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100-541: Longdendale is a valley in the Peak District of England, north of Glossop and southwest of Holmfirth . The name means "long wooded valley" and the valley is mostly in the counties of Derbyshire and Greater Manchester . The eastern part of the valley is in the non-metropolitan county of Derbyshire and includes the village of Tintwistle and, further east, part of the Peak District National Park, with

200-569: A tributary of the River Mersey , rises south of Holmfirth and then flows through a chain of six reservoirs known as the Longdendale Chain : Woodhead Reservoir , Torside Reservoir , Rhodeswood Reservoir , Valehouse Reservoir , Bottoms Reservoir and Arnfield Reservoir . There was a seventh reservoir at Hollingworth , but it was abandoned in 1990 and now forms part of Swallows Wood Nature Reserve . Hollingworth and Mottram were part of

300-468: A capacity of 190,000 m (42,000,000 imp gal). A tunnel was built at a depth of 200 feet (60 m) to carry the water from Longdendale into the valley of the River Tame . The Manchester Corporation Waterworks Act 1847 ( 10 & 11 Vict. c. cciii) (9 July 1847) was passed to allow the land to be acquired and construction to commence. The first railway line between Manchester and Sheffield

400-399: A centre of attention for UFO and ghost hunters. It has, however, been suggested that the lights may be " earth lights " produced by pressure on the underlying rocks. 53°29′44″N 1°47′42″W  /  53.49563°N 1.79496°W  / 53.49563; -1.79496 Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of

500-590: A continuous flow in the River Etherow , which was essential for local industry and provided drinking water for Manchester. In a report for the Manchester Corporation , John Frederick Bateman wrote in 1846: Within ten or twelve miles of Manchester, and six or seven miles from the existing reservoirs at Gorton, there is this tract of mountain land abounding with springs of the purest quality. Its physical and geological features offer such peculiar features for

600-468: A few decades of the 19th Century, enormous pack trains carried goods on the Old Spanish Trail from Santa Fe, New Mexico , west to California . On current United States Geological Survey maps, many such trails continue to be labeled pack trail . Packhorses are used worldwide to convey many products. In feudal Japan riding in a saddle (kura) was reserved for the samurai class until the end of

700-527: A higher standard. The early Arkwright mills were of light construction, narrow, about 9 feet (2.7 m) wide and low, the ceiling height being only 6 to 8 feet (1.8 to 2.4 m) and lit by daylight. The new machines were powered by water wheels . The Peak was the ideal location, with its rivers and humid atmosphere. The local pool of labour was quickly exhausted and Litton Mill and Cressbrook Mill in Millers Dale brought in children as young as four from

800-483: A journey through the Peak in 1697, wrote of: ...Craggy hills Whose Bowells are full of mines of all kinds off Black and white and veined Marbles, and some have mines of Copper, others tinn and Leaden mines, in w is a great deale of silver. Coal measures occur on the Peak's western and eastern fringes. Evidence of past workings can be found from Glossop to The Roaches , and from Stocksbridge to Baslow . The coal measures in

900-523: A pay-grade up and a step above a breaker boy in the society of the times. As the nation expanded west, packhorses, singly or in a pack train of several animals, were used by early surveyors and explorers, most notably by fur trappers , " mountain men ", and gold prospectors who covered great distances by themselves or in small groups. Packhorses were used by Native American people when traveling from place to place, and were also used by traders to carry goods to both Indian and White settlements. During

1000-649: A road or way) and the Rapes Highway (after Rapes Hill). The medieval paths were marked by wayside crosses along their routes. Mount Cross, above the hamlet of Shore in the Cliviger Gorge , shows signs of Viking influence. As the Vikings moved eastwards from the Irish Sea in about 950 AD, it is likely that the pack horse routes were established from that time. Most packhorses were Galloways , small, stocky horses named after

1100-766: A small stream would have steep banks in normal terrains. By the 1790s the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company was shipping anthracite coal from Summit Hill, Pennsylvania , to cargo boats on the Lehigh River using pack trains in what may be the earliest commercial mining company in North America. Afterwards in 1818−1827 its new management built first the Lehigh Canal , then the Mauch Chunk & Summit Hill Railroad , North America's second oldest which used mule trains to return

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1200-572: Is Kinder Scout (2,087 ft (636 m)). Most of the area is within the Peak District National Park , a protected landscape designated in 1951. A 2021 report states that "the Park’s own population numbers around 40,000 and supports an estimated 18,000 jobs, predominantly through farming, manufacturing and, inevitably, tourism". The area has been inhabited since the Mesolithic era; it

1300-460: Is Highstones Farm. A Roman road may have run along the valley connecting it with Melandra Castle (Glossop). The lordship of Longdendale was an ancient feudal estate encompassing the medieval manors of Godley , Hattersley , Hollingworth , Matley , Mottram , Newton , Staley , Tintwistle and Werneth . The lordship was created by the Earl of Chester in the late twelfth century; William de Neville

