Wild Peaks is your book companion, travelling through the Peak District, England’s first National Park and one of the country’s most popular walking destinations.
Always follow the Countryside Code, to keep all creatures safe.
In 1932, 400 disgruntled ramblers embarked on a ‘mass trespass’ of Kinder Scout, establishing a right to foam, against the wishes of wealthy landowners.
These walkers (from the smoky industrial hearts of Manchester and Sheffield) eventually established England’s first National Park in 1951, an area that Daniel Defoe had 300 years before, described as a ‘howling wilderness’.
Now at the park’s 75th anniversary, a travel writer takes a 363-mile ramble to discover the symbol home of hiking in England. He follows winding paths, pauses at old inns and mountain huts, and also meets historians, farmers, mountaineers, publicans, homeless travellers, mountain rescue members, fellow hikers and rich landowners.
So grab a compass, and join Tom as he explores how the land of the Peak District has changed, and how we have too.
There is something nostalgic about the clatter of wheels and sleeper train. By the end, the reader will struggle to resist the urge to follow his lead. Economist
About the Author
Tom Chesshyre is a travel writer who studied politics and journalism and has worked for many publications. His other books include Lost in the Lakes (a 379 mile hike around the Lake District) and From Source to Sea (a 215 walk along the River Thames).
