White Peak

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The White Peak is the lower, southern part of the Peak District in England. In contrast to the Dark Peak, the underlying rock is limestone, and so caves and dry river valleys are common features of the area. The soils are poor and calcareous, creating grazing land for both sheep and cattle.

Broadly speaking, the White Peak covers the Staffordshire Peaks, the Cheshire Peaks around Macclesfield and the Derbyshire Peaks from the Hope Valley southwards.

The largest towns in the White Peak are outside the area of the national park. These include Matlock and Buxton, while Bakewell and most of the villages in the park are in the White Peak area. Round the areas of Tideswell Flagg, Chelmorton and Youlgrave, you can see long thin fields created by the enclosure of medieval strip fields. The region is rich in footpaths, bridleways and green tracks that give access to the area.

The area is of interest to geologists, since much of the underlying strata has been exposed by extensive quarrying, and can be seen in the old railway cuttings along the Monsal Trail through Monsal Dale and Millers Dale.