1400-528: Is a show cave . Small-scale mining takes place in Treak Cliff Cavern . Industrial limestone quarrying to make soda ash started around Buxton in 1874. In 1926 the operation of the Buxton lime industry became part of ICI . Large-scale limestone and gritstone quarrying flourished as lead mining declined, and is an important if contentious industry. Of the twelve large limestone quarries in operation, Tunstead

1500-501: Is a by-product of fluorite, baryte and calcite mining. Bell pits were sunk to access ore that lay close to the surface. Fluorite or fluorspar is called Blue John locally, its name possibly from the French bleu et jaune describing its colour. Blue John is scarce and now only a few hundred kilograms are mined each year for ornamental and lapidary use. The Blue John Cavern in Castleton

1600-570: Is a common public house name throughout England. During the 19th century, horses that transported officers' baggage during military campaigns were referred to as "bathorses" from the French bat , meaning packsaddle. The packhorse, mule or donkey was a critical tool in the development of the Americas . In colonial America, Spanish, French, Dutch and English traders made use of pack horses to carry goods to remote Native Americans and to carry hides back to colonial market centers. They had little choice,

1700-545: Is a native perennial of limestone cliffs discovered by J. N. Mills in 1966 and described as a new species in 1968; and leek-coloured hawkweed ( H. subprasinifolium ), which was believed extinct until rediscovered on banks beside the Monsal Trail in Chee Dale in 2017. The endemic Derbyshire feather moss ( Thamnobryum angustifolium ) occurs in one Derbyshire limestone dale, its sole world location intentionally kept confidential;

1800-493: Is higher. The higher rainfall does not affect the temperature, which averages the same as the rest of England and Wales at 10.3 °C (50.5 °F). In the 1970s, the Dark Peak regularly had more than 70 days of snowfall. Since then the number has fallen. The hills still see long periods of continuous snow cover in some winters. Snow in mid-December 2009 on some hill summits created some snow patches that lasted until May 2010. In

1900-460: Is marked by millstone grit outcrops and broad swathes of moorland. Earth movements after the Carboniferous period resulted in the up-doming of the area and, particularly in the west, the folding of the rock strata along north–south axes. The region was raised in a north–south line which resulted in the dome-like shape and the shales and sandstones were worn away until limestone was exposed. At

2000-552: Is on a track near Deer Hill in Meltham ; its southernmost point is on the A52 road near Ashbourne . The boundaries were drawn to exclude built-up and industrial areas; in particular Buxton and the quarries at the end of the Peak Dale corridor are surrounded on three sides by the park. Bakewell and many villages are in the national park, as is much of the rural west of Sheffield. In 2010 it became

2100-449: Is one of the largest in Europe. Total limestone output was substantial: at the 1990 peak, 8.5 million tonnes was produced. Textiles have been exported for hundreds of years. In the 14th century, the area traded in unprocessed wool. There were several skilled hand spinners and weavers in the area. By the 1780s, Richard Arkwright had developed machinery to produce textiles faster and to

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2200-673: Is the largest settlement and only town in the national park and the site of the National Park Authority offices. Its five-arched bridge over the River Wye dates from the 13th century. Castleton is the centre of production of a semi-precious mineral, Blue John . Eyam village is known for a self-imposed quarantine during the Black Death . Edale is the southern end of the Pennine Way , a 268-mile national trail which traverses most of

2300-717: Is the most prominent. It rises on Bleaklow just east of Glossop and flows through the Upper Derwent Valley , where it is constrained by the Howden , Derwent and Ladybower reservoirs . The reservoirs of the Upper Derwent Valley were built from the early to mid-20th century to supply drinking water to the East Midlands and South Yorkshire. The rivers Noe and the Wye are tributaries. The River Manifold and River Dove in

2400-491: Is upland above 1,000 feet (300 m), its highest point being Kinder Scout at 2,087 ft (636 m). Despite its name, the landscape has fewer sharp peaks than rounded hills, plateaus , valleys, limestone gorges and gritstone escarpments (the "edges"). The mostly rural area is surrounded by conurbations and large urban areas, including Manchester , Huddersfield , Sheffield , Derby and Stoke-on-Trent . The national park has formal boundaries. It covers most of

2500-510: The Dark Peak and White Peak , but the wider Peak District is less well defined. The Dark Peak is largely uninhabited moorland and gritstone escarpments in the northern Peak District and its eastern and western margins. It encloses the central and southern White Peak, which is where most settlements, farmland and limestone gorges are found. Three of Natural England 's National Character Areas (NCAs) cover parts of it. The Dark Peak NCA includes

