The White Peak, also known as the Low Peak, is a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

plateau that forms the central and southern part of the

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, where moorla ...

in England. It is mostly between and above sea-level and is enclosed by the higher altitude

Dark Peak The Dark Peak is the higher and wilder part of the Peak District in England, mostly forming the northern section but also extending south into its eastern and western margins. It is mainly in Derbyshire but parts are in Staffordshire, Cheshire, ...

(also known as the High Peak) to the west, north and east.

Area

Broadly speaking, the White Peak covers the

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

and Staffordshire parts of the Peak District from the Hope Valley southwards to the Weaver Hills near the Churnet Valley. As defined by

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

, the White Peak national character area covers and includes the area approximately bounded by Ashbourne,

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Castleton, Matlock and

Wirksworth Wirksworth is a market town in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. Its population of 5,038 in the 2011 census was estimated at 5,180 in 2019. Wirksworth contains the source of the River Ecclesbourne. The town was granted a mar ...

Geology and soils

The geology of the White Peak has its origins in the

Carboniferous Period The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...

, when the area was under a shallow sea that was fringed by reefs, leading to thick deposits of shelly calcareous material. Over millions of years the area rose up and subsided several times, leading to muddy, sandy and peaty deposits overlying the calcareous shells. Compression turned the deposits into rock - the shells became limestone, and the overlying deposits became gritstone, shales and coal. Further uplifting and folding raised the area into an

anticline In structural geology, an anticline is a type of fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the inverse of an anticline. A typical anticline is convex up in which the hinge or crest is the ...

(the Derbyshire Dome), then subsequent erosion removed the younger deposits to expose the limestone. The limestone consists of three types: pale grey, thickly bedded, gently dipping shelf limestone of much of the central plateau; darker grey, more thinly bedded, more folded basin limestone in the south west; and hard, unbedded reef limestone that forms cone-like hills on the plateau periphery. Limestone is

porous Porosity or void fraction is a measure of the void (i.e. "empty") spaces in a material, and is a fraction of the volume of voids over the total volume, between 0 and 1, or as a percentage between 0% and 100%. Strictly speaking, some tests measure ...

, so

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s, limestone gorges and

dry valley A dry valley may develop on many kinds of permeable rock, such as limestone and chalk, or sandy terrains that do not regularly sustain surface water flow. Such valleys do not hold surface water because it sinks into the permeable bedrock. There ...

s are common features of the area. The soils are mostly derived from loess deposited by cold winds in the last part of the last glacial period. Notable valleys in the White Peak include

Dovedale Dovedale is a valley in the Peak District of England. The land is owned by the National Trust and attracts a million visitors annually. The valley was cut by the River Dove and runs for just over between Milldale in the north and a wooded r ...

Monsal Dale Monsal Dale is a valley in Derbyshire, England, in the White Peak limestone area of the Peak District National Park. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) (1) and part of a Europe-wide network ...

Lathkill Dale Lathkill Dale is the valley of the River Lathkill near Bakewell, Derbyshire in the Peak District of England. The river emerges into the dale from springs below Lathkill Head Cave (or, in wet conditions, from the cave itself). Towards the head ...

and the Manifold Valley. The area is of interest to geologists, since much of the underlying strata have been exposed by extensive quarrying, and can be seen in the old railway cuttings along the

Monsal Trail The Monsal Trail is a cycling, horse riding and walking trail in the Derbyshire Peak District. It was constructed from a section of the former Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway, which was built by the Midland Railway in 1 ...

through Monsal Dale and

Millers Dale Millers Dale (Ordnance Survey: Miller's Dale) is a valley on the River Wye in Derbyshire, England, where there is also a hamlet of the same name. It is a popular beauty spot in the Peak District of England, much of the area being preserved a ...

Ecology

The generally good quality loess soil means much of the area is agriculturally productive pasture, though hay meadows - containing species such as ''

Rhinanthus minor ''Rhinanthus minor'', known as yellow rattle, is a herbaceous wildflower in the genus ''Rhinanthus'' in the family Orobanchaceae (the broomrapes). It has circumpolar distribution in Europe, Russia, western Asia, and northern North America. An an ...

'' (yellow rattle) and ''

Galium verum ''Galium verum'' (lady's bedstraw or yellow bedstraw) is a herbaceous perennial plant of the family Rubiaceae. It is widespread across most of Europe, North Africa, and temperate Asia from Israel, Lebanon and Turkey to Japan and Kamchatka. It is ...

