Some of the above lie just outside the Peak District National Park boundary but still play a significant part of Peak District life. Ashbourne and Buxton are excellent centres for exploring the region and offer a greater variety of accommodation and entertainment. There are hundreds of towns and villages in the Peak District National Park. Many are small, quite isolated and built of the abundant native stone.
Many of the villages were mentioned in Domesday. They mostly belonged
to the King with an individual placed in charge. They were mostly simple
agricultural communities that consisted of a few farmsteads, a church
and a mill. Some were owned by the Church but many of these were passed
onto great families at the time of the dissolution of the monastries.
Many of these families have remained associated with the villages for
centuries and some villages were built to serve the needs of great
estates that built up.
Many of our present day villages have very unique and varying
characters. There is nearly always some focal point, whether it be a
school, church, pub, village hall or just a shop. Many have all these
and much more. Most have plenty of community spirit, sometimes dampened
by the loss of a village school, or the closing of post office or shop.
Generally, villagers will get together for special occasions like Well
Dressing or an annual fete.
Tourist Information Centres
Many of the villages above also offer external links to their own local websites.
For maps on any of the above villages try either www.streetmap.co.uk
or www.multimap.co.uk
For historical maps try Old Peak District Maps
