Why is High Peak Estate so special?
The High Peak is an upland landscape typified by dramatic scenery, extensive tracts of relative wilderness and a cultural landscape that spans more than 8,000 years of human activity. The extensive and varied nature of the property makes it difficult to generalize about its character. However, its spirit arises from the interaction of man with the natural environment and physical relief provided by the gritstone and limestone hills.
The sweeping and seemingly endless expanse of open moorland dominates the Estate. The flat but gently rounded plateaux and hill tops give a remote and vast feel to the landscape. The walking is deceptively hard and the climate often deceives the visitor.
Vast expanses of ancient and deep blanket peat smother much of the terrain with deep groughs and bare expanses of de-graded and bare peat, making this an unusual landscape to visit.
The gently rounded moors are intersected by steep, rugged and often rocky edges or cloughs, sometimes with spectacular tors. They are clothed frequently in heather, sometimes by grass, remnant woodlands, bracken or bilberry heath in an intimate mosaic but nearly always with a dark feel.
The whole landscape of the heather moor is transformed into a bright ecstatic purple in autumn - alive with the activity of bees and heavy smell of honey.
©NTPL / Joe Cornish
In spring, the quiet of the winter hills, when only the howling wind is heard, is transformed by the thrilling and evocative return of visiting birds which fill the atmosphere with their display calls.
The enclosed farmland of contrasting bright green colour is divided and patterned by the network of dark gritstone dry-stone walls or hedges on the deeper soils. Here in the wider valleys like Edale or the Hope-Woodlands, dispersed farmsteads and occasional field barns are often sheltered by clumps of sycamore. Small broad-leaved woodlands, particularly in the Cloughs, add to the landscape and wildlife interest of the area. The character of some of the valleys has been modified by regimental plantations of conifers and flooding to form reservoirs.
In the Winnats and surrounding limestone pastures, the character is quite different although the elements are essentially the same. The light grey rather than dark rock outcrops and walls give a brighter feel to the landscape. Winnats Pass is an awesome, dramatic and breathtaking windy gorge only spoilt by the noise and smell of traffic.
©NTPL / Joe Cornish
A key element of the High Peak's spirit is its close physical and natural associations with the Pennines and upland parts of England to the north. Yet the close proximity and intimate relationship with the surrounding lowlands and their large populations provide great contrast. The open and relatively wild landscape with its rugged beauty is distinct from the congested and polluted 'dark satanic mill towns' which fringe the property.
Find out more about the Peak District
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