2600-639: The Pennines . Mostly in Derbyshire , it extends into Cheshire , Greater Manchester , Staffordshire , West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire . It is subdivided into the Dark Peak , moorland dominated by gritstone , and the White Peak , a limestone area with valleys and gorges. The Dark Peak forms an arc on the north, east and west of the district, and the White Peak covers central and southern areas. The highest point

2700-790: The RSPB 's publication of Peak Malpractice , a 2006 report highlighting wildlife crime, the Peak District Bird of Prey Initiative was set up in 2011 by conservationists and shooting bodies to try to boost populations of birds of prey. The park authorities expressed disappointment at the limited results and the RSPB withdrew from the partnership in January 2018 citing continued efforts by the Moorland Association and National Gamekeepers’ Organisation which together had "frustrated any possibility of progress" on

2800-474: The anomalous , broom moth , dot moth , garden dart , mouse moth and white ermine . Other invertebrates include the bilberry bumblebee , broad groove-head spider , mole cricket , northern yellow splinter , shining guest ant , violet oil beetle and white-clawed crayfish . The Peak District National Park was the first national park to be designated in the United Kingdom, on 17 April 1951 (following

2900-481: The coal measures that occur only on the margins and infrequent outcrops of igneous rocks , including lavas , tuffs and volcanic vent agglomerates . The general geological structure is that of a broad dome , whose western margins have been intensely faulted and folded . Uplift and erosion have sliced the top off the Derbyshire Dome to reveal a concentric outcrop pattern with coal-measured rocks on

3000-406: The samurai era (1868); lower classes would ride on a pack saddle ( ni-gura or konida-gura ) or bareback. Pack horses ( ni-uma or konida-uma ) carried a variety of merchandise and the baggage of travelers using a pack saddle that ranged from a basic wooden frame to the elaborate pack saddles used for the semi-annual processions ( sankin kotai ) of Daimyō. Pack horses also carried

3100-464: The workhouses of London as apprentices. As technology advanced, narrow valleys proved unsuited to larger steam-driven mills, but Derbyshire mills remained to trade in finishing and niche products. Glossop benefited from the textile industry. Its economy was tied to a spinning and weaving tradition that evolved from developments in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution . Until

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3200-808: The 1,000–1,500-foot (300–460 m) level) on both sides of the valley. It is about 17 miles (27 km) long and is 'not recommended in doubtful weather'. The detailed route, clockwise from Crowden Youth Hostel, is given in Peak District Walking Guide No.2 , published by the Peak Park Planning Board. Torside Reservoir is home to Glossop Sailing Club. The M67 motorway starts at the M60 motorway in Manchester and heads east where it currently terminates at Mottram in Longdendale . There were plans in

3300-550: The 18th century, canals started to be built in England and, following the Turnpike Act 1773, metalled roads. They made the ancient packhorse routes obsolete. Away from main routes, their use persisted into the 19th century leaving a legacy of paths across wilderness areas called packhorse routes, roads or trails and distinctive narrow, low sided stone arched packhorse bridges for example, at Marsden near Huddersfield. The Packhorse

3400-676: The 1940s onwards, but may now be extinct. Red deer herds, assumed to be derived from animals escaped from deer parks at Lyme Park and Chatsworth , are established in the upper reaches of the Goyt valley and on the moors above Baslow , and a herd on Wharncliffe Crags outside the national park north of Sheffield may derive from hunting stock of Wharncliffe Chase. Biodiversity action plans have been prepared for mountain hare, brown hare , brown long-eared bat , dormouse , harvest mouse , hedgehog , noctule bat , otter , pine marten , polecat , soprano pipistrelle and water vole . The status of

3500-724: The 1960s to extend it through the National Park to the M1 motorway and Sheffield but it was never built. From here the A628 runs through the valley to join the A616 . As of January 2008 there are advanced plans to improve the A628 route by bypassing Mottram and Tintwistle to the north with a spur to the A57 road . Known as the 'A57/A628 Mottram-in-Longdendale, Hollingworth & Tintwistle Bypass' or Longdendale Bypass ,

3600-559: The Americas had virtually no improved waterways before the 1820s and roads in times before the automobile were only improved locally around a municipality, and only rarely in between. This meant cities and towns were connected by roads which carts and wagons could navigate only with difficulty, for virtually every eastern hill or mountain with a shallow gradient was flanked by valleys with stream cut gullies and ravines in their bottoms, as well as Cut bank formations, including escarpments. Even

3700-711: The First World War, Glossop was the headquarters of the largest textile printworks in the world, but after the Wall Street crash its product lines became vulnerable and the industry declined. Packhorse Packhorses have been used since the earliest period of domestication of the horse . They were invaluable throughout antiquity, through the Middle Ages , and into modern times where roads are nonexistent or poorly maintained. Packhorses were heavily used to transport goods and minerals in England from medieval times until

