The Pennines

The Pennines run along the centre of England, starting in the north of Staffordshire and running all the way to Cold Fell just south of Hadrian's wall. The East/West spread of the range is sometimes surprisingly extensive - at one point stretching roughly from Lancaster to Ripon, a distance of over 50 miles.

While the character of the Pennines does vary during this time the area is mainly characterised by a combination of bleak, boggy moorland plateaux and glacial valleys.

Historically the Pennines were the focus of considerable mining activity. However nowadays they are mostly used for either sheep farming or grouse shooting. The latter activity explains both the prevelance of heather and the historical access problems.

There are four major areas within the Pennine range - the White Peak area which runs roughly from the start of the Pennines to Buxton, The Dark Peak which runs north from here to the start of the Yorkshire dales, the Yorkshire Dales and finally the North Pennines which contain the range's highest peak Cross Fell.

The White and Dark Peaks are named after their dominant rock types - limestone for the white peak and millstone grit for the dark peak. The Yorkshire dales and North Pennines both combine the two rock types.

Apart from main area of the dark peak near Manchester several other areas of interest include Hebden Bridge,West Pennine Moors and the The Forest of Bowland.