The Peak District is a beautiful part of the world and was the first national park created in the UK. Despite its name there are actually no mountains in the peaks just lovely rolling hills of limestone in the south and gritstone moorlands in the north. The highest being Kinder Scout which despite the exhausting climb is only 636m above sea level!
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Many cities surround this little paradise making it really easily accessible to anyone. To explore the limestone dales and river walks head to Derby train station before hopping on frequent buses to Ashbourne or Bakewell. Buxton is also a good choice to explore Shining tour and again explore the Peak District bus network.
If you fancy exploring further north then head to Manchester or Sheffield. The scenic hope valley line follows the River Noe right through the heart of the Peaks. If that isn’t good enough there is another line from Manchester to Huddersfield that takes just over the top of the Peak District to all the little towns and villages up there.
The good news about all this transport is that you can jump in and out of the thru hike at various places and it is simple to get to the start and end of this route. The good connections is good for tourism and therefore much of this route has excellent paths. The route I describe below isn’t a named trail but includes many of the highlights in a shorter time frame.
If you really care about tick listing thru-hikes and trails then consider doing the PeakWay or the Pennine Way. Otherwise there are losts of shorter trails which you could walk you could follow from one end to another with a few detours from the route that I took as you jump in and out of many different trails such as the Tissington trail.
The route I chose took me 6 leisurely days but if you want more of a challenge you could push on and shorten this down to 4 days especially in the south Peaks where the routes are easy and flat. However, I decided to enjoy the sights and a lot of cafes. With some afternoons exploring some of the towns and villages in my shorter days. I definitely went for a more luxury long distrance hike staying in B & Bs and stopping off at cafes. Hiking doesn’t need to be full on challenges and self sufficiency all the time.
So here we go, the routes I took and the experiences I had and what I would do differently.
Route Plan
For a quick overview of the distrances and time it took me to walk check out the table below. I will also include the estimated time it will take as I feel like OS maps probably knows best!
| From | To | Distance/ km | Estimated Time | Elevation Gain/ m | Elevation Loss/ m |
| Ashbourne | Hartington | 20.2 | 6h 32m | 744 | 613 |
| Hartington | Bakewell | 19.3 | 5h 41m | 433 | 522 |
| Bakewell | Hathersage | 18.4 | 5h 11m | 297 | 261 |
| Hathersage | Castleton | 11.1 | 3h 4m | 156 | 116 |
| Castleton | Hadfield | 31.0 | 9h 36m | 928 | 859 |
| Hadfield | Marden | 20.6 | 6h 25m | 637 | 704 |
Day 1- Ashbourne to Hartington
It is super easy to get to Ashbourne by public transport despite not having a train station. From Derby, there are frequent buses to Ashbourne that run fairly late on in the day every half an hour. This little market town does have some supermarkets to stop up on supplies if you need to. It’s a cute little town which is undergoing some development at the moment (May 2025) so hopefully will be even better once the building works have been completed.
If you have the OS paper maps of the Peak District it is quite likely that you don’t have Ashbourne on the map. Fortunately, the start of the Tissington trail is marked on google maps. This is the first part of your hike. The Tissington trail follows an old railway line and therefore is a nice, wide shared cycle path. As you walk along you start to watch the hills roll away from you and before you know it you appear on your map.
You could continue to follow the Tissington Trail up to Parsley Hay, about 13 miles away but you want to take the footpath over the fields and into Thorpe. Here you can walk past Thorpe Cloud (or make a detour up its steep 275m if you are feeling it) and join the River Dove whcih you follow for the rest of the day.
Dove Dale is a hugely popular destination for its stepping stones and is possibly one of the most dramatic dales in the Derbyshire Dales. You are most definitely in the national park now and the steep sided gorge with its dramatic crags are a delight to the eyes.
If you can I would try and hit this part early and not in the high season. If the weather had to be bad for any of your trip, this would be a good day for it. Protected by the dale and it will reduce the crowds. Fortunately, the further away from the stepping stones you get, the quieter it becomes.