'' (lady’s bedstraw)- occur in places. On steep slopes and higher points where soils are shallower and pasture improvement difficult, species-rich

calcareous grassland Calcareous grassland (or alkaline grassland) is an ecosystem associated with thin basic soil, such as that on chalk and limestone downland. Plants on calcareous grassland are typically short and hardy, and include grasses and herbs such as clover. ...

can be found, containing species such as ''

Orchis mascula ''Orchis mascula'', the early-purple orchid, early spring orchis, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Description ''Orchis mascula'' is a perennial herbaceous plant with stems up to high, green at the base and ...

'' (early purple orchid), ''

Primula veris ''Primula veris'', the cowslip, common cowslip, or cowslip primrose ( syn. ''Primula officinalis'' ), is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the primrose family Primulaceae. The species is native throughout most of temperate Europe and ...

'' (cowslip) and ''

Thymus serpyllum ''Thymus serpyllum'', known by the common names of Breckland thyme, Breckland wild thyme, wild thyme, creeping thyme, or elfin thyme, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae, native to most of Europe and North Africa. It is ...

'' (wild thyme). On high ground leaching has resulted in acidic grassland - where ''

Viola lutea ''Viola lutea'', the mountain pansy, is a species of violet that grows in Europe, from the British Isles to the Balkans. Description ''Viola lutea'' grows to a height of around . Its flowers are in diameter, and are typically yellow, although ...

'' (mountain pansy) and ''

Vaccinium myrtillus ''Vaccinium myrtillus'' or European blueberry is a holarctic species of shrub with edible fruit of blue color, known by the common names bilberry, blaeberry, wimberry, and whortleberry. It is more precisely called common bilberry or blue whortle ...

'' (bilberry) occur - and, in a few places, remnants of limestone heath. Minimally grazed north-facing slopes of dales are a national stronghold of '' Polemonium caeruleum'' (Jacob's ladder), the

county flower In a number of countries, plants have been chosen as symbols to represent specific geographic areas. Some countries have a country-wide floral emblem; others in addition have symbols representing subdivisions. Different processes have been used to ...

of Derbyshire. Polemonium caeruleum RF

Settlements

The largest towns in the White Peak are outside the area of the Peak District national park. These towns include Matlock, Wirksworth and Buxton, while Bakewell and most of the villages in the park are in the White Peak area. Around the areas of

Tideswell Tideswell is a village and civil parish in the Peak District of Derbyshire, England. It lies east of Buxton on the B6049, in a wide valley on a limestone plateau, at an altitude of above sea level, and is within the District of Derbyshire Da ...

, Hartington, Flagg,

Chelmorton Chelmorton is a village and a civil parish in Derbyshire, England. It is in the Derbyshire Dales district and the nearest towns are Buxton to the northwest and Bakewell to the east. The name Chelmorton derives from Old English (a personal name + ...

and

Youlgrave Youlgreave or Youlgrave is a village and civil parish in the Peak District of Derbyshire, England, on the River Bradford south of Bakewell. The name possibly derives from "yellow grove", the ore mined locally being yellow in colour. The populati ...

, long thin fields created by the enclosure of medieval strip fields can be seen.

Footpaths

The region is rich in footpaths, bridleways and green tracks that give access to the area. Longer-distance routes include the Limestone Way, the

Peak District Boundary Walk The Peak District Boundary Walk is a circular walking trail, starting and finishing at Buxton and broadly following the boundary of the Peak District, Britain's first national park. The route was developed by the Friends of the Peak District (a ...

and the

Pennine Bridleway The Pennine Bridleway is a National Trail in Northern England. It runs roughly parallel with the Pennine Way but provides access for horse riders and cyclists as well as walkers. The trail is around long, extending from Derbyshire to Cumbria ...

, and former railway trackbeds such as the

, the High Peak Trail, the

Tissington Trail The Tissington Trail is a bridleway, footpath and cycleway in Derbyshire, England, along part of the trackbed of the former railway line connecting Ashbourne to Buxton. It takes its name from the village of Tissington, which it skirts. Open ...

and the

Manifold Way The Manifold Way is a footpath and cycle way in Staffordshire, England. Some in length, it runs from Hulme End in the north to Waterhouses in the south, mostly through the Manifold Valley and the valley of its only tributary, the River Ham ...

References

* Bull, John. ''The Peak District: A Cultural History'' (Signal Books, 2012). Explores the culture and history of the two landscapes of the Dark and White Peak.

External links

More information
about the White Peak. {{coord, 53.2, -1.8, type:mountain_region:GB_dim:30000, display=title Landforms of Derbyshire Landforms of Staffordshire Peak District Natural regions of England