3800-407: The Longdendale urban district in the administrative county of Cheshire from 1936. In 1974 the district was absorbed by Tameside Metropolitan Borough . There is a Roman fortlet at Highstones on the south-facing slope overlooking Torside Reservoir. It is an oval-shaped area, with an obvious ditch, and about 82 yards (75 m) across. A footpath runs immediately to the north of it, and to the west

3900-511: The National Park underground. The railway line ceased to be economical, and in 1970 the passenger service ceased, followed in 1981 by the goods service. The passenger service was adversely affected by the requirement to keep the Hope Valley line open, whilst the freight service was affected by the falloff in Trans-Pennine coal traffic. The track was lifted in 1986. There have been plans to re-open

4000-559: The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949 and a resulting public enquiry to establish its boundary). It was one of ten parks created in the 1950s in the wake of the 1945 Dower Report and 1947 Hobhouse Report, which recommended the creation of national parks in England and Wales. The park has an area of 1,438 square kilometres (555 sq mi) and receives approximately 13 million visitors each year. 90% of

4100-523: The Peak District was once inhabited by an eclectic mix of species, many of them no longer found in Britain, such as alpine swift , demoiselle crane and long-legged buzzard . Species lost from the Peak District through human activity include hazel grouse , capercaillie and golden eagle . Amphibians and reptiles such as common lizards , grass snakes , great crested newts and slow worms are found in

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4200-541: The Pennines and ends at Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish border . The park also contains the highest village in the United Kingdom, Flash , at 1,519 feet (463 m). Other villages in the park include Hathersage , Hartington , Ilam and Tideswell . The towns of Glossop , Chapel-en-le-Frith , Buxton , Macclesfield , Leek , Ashbourne, Matlock and Chesterfield are on the national park's fringes. The spa town of Buxton

4300-499: The Scottish district where they were first bred. Those employed in the lime-carriage trade were known as "limegals". Each pony could carry about 240 pounds (110 kg) in weight, spread between two panniers. Typically a train of ponies would number between 12 and 20, but sometimes up to 40. They averaged about 25 miles (40 km) a day. The train's leader commonly wore a bell to warn of its approach, since contemporary accounts emphasised

4400-901: The South West Peak NCA. The limestone plateaus of the White Peak are more intensively farmed, with mainly dairy usage of improved pastures. Woodland forms some 8 per cent of the Peak National Park. Natural broad-leaved woodland appears in the steep dales of the White Peak and cloughs of the Dark Peak. Reservoir margins often have coniferous plantations. White Peak habitats include calcareous grassland , ash woodlands and rock outcrops for lime-loving species. They include early purple orchid ( Orchis mascula ), dark-red helleborine ( Epipactis atrorubens ) and fly orchid ( Ophrys insectifera ), common rockrose ( Helianthemum nummularium ), spring cinquefoil ( Helianthemum nummularium ) and grass of parnassus ( Parnassia palustris ). Lead rakes,

4500-588: The White Peak fed the Cromford Canal . The Peak Forest Canal brought lime from the quarries at Dove Holes for the construction industry. It terminated at Bugsworth Basin and the journey was completed using the Peak Forest Tramway . The Cromford Canal, from Cromford to the Erewash Canal , served lead mines at Wirksworth and Sir Richard Arkwright 's cotton mills. The Caldon Canal from Froghall

4600-449: The area have been found in several caves. Various rock-types beneath the soil strongly influence the landscape; they determine the type of vegetation and ultimately the type of animal inhabiting the area. Limestone has fissures and is soluble in water, so that rivers could carve deep, narrow valleys. These often find routes underground, creating cave systems. Millstone grit is insoluble but porous , absorbing water that seeps through

4700-405: The area. It was not iced over in the last glacial period , which peaked about 20,000–22,000 years ago. A mix of Irish Sea and Lake District ice abutted its western margins. Glacial meltwaters eroded a complex of sinuous channels along this margin of the district. Glacial meltwaters contributed to the formation and development of many caves in the limestone area. Remains of wild animal herds roaming

4800-399: The chosen route of the 2014 Tour de France , during the second stage between York and Sheffield. The Pennine Way crosses Longdendale, descending from Bleaklow to the south and ascending Black Hill to the north. The youth hostel at Crowden is a traditional stop after the first day's walk from Edale . The circular walk known as 'The Longdendale Edges' takes in the high ground (at about

4900-399: The coal and dewatered the mines. Coal from the east was used in lead smelting and from the west for lime burning. Lead mining peaked in the 17th and 18th centuries; high concentrations were found in the area from this period, along with peat on Kinder Scout, suggesting that lead smelting occurred. Lead mining declined from the mid-19th century, with the last major mine closing in 1939. Lead

