Hiking the Padley Gorge trail in the Peak District National Park

Finally got out of Norfolk for a glorious weekend away with @Notears.

We were actually headed up to County Durham for an early Christmas weekend with his family but we decided to stop for a night in the Peak District so we could get a good walk in before heading further north.

Having gone out for a romantic dinner in Bakewell, we stayed in a sweet little Air BnB just outside of Buxton, called the Coal Shed. Our hosts had spent their time during the pandemic restoring the dilapidated, overgrown coal shed at the bottom of their garden into a really smart, modern and very compact little guest house that was perfect for our cosy night in together. Apparently they had done all the stonework themselves! Very impressive. It was lovely waking up early the next morning to enjoy a very frosty sunrise over the hills.

We ended up at the Longshaw Estate - A National Trust property on the east side of the Peaks, not far from Sheffield. We parked the car on the roadside just up the hill on the ridge above the visitors car park so we could enjoy the views across the valley before heading down to Padley Gorge.

Then we made our way down into the valley to find the start of the trail. There were quite a few people about, including hikers, dog walkers and even joggers but we managed to lose the crowd so we could feel like we were out in the wilderness. It was magical, trekking alongside the bubbling brook with the low winter sun gleaming through the oak and beech trees.

The gorge deepened as we went on, so that we were looking down at the water as it jumbled along its rocky bed. There were a few times I just had to scramble down the gorge to get closer to the water and then climb back up again.

I always love the meandering of rustic paths though the woods - I find them beautifully alluring.

The trail eventually brought us down into the gorge and to a sweet little wooden bridge across the water where there was a fallen tree into which coins had been inset. I am unsure as to why...perhaps, a wishing tree?

Eventually we came out of the woods and onto the top of a ridge, opening up more awesome vistas across the peaks, the fog hanging low in the valley.

We hiked back along the ridge above the treeline, following a path that lead us back around to the visitors centre. We stopped for tea and a cheese and onion pasty before heading back up to the car.

By the time we had reached the car it was gone 3pm, the light was fading and the fog was coming down. However, we had planned to visit Ladybower Reservoir and Derwent Dam on our way out of the Peaks and we decided to swing by as we were heading out of the peaks that way anyway. We had a lovely romantic stroll by moonlight to the bottom of the dam - which wasn't far from the carpark - and had fun taking photos with the night settings on our phone cameras. We were actually quite blown away by the quality of them, given that we could barely see for ourselves. The dam itself is a sight (and sound) to behold! It makes one feel very small standing at the foot of it.

Wanting to make the most of being there, we also had a very dark scramble through the woods up to the top of the dam where we could look down the length of it to the west tower and see the great body of water that is being restrained.

And then it was definitely time to go. We were both knackered and I still needed to get us to Durham - at least another 3hours of driving. So we worked our way back down to the car and hit the road. By this time, the fog was well settled in and we weren't going very far, very fast. I think i averaged about 15mph until we got out of the Peaks!

We went on to have a super lovely weekend with the family and we're both exhausted from our trip!

Have you ever been to the Peak District National Park in the UK? Which are your favourite spots to visit? I definitely want to spend more time exploring it in the future! Although maybe in the summer next time when we'll have longer warmer days and much less fog!

(All picture are taken by myself or @notears from whom I have permission to use them)