High Peak

High Peak is a local government district in north-west Derbyshire, within the East Midlands and covering much of the northern Peak District National Park. The area is noted for moorland and gritstone edges, and contains towns such as Buxton, Glossop, New Mills, Whaley Bridge and Chapel-en-le-Frith. Buxton sits on a thermal spring and the Georgian Crescent faces the Pavilion Gardens; the town’s spa heritage shapes its centre. Industrial transport history is visible in the former Cromford and High Peak Railway, whose inclined sections now form the High Peak Trail.

Drainage and water supply have left a marked imprint: the Peak Forest Canal reached its basin at Bugsworth, and reservoirs such as Fernilee and Toddbrook sit in valley bottoms, linked by a network of lanes and towpaths. Kinder Scout plateau rises above Hayfield, with Kinder Downfall marking the moors; the district’s paths and former railways are used by walkers and cyclists. Local settlements range from market towns to small villages, with stone-built architecture and field patterns reflecting long agricultural use.