Getting there

Planes

The main international hub is at Manchester; Ryanair flies to Leeds Bradford from Dublin and Shannon | alongside domestic services operated by Flybe. Air Southwest and Eastern Airways fly into both Manchester and Leeds Bradford from half a dozen regional airports.

Trains

The Peak District’s major hubs provide excellent rail links: Stockport is on the mighty West Coast Main Line connecting London and Edinburgh, and has direct links with Cardiff, Nottingham and Ely. Chesterfield is an hour from Birmingham, two hours from London St Pancras, and less than four from Edinburgh. You can also travel to Matlock via Derby, and Edale, at the start of the Pennine Way, from Sheffield or Manchester.

Automobiles

This most accessible of wildernesses is yours off the M1 from London or Leeds | the A6 from Manchester or the A38 from Birmingham. The single-carriageway A628 between Manchester and Barnsley passes through the Peak District National Park; the A57 from Sheffield to Glossop runs through the scenic (but precarious) Snake Pass.