr… let’s say… unexpected!
If you’re familiar with Castleton and the Peak District, you’ll know just how popular “that house” is to photograph on the edge of Peakshole Water by the stream. It’s such a peaceful spot with sounds of the stream trickling against the rock.
We got up close the first night and suddenly heard some roars. Yes, ROARS.
Behind the house is Peak Cavern, a cave for tourists usually… but that night it was home to a screening of Jurassic Park. It was the freakiest experience being in a tiny, sleepy village, with billowing dinosaur noises coming out of a giant cave in the rock!
I expected there to be so many tourists in Castleton but in the evenings, the village returned to its sleepy-self and we felt like we had it all to ourselves almost every night.
Our Peak District itinerary – Day 2
Mam Tor + Edale
We’re all about getting self-catered accommodation to be able to whip up a feast whenever we like (and save a few pennies on some meals) especially for breakfast + lunch.
We started the day with Neil cooking a hearty fry up to get our energy high for walking! Derbyshire oatcakes, eggs and bacon. Bliss. I packed our rucksack ready for the day (water, flask of tea, snacks, an OS map, etc) and made a packed lunch.
Most walks start from Edale or Hathersage which get busy and tricky to find parking after about 10.30am so get out early if you’re heading there.
We followed the Ramble Guide’s walk up Mam Tor which gave us breathtaking views (literally) of Castleton, Edale and Kinder Scout.
Neil nearly took flight at the top it was so windy!
It was a bonus to have done a full circular walk taking in views from Hollins Cross rather than walking directly from the car park to Mam Tor.
The Edale to Mam Tor walk was about 2-3 hours which gave us a whole afternoon to play with afterwards. So we got back in the car and I navigated Neil up past amazing views of Ladybower Reservoir towards Snake Woodland.
Snake Woodland via Ladybower Reservoir
This place gave me such Mount Hood vibes (in Oregon) being super eerie with towering trees flanking gigantic boulders either side of us.
It was the type of walk that had me always checking over my shoulder, with Neil leading the way. Do you ever do that??
There was nobody in sight, all the way markers had been removed so we trekked our own path (clearly Neil’s decision, he’s the brave one!) through the trees and down to the river.
Lol moment… Neil thought he saw a face staring at him in the long grass, it turned out to be this cheeky wee ram that ran out in front of him as he approached. He jumped ten inches with the fright!
We stopped for a cuppa at the river and chatted about plans for Fifi McGee and where to take things in the future before trekking back through what I can only describe as “questionable woodland”. It was boggy, we kept losing the path… and it did wonders for my anxiety 😂 but we made it back in one piece, without having to make a call to mountain rescue.
Edale
We had an all-day parking ticket and you know when you just really fancy a pint after a long day of walking?! So we drove back to Edale after the woods walk to visit the very popular Rambler’s Inn.
It was such a buzz to be in pubs. You could tell everyone was shattered after their days hiking out on the hills surrounding but there was that lovely chitter-chatter, laughter and slurping of well earned beers from people on the tables near us. For a moment it was almost like Covid was forgotten about… Having to order every drink and meal by downloading apps though, stripped the heart out of going up to a bar and having a chat about what’s on draught. But baby steps.
It had a really nice vibe there and would be the perfect spot for lunch and a pint if you’ve finished a walk in the area.
Back at Castleton that evening, I cooked us my speciality Herb crusted Haddock + potatoes before hitting the hay ready for another hiking day. Recipe here if anyone is interested (add curry powder! It’s absolutely delicious!)
Our Peak District itinerary – Day 3
Edale to Kinder Scout (via Ollerbrook)
As much as we love our walks on the South Downs, they’ll never match up to this! Kinder Scout raised the bar.
I asked Neil which was his favourite day of the Peak District hols and we mutually agreed it was Day 3. This Kinder Scout hike took us about 5 hours in total because we stopped regularly for pics, cups of tea and to take in those views of the Vale of Edale beneath us.
The photos don’t do the landscape justice (do they ever?) as we were surrounded by 360 degree views on virtually every turn of the hike.
It was tough in parts, particularly the climb up. There were some hairy heights, and a little bit of scrambling which was such a novelty to us and although the weather was a beaut (the hottest day of the year) it made the climb with our rucksacks harder.
It was worth every step though! Look at this view from the top…
If you’re relatively fit, you love hikes, it’s a good weather day and you’re up for the challenge, this route is a MUST when you come to the Peak District. Pick up Athena’s book for this and loads more walks, it’s inside on P. 24.
On our return back to Edale we stopped at Newfold Farm Cafe for an ice cream. The perfect spot to refuel. When you head to Edale, make sure you stop in at Edale General Store which is community run. They stock all independent / Peak District produce, books and gifts. I picked up some Peak Coffee beans to have a wee memory of the hills every morning when we returned home.
Our Peak District itinerary – Day 4
Another day, another insane view of our beautiful country…
Stanage Edge
I know many of you reading this may have already been to the Peak District, perhaps even grown up in the area, but for us it’s once in a blue moon we visit so we really wanted to make the most of the walks/views.
The weather was EVEN hotter on day 4. So hot, we nearly abandoned the hike altogether and contemplated finding the nearest ice cream seller and set up camp for the day!
Ice cream came later because Stanage Edge was calling, one of the Peak Districts highest spots. Wow, we were so glad our little legs carried us up this one. It was a 4 hour hike with lunch at the top watching the brave climbers descend off the edge.
if you’ve ever wondered what it’s like being a photographer’s wife!
That night we paid a visit to the Peak Hotel for Gin & Tonics and some amazing pub grub, chatting about how much we miss travelling overseas, but how grateful we felt for the time it’s given us to explore our own country.
As you can probably imagine, during our walks (and pints!) we spoke loads about our business direction and where we want to be in the future. Our time away from screens and hitting pause on a lot of design and renovation projects got us so pumped for what we do.
As cliché as it sounds, pressing that reset button is exactly what we needed.
Our Peak District itinerary – Day 5
The last day we spent doing rainy activities, waiting for the forecasted rain to come which it didn’t!
Caves near Castleton
We planned a day of exploring the nearby caves, Speedwell Cavern and Treak Cliff Cavern, famous for lead and Blue John Stone mining.
I look fairly happy in this photo because we’re in a large cave underground at this point but to get there we had to descend 150 steps and board a boat that took us winding through some tight tunnels (we had to duck down low throughout the 1 hour boat ride).
The worst thing happened. Panic and claustrophobia kinda hit me 😬
It didn’t help that the tour-guide-come-comedian was making jokes the whole way and all I wanted to do was get the f*$k out! 😂
But I kept quiet, breathed my way through it and as soon as daylight hit, I was grateful to be alive!! 😂
Have you ever experienced claustrophobia before? I never had until the year I went to Pamplona to Running with the Bulls, and got SO stuck in crowds of thousands of people who piled into one tiny square for the opening ceremony. I wish I was joking when I said I nearly suffocated and lost everyone I was with. Some guy I didn’t know literally saved my life and dragged me out towards a shop entrance/wall.
Mum if you’re reading this, it was no point me worrying you 😂
And on that cheery note! Our holiday was over.
Guys, the Peak District needs to be on your list. Go again if you’ve already been before. It’s a tonic for the soul and we had the most active, refreshing trip there.
Maybe skip the caves haha.
I hope you enjoyed this mini-series sharing our UK trips. It’s a bit different to our usual interiors and reno stuff.
If you enjoyed it, we’d love to hear from you! Drop us a DM on Instagram and tell us where you’ve been or whether you’re planning any trips soon.
Take care,
Fi (and Neil) xxx
