Last year my friend and I went on a weekend road trip to the beautiful Peak District. This guide includes where to go where to stay, what to eat as well as essentials to pack on a road trip! This is just one of many guides on trips around the UK.
What is the Peak District
The Peak District is a national park in the heart of England covering 5 different counties: Derbyshire, Cheshire, Staffordshire, Yorkshire and Greater Manchester. It offers stunning scenery, amazing hikes and views.
Do I need a car?
One of the highlights of visiting the Peak District was the drive itself, especially the drive through Matlock into the Peak District. Trains are very expensive in the UK and buses are limited in getting to key hikes/trails so having a car is the best option. Living in Essex, I drove which took 3-5 hours including stops on the way to get to Bakewell where we based ourselves.
Where to stay in the Peak District
The Peak District is a massive area and so you can’t do everything in one weekend. My advice would be to do a bit of research and pick a few things you want to do. As we were driving from Essex we did a lot of the Derbyshire part of Peak District rather than driving further up too Yorkshire.
We decided to stay in Bakewell, as it is walking distance to Monsal Head Trail and 30 minute drive to Thors Cave (plus is home to the OG cherry Bakewell cake!). We stayed at the Castle Inn in Bakewell which included parking which is really important as parking spaces are few and far between in this small town which gets very busy over weekends/holidays.
Really enjoyed our stay here, the staff were lovely. Even when the chef had to be woken up to help jump start my car which had a completely flat battery!
What to do in the Peak District
Try a Bakewell tart and Bakewell pudding with custard at The Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop they also have a takeaway bakery so you can grab some tasty treats to take on a walk/hike.
We grabbed sandwiches from 2 Go shop which were great to have during Monsal Head Trail walk
Speaking of.. Monsal Head Trail. We walked from Bakewell to take in more of the country views (which included tiny hamlets and lots of cows). The weather was gorgeous and after a 5 hour drive we wanted to stretch our legs a bit more. We walked over and underneath the Monsal Dale Viaduct which was super impressive. Here we found a nice stream to cool our feet and sunbathe until we walked back.
Thors Cave. As mentioned earlier my battery on my car was completely flat so unfortunately we couldn’t risk going to Thors Cave on our last morning and instead had to drive 4 hours home without stopping or stalling the car.. Thankfully we made it home all in one piece and I got a replacement battery a few days later. I will certainly be heading back to the Peaks to visit Thors Cave as the views look remarkable and its only a 30 minute walk to get to it from the car park.
What to bring on a road trip
- Jump leads. I do have RAC cover but being able to quickly jump start my car from another vehicle is very handy. Make sure you know how to jump start a car, how to open your bonnet etc.
- Music- downloaded on your phone through bluetooth or lots of old CDs. I pride myself on having more CDs than HMV in my car and it’s a great way to listen to a whole album (like the artists originally intended you to) rather than a random shuffle on Spotify.
- Drinks and snacks. Starbursts are a personal favourite.
- Toiletries
- Beach towel
- Long waterproof trousers, shorts
- Hiking shoes (I like to use both my Karrimors and my Tevas in walking through streams)
- Another pair of comfy shoes to wear in the evening to give your feet a break
- Bug spray and hay fever tablets
- Reusable water bottle- if you want to fill up from the streams then get a filtered bottle (filters need to be replaced once every 3 months)
- jumper
- rain mac