5000-661: The collection, storage and supply of water for the use of the towns in the plains below that I am surprised that they have been overlooked. The western Peak District is drained by the Etherow, the Goyt and the Tame , all tributaries of the River Mersey . The north-east is drained by tributaries of the River Don . Of the tributaries of the River Trent draining south and east, the River Derwent

5100-513: The colony covers about 3 square metres (32 sq ft) of a rock face with small subsidiary colonies nearby. Jacob's-ladder ( Polemonium caeruleum ), a rarish species characteristic of limestone dales in the White Peak, has been Derbyshire's county flower since 2002. It grows on grassland, light woodland, screes and rock ledges, and by streams in Lathkill , Wolfscote, Taddington, Wye Dale and other dales. Pollen evidence from peat bogs shows it

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5200-520: The construction of the first turnpike roads and canals in the 18th century. Many routes crossed the Pennines between Lancashire and Yorkshire, enabling salt, limestone, coal, fleeces and cloth to be transported. Some routes had self-describing names, such as Limersgate and the Long Causeway ; others were named after landmarks, such as the Reddyshore Scoutgate ("gate" is Old English for

5300-500: The control of the crown in 1357, and remained under crown control until 1374. The lordship was given to Matilda Lovell and the Lovells controlled Longdendale until 1465 when control again reverted to the crown. The lordship was granted to Sir William Stanley in 1489, however the lordship once again reverted to the crown when Stanley was executed in 1495 as a supporter of Perkin Warbeck . In 1554

5400-486: The district. The eastern moors are a stronghold for adders . Native fish in the Peak District include Atlantic salmon , brown trout , European eel , bullhead , brook lamprey and grayling . A possibly unique population of "wild" rainbow trout survives on the Derbyshire Wye , following their introduction at the turn of the 20th century. Butterflies in the region include the dingy skipper , brown argus , small blue and white-letter hairstreak . Moths include

5500-484: The east are at the western edge of the South Yorkshire Coalfield . Those in the west are part of the Cheshire section of the Lancashire Coalfield . Mining started in medieval times , was at its most productive in the 18th and early 19th centuries, and continued into the early 20th century. The earliest mining took place around outcrops , where miners followed the seams deeper into the hillsides. At Goyt's Moss and Axe Edge , deep seams were worked and steam engines raised

5600-403: The eastern and western margins, carboniferous limestone at the core and rocks of millstone grit between them. The southern edge of the Derbyshire dome is overlain by sandstones of Triassic age, though they barely impinge on the National Park. The White Peak forms a central and southern section with carboniferous limestone found at or near the surface. The Dark Peak to the north, east and west

5700-499: The end of this period, the Earth's crust sank here which led to the area being covered by sea, depositing a variety of new rocks. Some time after its deposition, mineral veins were formed in the limestone. The veins and rakes have been mined for lead since Roman times . The Peak District was iced over in at least one of the ice ages of the last two million years, probably the Anglian glaciation of some 450,000 years ago, as shown by patches of glacial till or boulder clay found across

5800-490: The equipment and food for samurai warriors during military campaigns. In North America and Australia, in areas such the Bicentennial National Trail , the packhorse plays a major role in recreational pursuits, particularly to transport goods and supplies into wilderness areas and where motor vehicles are either prohibited or impracticable. They are used by mounted outfitters , hunters , campers , stockmen and cowboys to carry tools and equipment that cannot be carried with

5900-469: The export of salt from the Cheshire wiches of Nantwich , Northwich and Middlewich across the Pennines . The passing trade brought prosperity to settlements along the route. The importance of the salt trade along such saltways is shown by surviving placenames; for example Salter's Brook ( SK137999 ) is where the saltway forked, with one route leading to Wakefield and another to Barnsley . The stone Lady Shaw Bridge still exists at this point, as do

6000-461: The fifth largest national park in England and Wales. In the UK, designation as a national park means that planning and other functions are provided by a national park authority, with additional restrictions that enhance protection from inappropriate development. Land within this national park as in others is in a mix of public and private ownership. The National Trust , a charity that conserves historic and natural landscapes, owns about 12 per cent of

6100-412: The five ton coal cars the four hour climb the nine miles back to the upper terminus. Mules rode the roller-coaster precursor on the down trip to the docks, stables and paddocks below. The same company, as did its many competitors made extensive use of sure footed pack mules and donkeys in coal mines, including in some cases measures to stable the animals below ground. These were often managed by 'mule boys',

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6200-417: The grits, until it meets the less porous shales beneath, creating springs where it reaches the surface. The shales are friable and easily attacked by frost, forming areas vulnerable to landslides, as on Mam Tor. The gritstone and shale of the Dark Peak supports heather moorland and blanket bog , with rough sheep pasture and grouse shooting as the main land uses, though parts are also farmed, especially

