The perfect itinerary for 6 days in the Peak District, UK in the winter

The perfect itinerary for 6 days in the Peak District, UK in the winter

Here’s my itinerary for 6 days in the Peak District UK in the winter. It takes in some of the top easily-accessible viewpoints in the region, as well as some historic houses and cute towns and villages.

Day 1: Haddon Hall and Bakewell Pudding

I started my adventures in the Peak District with a trip to Haddon Hall. It’s just outside the town of Bakewell, and just off the main road so it’s easily accessible.

Haddon Hall

Haddon Hall felt instantly recognisable to me, as it has been used in several period drama films and TV adaptations. One of my favourite books is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, and Haddon Hall has been used as a filming location for several films and TV adaptations of Jane Eyre. It’s used as Thornfield Hall, the home of Mr Rochester.

I loved walking around Haddon Hall and recognising parts of it from the Jane Eyre films. It really felt like stepping back in time, into the world of Charlotte Bronte in the 1800s. The inside of the Hall was dark and mysterious, with beautifully decorated rooms. I visited at Christmas, so there were some Christmas decorations in the house as well.

I also enjoyed walking around the outside of Haddon Hall. The gardens were nice – although it was cold and raining, so I didn’t spend too long in the gardens! But I enjoyed seeing the house from the outside, and looking up to the towers.

I spent a few hours at Haddon Hall and really enjoyed immersing myself in Jane Eyre’s world.

Bakewell

The small town of Bakewell is less than 10 minutes’ drive from Haddon Hall. So it’s a great place to stop off next. It’s a pretty town, with a river and lots of ducks.

The highlight of my trip to Bakewell was Bakewell Pudding. This famous pudding got its name from being produced in this town, and it’s still made here today. There are several places here selling original Bakewell Pudding. You can get it warm with custard – which is perfect on a cold winter’s day.

You can also get Bakewell Tart as well – and the icing on it is delicious. No trip to the Peak District is complete without trying Bakewell Pudding and Bakewell Tart is its home town in Bakewell!

Day 2: Stanage Edge and other viewpoints

On my second day in the Peak District, I was really lucky to have a beautiful sunny day. So I decided to make the most of the great weather and spend the day walking up to some of the Peak District’s best viewpoints.

Owler Tor and Surprise View

My first stop today was Owler Tor and Surprise View. There’s a small car park on the side of the road. Cross over the road to see some amazing views across rolling hills, with the orange-brown ferns and bracken in the foreground.

Owler Tor is just a few minutes’ walk along a well-marked path. It’s a really impressive rock structure, and makes a great focal point for photos. You can climb the rock too, for even better views. It was incredibly windy on the day I visited, so standing up on top of the rock was challenging! But it was definitely worth it for the sunny views.

Stanage Edge

My next stop today was my favourite place in the whole Peak District. Stanage Edge had the most incredible views.

The car park at the bottom was fairly easy to get to, although it looked like it could easily get full so you might want to plan to get there fairly early so you can get a space. The walk up to the top of Stanage Edge is very clear from the car park – you can see the path that leads up to the top.

Stanage Edge is another location in the Peak District that was used in a period film. In the 2005 Pride and Prejudice film, this is where Elizabeth Bennet stands when she visits the Peak District. It’s an amazing scene in the film, with the wind blowing her dress and beautiful music playing. Although I wasn’t wearing a flowing dress that day, I still loved standing at the top and looking out over the scenery, just like Elizabeth Bennet had done.

You can walk along the top of Stanage Edge, for more great views. I spent a few hours here walking around and taking in the scenery. On a warm summer’s day I easily could have spent all day here. However, on the winter’s day that I visited, the cold wind meant I was glad to get back down to the car after a few hours!

Mam Tor

The weather was clouding over slightly by the afternoon, but still dry so I decided to visit another viewpoint walk. Mam Tor is just outside the village of Castleton. It’s a popular walk in the Peak District so the car park can get very busy, but if you’re patient you should be able to find a space when someone leaves.

The path up to Mam Tor is mostly steps. It’s a bit hard going, but only takes around 20 minutes to get up to the top. The views on the way up are beautiful, so you can have many breaks to stop to take photos – and pretend you’re just taking photos and not needing to catch your breath!

The views from the top are lovely as well. Again, on a summer’s day, I could imagine sitting up here with a picnic and also extending the walk as well. But with the limited daylight hours in the UK in the winter, I decided to head back down to the car to make sure I wasn’t still up here when it got dark.

Monsal Head

The daylight held out just long enough for me to make a 5 minute stop at a final viewpoint. Monsal Head viewpoint gives a stunning view down to the Monsal Valley and viaduct below. There’s a car park right next to the viewpoint, so you really can see this view in about 5 minutes. There are walks you can do here as well, which I’d like to come back to explore one day.