Laying at the southern end of the Pennine Hills the Dark Peak gets its name from the peat moors and exposed gritstone of the upland plateau. The area north of Edale is a sparsely populated its extensive peat moors, and wooded cloughs and deep valleys are a characteristic of this area of the Dark Peak. On the moors listen out for the red grouse and curlew, keep your eyes peeled for the mountain hare. The keen amateur botanist may find the Marsh Stichwort with its delicate white flowers or the unusually named Sausage Beard-moss.
To the southeast the moors are lower lying with gritstone edges. The River Derwent is the link between the Dark and White Peak it threads its way down from the high moors through the flooded valleys containing the Derwent Reservoirs and onwards to the softer landscape of the White Peak.
Map of the Dark Peak area of the Peak District
The Peak District walks linked via this interactive map of the Dark Peak are rated for difficulty. This rating is purely for comparison based on the length of the walk and total height climbed. The blue dots indicate the starting point for each walk or group of walks. Information on each walk includes distance in miles and difficulty rating (shown in brackets). Click on the link to go to the selected walk.
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