Where to stay in the Peak District for Walking
Even before I moved to the Derbyshire Dales the Peak District National Park was one of my favourite areas for walking. The big attraction for me is the variety of landscape, the surprises round every corner, the extensive network of footpaths and trails, and the thousands of acres of open access land all around Biggin Hall Hotel.
Why the Peak District is Ideal for Walking Holidays
The Peak District’s geology gives it two distinct characters, something guests often appreciate when staying at Biggin Hall Hotel. The overlying gritstone rock forms the Dark Peak, known for its wild moorlands, dramatic edges and open skies, an area ideal for more rugged hikes. Iconic high points include Mam Tor and Kinder Scout, the site of the historic mass trespass of 1932.
Further south and through the centre of the park, this gritstone layer gives way to limestone landscapes. Here, the scenery softens into rolling hills, steep-sided dales, and quieter valleys, with dry stone walls, grazing sheep, woodland pockets and traces of the area’s mining heritage. It’s a very different walking experience, offering gentler routes that are just as rewarding.
This natural contrast is what makes the Peak District so appealing. You can enjoy clear air, uncrowded footpaths and trails, follow a trout stream through meadows and gorges, or climb to spectacular views from rocky crags, all within easy reach of Biggin Hall Hotel.
About Biggin Hall Hotel
Every season has its own attraction: sharp winter days with bare trees bring an extra clarity to the views, and in spring wild spotted purple orchids and cowslips speckle the valley sides. Summer brings a gentler, greener landscape followed by the colours of autumn as nature starts its annual hibernation.
You will enjoy your holiday most if you make your base somewhere close to many of the iconic spots. Biggin Hall Hotel is set in its own grounds and land in the White Peak, at the edge of the village of Biggin. Dating back to 1672, it has character allied with creature comforts and an excellent reputation for service and food (I ought to know because I own it!). Here, no need for a car, as footpaths from the door lead straight to the Tissington trail, and 400 yards away Biggin Dale leads through National Trust land to the Rover Dove.
Walks You Can Enjoy Close to Biggin Hall Hotel
Guests at Biggin Hall often ask me to suggest walks. We have detailed guides available at reception, including two miles or so circular walks from the door, but here are some longer ones that I always enjoy, each with a different flavour :
Biggin Dale to the River Dove
Biggin Dale starts 400 yards from Biggin Hall Hotel. The path takes you through a grassy valley owned by the National Trust with wild brownspot orchids and cowslips in the spring. High in the trees on the top of the left bank a colony of crows will disturb the peace as you pass. The valley opens to a meadow where you skirt round a dew pond to continue down towards the river, first through a wood, then through a valley with, to the right, scree slopes and gorse. On the left you may spot the entrance to a cave which could be an old mine exploration. A steep hill directly ahead marks the far bank of the Dove.
Here you have a choice : turn left to follow the river to Dovedale, famous for its stepping stones, Tissington Spires, and lover’s leap – or turn right to take you to Hartington, where you can stop for refreshment at one of the two pubs or three cafes, and then back to Biggin via an old salt road once used by packhorses on their way from Nantwich to Wirksworth.
Kinder Scout from Edale
This is a challenging but rewarding walk up and across a mountainous plateau where, even in this day and age, you may find you wish you had a compass with you. Starting from Edale, the route to Kinder downfall is clear, even if sometimes the direction of water isn’t. On windy days the updraught makes it seem more water is going up than down. But if you decide to cut across the plateau you can soon find yourself disorientated on days with less than perfect visibility.
The heather moorland is very hard to walk across although gouged with a network of mini-valleys, just over head height deep, with moist sandy bottoms, where you will find the walking much easier. There is no view when walking along these, and no clear sense of direction, and when you scrabble up the side to get an idea where you are, the flat landscape looks the same in every direction. It’s quite a relief when the landscape opens and you have a stunning view from the eastern escarpment before going back down to Edale.
The rivers Manifold, Lathkill and Bradford.
Walk along any of these rivers and you will be rewarded with stunning scenery, waterfalls, weirs, caves and cliffs, waterfowl, eiders, coots, moorhens, geese, egrets, herons, maybe a swan or the blue flash of a kingfisher!
Along these rivers, perhaps after watching a mother duck teaching her brood how to climb a small waterfall, you may catch a glimpse of an abandoned ruin, a relic of the time in the 18th and 19th centuries when these same peaceful valleys were being mined for lead and copper. Massive Newcomen beam engines belched black smoke to augment the ingenious water driven water pumps and lengthy soughs used to drain the workings for the hundreds of miners hundreds of feet below ground.
Paradoxically, many of the idyllic country villages in the area owe their origins to their industrial past.
The Roaches
The West of the Peak District is marked by the dramatic gritstone outcrop of the Roaches rising like a stickle backed prehistoric monster from the Staffordshire plain. A good place to start a walk is Gradbach, taking in Luds Church, a deep limestone chasm where you can feel the presence of ancient myths and legends. This walk can be extended by a mile or so to include a visit to the Wincle brewery at Danebridge.
So, Where Should You Stay in the Peak District for Walking?
When you plan to visit the Peak District for walking, where you stay matters just as much as where you’re going.
Many walkers look for somewhere that offers a bit of balance. Easy access to a variety of routes, but also somewhere quiet enough to properly switch off at the end of the day, leave the boots by the door and enjoy a good meal.
Biggin Hall Hotel sits in a part of the Peak District that makes exploring very straightforward. You can head out for a longer, more challenging hike one day, then opt for a gentler walk through limestone valleys or along quieter trails the next, without needing to travel far.
For many, that combination of location, comfort, and calm surroundings is what turns a walking trip into something a little more memorable.
For more information on what you can do around Biggin Hall, check out this page.