6300-598: The heather moorlands of the Dark Peak, where the red grouse population is maintained by gamekeepers employed by shooting estates. A population of black grouse became extinct in 2000, but reintroduction was attempted in 2003. Quarries and rock outcrops provide nest sites for peregrine falcon and common raven . Ravens and common buzzards are increasingly found as their British range expands eastwards, perhaps because of general reductions in persecution. Illegal persecution has limited populations of rare raptors such as Eurasian goshawk , peregrine and hen harrier . Following

6400-478: The high moors. After decades of decline due to pollution, Sphagnum mosses are returning, with species such as S. cuspidatum particularly dominant. Most Peak District mammals are generalists and widespread across the UK, but the mountain hares on heather moorland in the Dark Peak form the only wild population in England. They were reintroduced in the Victorian era for sporting purposes. A feral population of red-necked wallabies lived around The Roaches from

6500-435: The issue. Fast-flowing rivers attract specialists such as grey wagtail , dipper , common sandpiper , mandarin duck and goosander . Wooded and semi-wooded areas attract redstart , pied flycatcher , wood warbler and tree pipit , and coniferous plantations house siskin and common crossbill . Upland reservoirs in the Dark Peak are generally oligotrophic and attract few birds, but lower-lying reservoirs on

6600-403: The land in the national park. Its three estates ( High Peak , White Peak and Longshaw ) include ecologically or geologically significant areas at Bleaklow , Derwent Edge , Hope Woodlands , Kinder Scout , the Manifold valley, Mam Tor , Dovedale , Milldale and Winnats Pass . The park authority owns around 5 per cent; other major landowners include several water companies. Bakewell

6700-430: The last half-mile or so falling into the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire . The western part of the valley, including the villages of Broadbottom , Mottram in Longdendale and Hollingworth is part of Tameside in the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester. The whole of Longdendale forms the easternmost extension of the lands within the historic boundaries of Cheshire . The River Etherow ,

6800-400: The local authorities covered by the park. The local authorities and the number of members they appoint are as follows: The Peak has been inhabited from the earliest periods of human activity, as shown by finds of Mesolithic flint artefacts and palaeo-environmental evidence from caves in Dovedale and elsewhere. Signs of Neolithic activity include monumental earthworks or barrows such as

6900-421: The lordship was granted to Richard Wilbraham. Tollemache family inherited lordship of Longdendale from the Wilbrahams in the 1690s. It was part of the Hundred of Macclesfield. An estate survey, or 'Extent' of the lordship for 1360 was published by the Record Society of Lancashire and Cheshire in July 2005. A packhorse route called a saltway was maintained from the Middle Ages onwards for the purpose of allowing

7000-409: The moorland plateaux of the Dark Peak and the high ridges of the White Peak. Many rivers in the Dark Peak and outer fringes were dammed to create reservoirs for supplying drinking water. Streams were dammed to provide headwater for water driven mills ; weirs were built for the same purpose. The reservoirs of the Longdendale Chain were completed in February 1877 to provide compensation water, ensuring

7100-453: The moorlands are a net carbon sink or source, based on the fact that Britain's upland areas contain a major global carbon store in the form of peat . Human interaction in terms of direct erosion and fire, with the effects of global warming, are the main variables they considered. The Peak District is formed almost wholly of sedimentary rocks of the Carboniferous period. They make up the carboniferous limestone overlying gritstone , and

7200-594: The national park is privately owned, with the largest single owner being the National Trust (12%). The national park is governed by the Peak District National Park Authority, which was established under the 1995 Environment Act, replacing the Peak Park Planning Board. The authority has 30 members, 14 appointed by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs and 16 appointed by

7300-551: The northern and eastern parts of the Dark Peak and the White Peak NCA most of the White Peak. The western margins of the Dark Peak are in the South West Peak NCA, where farmland and pastured valleys are found with gritstone edges and moorland. Outside the park, the wider Peak District often includes the area approximately between Disley and Sterndale Moor, encompassing Buxton and the Peak Dale corridor. It may also include some of

7400-492: The older saltway route. The Longdendale catchment exceeds 30 square miles (78 km) and has an annual rainfall of 1,330 millimetres (52.5 in). The civil engineer John Frederick Bateman recognised the potential and conceived a plan to deliver this water to Manchester and Salford, while still maintaining the flow in the River Etherow that was needed to power the mills of Tintwistle and Glossop . The six reservoirs have

7500-567: The one at Margery Hill . The Bronze Age saw the area well populated and farmed. Evidence remains in henges such as Arbor Low near Youlgreave and the Nine Ladies stone circle at Stanton Moor . In the same period and into the Iron Age , hill forts such as Mam Tor's were created. The Romans drew on the area's rich mineral veins, exporting lead from the Buxton area along well-used routes. Buxton