I highly recommend taking a lunch break in Milldale. Grab yourself a coffee from the kiosk cafe and have a nosey at the information barn. Enjoy the lovely stone bridge and tranquil river. Once your well rested head up the hill and into Mill Dale. This dale I hardly saw a soul despite being May half term. It isn’t as dramatic as Dove Dale but it is still so beautiful and peaceful. This was probably my favourite part of today’s hike.
From Mill Dale continue on into Wolfscote Dale, through Beresford Dale and along the footpath into Hartington. This again is a lovely village with a few pubs and cafes. If you need to there is a small village shop to stock up on snacks or lunch for the next day.
There are a few places to stay but I chose to stay at the YHA Hartinton Hall. It may be a youth hostel but its actually an awesome 17th century Manor House and inside still has some period features proudly displayed. You can go for the classic dorm bunk or you can get basic private rooms here and even yurts. Super friendly staff also serve dinner and breakfast so you know you will be well fed.
Day 2- Hartington to Bakewell
Today is short giving you plenty of time to rest and explore Bakewell when you arrive for that classic Bakewell tart. This part takes you through quiet back roads with rolling hills back onto the Tissington trail.
This trail is flat, super easy to follow and the terrain is excellent. There is even a visitor centre and cafe en route here. Not a bad toilet stop should that be a pressing issue. You will be walking an old railway line so the hills roll away from you either side but this can mean you are quite exposed to the wind for long stretches so pack a wind breaker layer.
Once are past this stop it isn’t far until you turn off towards the beautiful village of Monyash. It is another road slog but the village is pretty and you can grab a good lunch at The Old Smithy cafe. You may even be lucky enough to see the dressing of the well which is a lovely floral image display by the well.
From here on its back into a dale. The Lathkill Dale this time. This route does take you across a permissive path but it was really well kept during my visit but respect the landowners wishes as it is not a right of way. Finally up the steep banked sides into Over Haddon which is a again a lovely hamlet before following the footpaths down into Bakewell.
There are plenty of B&Bs to stay at in Bakewell. The Red Lion was super friendly and the rooms are lovely right in the heart of Bakewell. Spend the afternoon having a mosey in shops and secret little cafes before settling down for the night.
Day 3 – Bakewell to Hathersage
You are going to get very well acquainted to the River Derwent over the next few days. From Bakewell follow the footpaths east and you will pass through Edensor village. This is the picturesque village right outside the Chatsworth Estate.
The walk isn’t super long today either so you could have a look around the estate or pay to enter the house and gardens. Luggage storage is even provided near the house in lockers (£1 coin deposit) so you don’t need to drag your large backpack around. Otherwise you can get the bus here from Bakewell if you chose to spend another night there.
On the other side of the estate is the village of Baslow. If you haven’t explored the house there is a few cafes to choose from here. It could be a charming place except there is a lot of traffic passing right through the centre which is a real shame.
Once you have done exploring Baslow it’s time to continue to follow the River Derwent. You will pass by Calver and Grindleford before coming off the river into Hathersage. I think there is a lot more to Hathersage than meets the eye. There is a good choice of eateries, shops and even an outdoor pool in this little village. There are some posh hotels and very cosy B&Bs making for a lovely stay.
Day 4 – Hathersage to Castleton
A short and easy rest day today. Retrace your steps back down to cross the river and return to the Derwent-Valley Hertiage Way. This is another lovely river walk before passing through Shatton and Brough before walking along a Roman Road (grassy fields) towards Hope. Unless you want the train station, make sure to get the second footpath, it is well marked.
You can make a small detour and explore the village of Hope. There are some lovely cafe options here and the heart is only a few hundred metres from the footpath. Then follow some more footpaths over the fields into Castleton.
