Rock Trails Peak District
A hillwalker’s Guide to the Geology & Scenery
This is the story of the Peak landscape from its tropical beginnings to its rugged gritty present. Limestone reefs grow in the shallows of tropical seas, taking captive fossilised sea creatures. As the seas shift and coastlines change, sandstones build up on the banks of a great river delta. Forests of giant ferns take hold of the land, leaving behind a legacy of coal. From the water worn limestone of the White Peal to the wind-sculpted sandstones of the Dark Peak, the landscape here is always atmospheric. There are mysterious dry valleys with no sign of running water, caves adorned with sumptuous stalactite chandeliers and the remains of an industrial era built on mineral riches. In the first part of the book Paul pens a clear account of how the present day landscape evolved. In the second part he leads you on a series of fifteen walks which afford spectacular views of the best of the Peak District scenery and reveal evidence of the landscape’s intriguing history.
£14.95 incl P&P
Signed by the author
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“A highly polished guide to the geology and scenery of the Peak District partly told through fifteen varied hill walks that explain the origins and make up of the White and Dark Peaks. Written clearly and intelligently for the inquisitive walker and not overly heavy on technical jargon.” Walk Magazine (Ramblers Association)
‘The best Peak District guidebook so far produced’ - Down to Earth magazine
The walks in the book:
1 - Kinder Scout
2 - Bretton Clough
3 - Mam Tor & Back Tor
4 - Upper Dove & Manifold valleys
5 - Chrome Hill
6 - High Wheeldon
7 - Wolfscote Dale & Ecton Hill
8 - Lower Dovedale
9 - Stanage Edge
10 - Crubar Edge
11 - The Roaches & Gradbach Hill
12 - Lathkill Dale
13 - Cave Dale & Winnats
14 - National Stone Centre, Middleton Moor & Black Rock
15 - Wye Valley & Chelmorton Low
218 pages; 162 full colour photos, 35 maps & diagrams, fold-out topographic and geology maps; geology glossary & index of place names with grid references. ISBN 9781906095246. www.pesdapress.com published by Pesda Press www.rocktrails.co.uk
Update on Walk 6, High Wheeldon (Dove Valley). In the walk description I mentioned that it would be nice to be able to use a section of Access Land at the top of the valley side, but no means of access were available, so it was necessary to descend to the valley floor and re-ascend later. I’m pleased to say that this is no longer the case having received (July 2013) the following email from reader, Stuart Brentnall: “You probably know this already, but the "inaccessible access land" from walk 6 of your Rock Trails Peak District book is now accessible. Somebody, presumably the Park Authority, has put up ladder stiles at each end of the walled-off section. If you haven't been there yet, it's worth a visit. The cairn at the top looks like an old burial, and there's an area of limestone pavement ... I'm enjoying the book - I'm building segments from it, and from the late Fred Broadhurst's Rocky Rambles, into my walks this year. Particularly liked Bretton Clough - that's a place I'd never have thought to visit, but is pretty spectacular.”