7600-699: The outer fringes and foothills, such as the Churnet and lower Derwent Valleys. The region is mostly surrounded by lowlands with gritstone moorlands of the South Pennines to the north, separated approximately by the Tame Valley , Standedge and Holme Valley . The national park covers 555 square miles (1,440 km ), including most of the region in Derbyshire and extends into Staffordshire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester and South and West Yorkshire. Its northern limit

7700-427: The packhorse is similar to that of a riding horse. Many but not all packhorses are also trained to be ridden. In addition, a packhorse is required to have additional skills that may not be required of a riding horse. A pack horse is required to be tolerant of close proximity to other animals in the packstring, both to the front and to the rear. The horse must also be tolerant of breeching , long ropes, noisy loads, and

7800-591: The pine marten is unclear, though confirmed sightings have occurred in recent decades in Derbyshire and north Staffordshire and a specimen from an introduced Welsh population was found dead outside the national park on a road between Ripley and Belper in 2018. As with mammals, many Peak bird species are widespread generalists. The Dark Peak moors still support breeding populations of several upland specialists, such as twite , short-eared owl , golden plover , dunlin , ring ouzel , northern wheatear and merlin . The populations of twite and golden plover are

7900-518: The public inquiry has been adjourned four times and is currently adjourned 'indefinitely'. Traditionally, Longdendale was in the County palatine of Chester. Up until local government reforms in 1974, Longdendale Urban District, along with Tintwistle Rural District , formed part of the administrative county of Cheshire; the Municipal Borough of Glossop was in Derbyshire; and Penistone Rural District

8000-563: The railway at various times since it was closed, but none have gained planning approval. After the rail line was closed, the trackbed was taken up and the Longdendale Trail constructed along its route. It is now part of the Trans-Pennine Trail ( Sustrans National Cycle Route 62) which, in its turn, is part of the 2,000-mile (3,200 km) European walking route E8 from Liverpool to Istanbul. Holme Moss and Woodhead Pass are on

8100-631: The rider. They are used by guest ranches to transport materials to remote locations to set up campsites for tourists and guests. They are used by the United States Forest Service and the National Park Service to carry in supplies to maintain trails, cabins and bring in commercial goods to backcountry tourist lodges and other remote, permanent residences. Additionally, packhorses have also been used by drug trafficking organizations to transport narcotics across wilderness areas. In

8200-575: The risk packhorse trains presented to others. They were particularly useful as roads were muddy and often impassable by wagon or cart, and there were no bridges over some major rivers in the north of England. About 1000 packhorses a day passed through Clitheroe before 1750, and "commonly 200 to 300 laden horses every day over the River Calder (at a ford) called Fennysford in the King's Highway between Clitheroe and Whalley " The importance of packhorse routes

8300-479: The ruins of an old inn. The bridge is just wide enough for a packhorse, though it is suspected that the bridge may have originally been wider and was deliberately narrowed when the Saltersbrook turnpike was built, to prevent vehicles bypassing the toll barrier. The turnpike road from Manchester to Saltersbrook connected to further turnpikes for Yorkshire destinations and was built in the mid-18th century, based on

8400-504: The same winter, the A635 (Saddleworth Moor) and A57 (Snake Pass) were closed due to snow for almost a month. Frost cover is seen for 20–30 per cent of the winter on moorland in the Dark Peak and 10 per cent in the White Peak. The Moorland Indicators of Climate Change Initiative was set up in 2008 to collect data in the area. Students investigated the interaction between people and the moorlands and their effect on climate change, to discover whether

8500-496: The shifting of the load during transit. Patience and tolerance are crucial; for example, there are many ways to put pack horses into a pack string, but one method incorporates tying the halter lead of one animal to the tail of the animal in front of it, an act that often provokes kicking or bolting in untrained animals. Loading of a packhorse requires care. Weight carried is the first factor to consider. The average horse can carry up to approximately 30% of its body weight. Thus,

8600-746: The south-west, whose sources are on Axe Edge Moor , flow into the Trent. The River Dane flows into the River Weaver in Cheshire. There are no canals in the national park, although the Standedge Tunnels on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal run underneath the extreme north of it. Outside the park, waters from the Dark Peak feed the Macclesfield , Ashton , and Huddersfield Narrow Canals and waters from

8700-452: The southern fringes such as Carsington Water and Ogston Reservoir regularly attract rare migrants and wintering rarities such as various waders, wildfowl, gulls and terns. The area is regularly overflown by wintering populations of pink-footed geese moving between East Anglia and Morecambe Bay. Dipper, golden plover, hen harrier, merlin and short-eared owl are local biodiversity action plan priority species. Fossil records show that

8800-589: The southernmost confirmed breeding populations in England, and the Peak District Moors Special Protection Area (SPA) is a European designation for its populations of merlin, golden plover and short-eared owl. The Peak District lacks the concentrations of breeding waders found further north in the Pennines, though the moors and their fringes accommodate breeding curlew and lapwing , and less noticeable wading birds such as dunlin and snipe . Commercial driven grouse shooting occurs on