I arrived fairly early despite having a bit of a lie in and a cafe stop in Hope but luckily there are a lot of lovely cafes and tea rooms to grab some lunch. The tea rooms are absolutely lovely. Once I checked in a spent some time exploring the town with its little shops, including some jewellery shops. This area of the peaks is known for its Blue John Stone which is found no where else on Earth.
I was also able to fit in a visit to Perevil Castle. This is looked after by English Heritage and the views from the top are amazing. It is really dramatic when paired with the ruinous walls. You can see right over the valley whilst realising you are still not as high as Mam tour despite the steep accent!
If you don’t fancy a visit to the castle (it is a ruin and on the day tickets currently cost £11) then there are multiple caves in the area. Speedwell cavern is under a 20 minute walk away or a short bus trip if you want a boat ride through a disused mine or perhaps the show caves of Peak Cavern for the largest entrance cave in the UK.
Otherwise you have Cave Dale running right behind the castle for a lovely afternoon stroll. If you do want to treat it as a proper rest day, then the visitor centre is awesome too with the local history and again another awesome little cafe perfect for some afternoon coffee and cake.
For dinner there is quite a lot to choose from with a large selection of pubs. I ate at the Old Nags as I was spending the night there and actually found the food to be lovely. Castleton is one of the larger villages on route so you wont be spoiled for choice, however, I did find that the village shop was mostly alcohol so definitely catered to holiday makers. There are options though so make sure you have something with you for tomorrow as you are in the moors and not a cafe in sight!
Day 5- Castleton to Hadfield
This route IS long. Personally I would recommend staying in Edale but there are more campsites than B&Bs so accommodation was fully booked when I went hence staying in Castleton. If I stayed in Edale, yes it is smaller but I would have probably tackled Mam Tour instead of taking a short ‘rest’ day the day before, and maybe even up and over into Castleton (and got the bus back!). But most importantly it saves two hours of walking on today and only one steep accent.
If you do think this day is too long for you (and the terrain is more challenging too) then getting the bus into Edale might be a good idea for you. Otherwise, you are climbing Mam tour. So here there are two options. You can go over the pass. It is very steep, but the shortest route and takes you into Edale and the start of the Pennine Way or you could take the route I did.
I couldn’t bare the thought of climbing all that way to not touch the trig point. That pass is the worse bit too as once you are up there it is a ridge line walk up the highest point and where the Bronze Age fort is. It is not the recommended way to tackle Mam tour so you will be against the flow of people but early morning is it perfectly fine.
Once you have taken in the views it is then down the other end and then annoyingly quite a long way on roads towards Barber Booth. There are footpaths you could take but it just adds to the distance on what is an already long day.
After what feels like a long stint on the roads you finally join the Pennine Way and for the next major challenge of the day. Sadly Mam Tour is not the highest point of the day and you are straight into Jacob’s ladder. Unless you are super human this is steep as you climb up onto Kinder Scout so expect to need a good break. Lunch on top sheltered from the wind behind the Caine is a good spot with an awesome view. But again walk around the side a little for a more private spot.
The majority of the rest of the day you really feel like you’re in the dark peaks. The ground is a peat bog and there is little else but open expanse on top. There is a good footpath made of large slabs of rock that go the whole way and continue past the kinder downfall. Which is another awesome view of the waterfall. It gets quieter past this point as the view doesn’t really change to much.
There is a section where you go into what looks like a river bed maze. The path becomes less obvious here at points as it is has some twists and turns and even some junctions but in good weather you can find places to pop up to see above and get your bearings.
I did end up wandering off the path but re-found it once I got a good look over, although beware that if visibility is poor then this may be considerably harder. For the rest of the day you are zig zagging on what feels like the top of the world. Surrounded by bog plants and heather and on a good day you can see the skyscrapers of Manchester.
