How to get to the Peak District
Peak District National Park spans over Derbyshire and several other counties in England in the Midlands. It’s easy to get to and has great road and public transport links with the north and south of the country. Derby is in the heart of Peak District and is a great base to explore the national park. The next closest cities are Manchester and Sheffield which are just a bus, train or one-hour drive away.
Getting to Peak District by train
There are excellent local rail networks into Peak District National park from Manchester, Sheffield and Derby. You can travel to these cities on mainline trains from all over the country. It takes just 90 minutes from London St Pancras International to Derby, and two hours from London Euston to Manchester Picadilly on the high-speed train.
Once you arrive in Derby, Manchester or Sheffield you can take a local train into the heart of the park. Trains stop at the most popular towns, villages and rural destinations where you can jump off to see popular landmarks and hiking and cycling tracks. There are four local railway lines:
Derwent Valley line (East Midlands Railway): connecting Derby and Matlock via Duffield, Belper, Ambergate, Whatstandwell, Cromford and Matlock Bath. From Matlock, you can jump on a bus to Bakewell and villages and dales in the White Peak.
Hope Valley line (Northern Railway): connecting Manchester and Sheffield via Grindleford, Hathersage, Bamford, Hope and Edale
Glossop line (Northern Railway): connecting Manchester to Glossop and Hadfield via Gorton, Godley, Lymefield and Dinting.
Buxton line (Northern Railway): connecting Manchester/Stockport and Buxton via Furness Vale, Whaley Bridge, Chapen-en-le-Frith and Dove Holes.
You can get up-to-date information on schedules, routes and fares on the National Rail’s website.
Getting to Peak District by coach
National Express and Megabus operate coach services to Sheffield, Manchester, Derby and other cities and towns in the Midlands from major cities in the UK. Popular routes include:
London and Leicester to Derby
London to Sheffield
Birmingham to Sheffield
Birmingham to Manchester
Glasgow to Manchester
London to Sheffield
Plymouth to Sheffield
Cardiff to Sheffield
From Derby, you can travel onwards to Buxton, Matlock and Bakewell via a TransPeak. From here, you can use the local High Peak bus network to get to various other towns and villages within the national park (see the section below on ‘Getting around Peak District’).
Getting to Peak District by air
If you’re travelling from further afield, the closest airports to fly into are Manchester and East Midlands Airport. However, depending on where you’re travelling from you might find it easier to fly into Birmingham, London or another UK airport and transfer to Peak District via train or coach.
Getting around the Peak District
As well as the local train lines we mentioned above, High Peak operate an extensive bus network around the national park. These buses also connect with rail services in main towns like Buxton. Some of the most popular local bus routes include:
6.1: Bakewell > Matlock > Wirksworth > Belper > Derby (for Haddon Hall, Peak Rail, and Cromford Mill)
66: Chesterfield > Baslow > Nether End > Eyam > Tideswell > Buxton
17, 110, 111, 112: Sheffield > Chesterfield > Matlock > Matlock Bath > Carsington Water > Ashbourne
173: Bakewell > Great Longstone > Monsal Head > Tideswell > Castleton > Chesterfield > Bakewell (circular route, take for Peveril Castle)
63, 64: Chesterfield > Ashover > Matlock
58: Macclesfield > Buxton – Bakewell > Chatsworth
170: Chesterfield > Bakewell
If you’re travelling during summer, you can take advantage of the seasonal Hope Valley Explorer Bus operated by Stagecoach. Jump on in Hope or Bamford and enjoy the views on the scenic route through Edale, Bamford and Hope.