8900-489: The spoil heaps of ancient mining activity, form another distinctive White Peak habitat, supporting a range of rare metallophyte plants, including spring sandwort ( Minuartia verna ; also known as leadwort), alpine pennycress ( Thlaspi caerulescens ) and mountain pansy ( Viola lutea ). Two endemic vascular plants are found nowhere else in the world: Derby hawkweed ( Hieracium naviense ), found only in Winnats Pass ,

9000-462: The third world, packhorses and donkeys to an even greater extent, still haul goods to market, carry supplies for workers, and many other of the same jobs that have been performed for millennia. In modern warfare , pack mules are used to bring supplies to areas where roads are poor and fuel supply is uncertain. For example, they are a critical part of the supply chain for all sides of the conflict in remote parts of Afghanistan. Foundation training of

9100-563: Was a Roman settlement known as " Aquae Arnemetiae " for its spring. Theories on how the name Peak derived cite the Pecsaetan or peaklanders, an Anglo-Saxon tribe inhabiting the central and northern parts of the area from the 6th century CE, when it belonged to the Anglian kingdom of Mercia . Barrows from the Anglo-Saxon period are present, including Benty Grange , where the eponymous helmet

9200-403: Was built to transport limestone from quarries at Cauldon Low for the iron industry and flints for the pottery industry. Most of the area is over 1,000 feet (300 m) above sea level, in the centre of the country at a latitude of 53°N, bringing relatively high annual rainfall averaging 40.35 inches (1,025 mm) in 1999. The Dark Peak tends to receive more rainfall than the White Peak, as it

9300-785: Was built up by the Dukes of Devonshire as a genteel health resort in the 18th century while the spa at Matlock Bath , in the River Derwent valley, was popularised in Victorian times. Hayfield is at the foot of Kinder Scout, the area's highest summit. Other towns and villages fringing the park include Whaley Bridge , Hadfield , Tintwistle , Darley Dale and Wirksworth in Derbyshire, Stocksbridge in South Yorkshire and Marsden and Holmfirth in West Yorkshire. Several rivers have sources on

9400-402: Was constructed between 1839 and 1845 on the south side of the reservoir chain by 1,500 navvies of whom many died and most suffered illness. The three-mile-long double Woodhead Tunnel was, for a time, the longest tunnel in the country. It was replaced by a single, larger tunnel in 1954. The first tunnel was subsequently used by CEGB to reroute the main high-voltage link up the valley and through

9500-400: Was found. In medieval and early modern times, the area was mainly agricultural, with sheep farming, rather than arable the main activity in upland holdings. From the 16th century, the mineral and geological wealth became increasingly significant. Not only lead, but coal, fluorite , copper from Ecton Mines , zinc , iron , manganese and silver have been mined. Celia Fiennes , describing

9600-628: Was in the West Riding of Yorkshire . Today, the valley is split between the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, the Borough of High Peak in Derbyshire, and the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside in Greater Manchester. The valley and the surrounding area has a reputation for strange phenomena, including unexplained lights and allegedly supernatural apparitions and has become

9700-534: Was largely used for agricultural purposes until mining arose in the Middle Ages. During the Industrial Revolution , several cotton mills were constructed in the area's valleys by Richard Arkwright . As mining declined, quarrying grew. Tourism came with the railways, spurred by the landscape, spa towns and Castleton 's show caves. The Peak District forms the southern extremity of the Pennines. Much of it

9800-426: Was reflected in jingles and rhymes, often aide-memoires of the routes. As the need for cross-Pennine transportation increased, the main routes were improved, often by laying stone setts parallel to the horse track, at a distance of a cartwheel. They remained difficult in poor weather, the Reddyshore Scoutgate was "notoriously difficult", and became insufficient for a developing commercial and industrial economy. In

9900-539: Was the first lord of Longdendale, as appointed by the Earl of Chester. Buckton Castle , near Carrbrook , was probably built by William de Neville in the late twelfth century and was also probably the centre of lordship of Longdendale as it is the only castle within the lordship. One of the privileges of the lordship was to carry out trial by combat. The lordship of Longdendale was passed from de Neville to his son in law, Thomas de Burgh, in 1211 on his death. The lordship reverted to

10000-550: Was widespread throughout Britain just after the last ice age. Much planted in gardens from where it has established itself in other parts of the area, as a native it is restricted to the White Peak and the Yorkshire Dales . The Dark Peak heathlands, bogs, gritstone edges and acid grasslands contain relatively few species; heather ( Calluna vulgaris ), crowberry ( Empetrum nigrum ), bilberry ( Vaccinium myrtillus ) and hare's-tail cotton grass ( Eriophorum vaginatum ) dominate

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