Once you hit the A57 at Snakes Pass you move from Edale Moor onto Bleaklow Moor and this is where you can make another detour to see the B-29 airplane crash. Make sure you read the directions on the gate before you head up so you know where to go for it. There is only arrows off the bridge way, it doesn’t explicitly label them as the crash site and you don’t want to be wandering around for hours looking for it.
When you hike you continue to be on this plateau and loose very little elevation along it so the decent towards Torside Reservoir follows Clough Edge which is a steep drop before a steep downhill which is hard on your knees.
If you have a tent then I would suggest camping in Crowden as otherwise its a 45 minute walk off route to the nearest B&B. It is a nice wide cycle train alongside the reservoir so until the last bit of hill an easy one but you do need to remember to turn off when it says otherwise you will get struck on the bridle way.
The accommodation I stayed at was lovely. Windy Harbour Farm Hotel was a bit chaotic knowing where to check in but otherwise super cosy with good views. The staff were super friendly and they offer a pack up which is really useful as there is no shops nearby or on route. There is a bit of a time pressure today despite it being a super long day as dinner is only served until 19:30 and not at all on some days so liaising with the staff would be useful on what your options are for those days.
Day 6- Hadfield to Marsden
The last day and it’s thankfully not as long as yesterday. Breakfast was lovely, and the pack up they gave me was really good. A sandwich as requested the night before, crisps, an apple and two slices of orange cake. It kept me going all day.
Another perk of this hotel is that they will offer to drop you off back on the Pennine Way trail in the morning which is amazing as it saves about 45 minutes of walking for what is barely ten minutes in the car.
This is the day that felt most adventurous to me as you quickly start climbing up the valley of Black Hill. This is a lovely walk but don’t expect a nice smooth path. There are boulders and large steps and drops as you climb up along the brook. The weather was poorer for me today but you are fairly sheltered in this valley. As you continue up the edges get steeper and you are right alongside the drop so watch your footing. The heather will only do so much.
Once you have tackled most of the accent it all starts to level out and you are hemmed in by peat walls, likely carved over years when the river swells. The map does say fords and they were not lying. There had been a long dry spell and only some rain overnight but the only way across that ford was wet boots (unless you fancy a change of shoes). The shallowest bit was still deeper than my boots would allow for and there is more than 1 crossing!
With wet feet you power on up onto the exposed moorlands once more. Of course you have to get the obligatory selfie of the Black Hill trig point. The path becomes quite good again as people like to summit this hill from the road but it is another steep decent before the road crossing.
The good news is that if you are fed up with the wind by now you are heading back into the valley towards Wessenden Head Reservoir. This is a reservoir and dam system so the path is excellent as it must be an access track. You continue to follow several more reservoirs and there are even some waterfalls to go have a look at if you fancy.
The Pennine Way leaves us here and heads off towards Standedge but if you want the most northerly point that’s Butterley Reservoir. You will also pass Marsden Dam which is the only spillway in the UK with historic significance so spend a minute or two learning about this grande dam. You really cannot miss it!
Past there it is a simple trip into Marsden village centre. There are some wonderful cafes and a few shops to explore so make sure to have a relax here. I failed to find anywhere suitable to stay in Marsden for the night as the only options were holiday homes which were way out of my budget even if they allowed one night stays.
The good news is that Marsden has a train station and there are regular trains between Manchester and Huddersfield. During the day they are every half hour and run fairly late although double check for Sundays, bank holidays and rail works for when you go. 30 minutes later you arrive at Manchester Piccadilly and can either spend the night here (there are loads of options for all budgets) or head home if that is feasible for you.
Conclusion
Hiking in the Peak District is a lovely way to spend a day or in my case a week. Although not an official trail it dips in and out of some of the best walks in the area including dove dale, the Hope Valley and the start of the Pennine Way. Walking through the centre from South to North (or do it the other way around if you wish) is the best way to appreciate the two halves of the peaks. You start with little rivers running through dales in the white peaks to climbing to the highest points in the middle of exposed peat moorlands in the dark peaks. Happy Hiking!
