The Peak District is the UK's first national park, established in 1951 to carve out a protected space between the encroaching industrial cities of the midlands and northern England.

The national park and the UK's 'right to roam' freedoms owe their existence to the struggles of ordinary working people who, in the 1932 Kinder Trespass, forced private landowners to grant public access to the nation's beautiful but previously restricted countryside.

Divided by a geological fault line between the gritstone 'Dark Peak' and the limestone 'White Peak', the landscape switches from open, even severe-looking, moorland to the north and secluded dales and quaint farming villages to the south.

Its proximity to motorways and several major cities means the Peak District gets busy in places, particularly around pleasant but popular honeytraps such as Dovedale, Castleton and Matlock. But with nearly 2,000 miles of public footpaths and rights of way, it's still very easy to find yourself alone and enjoying empty trails and wide open views. The Dark Peak is generally quieter, as is the far south on the border with Staffordshire.