The Peak District locations in the Which top UK walks list

Which? have revealed their top walks in the UK, based on a reader survey. 

The review company asked 1,800 of their members to review over 50 of the country's favourite walks based on set of criteria, measured out of five stars. 

The rating categories were: Accessibility, Food and Drink, Peace and Quiet, Places of interest, Scenery, Waymarking, Wildlife and Visitor facilities. 

Only three Peak District walks made the final listing; Stanage Edge, Mam Tor and Dovedale to Milldale.,

Stanage Edge and Mam Tor were the highest rated Peak District walks with ratings of 83% and 80% respectively, both locations received one five-star category rating in Scenery. 

The only other Peak District location in the list was the popular Milldale to Dovedale walk which received 74% overall but no five-star rating for any category. 

All three Peak District locations received low to average scores for Accessibility, Food and Drink and Visitor facilities.  

Without trying to make excuses for the Peak District, there are a lot of mitigating circumstances that we could attribute to the low ratings in some of the categories.  

As with any national park, planning permission and the desire to leave the environment as unspoilt as possible would explain the relative lack of amenities for visitors. Facilities and places to eat are few and far between in the vast area the Peak District covers. 

The limited parking spaces across the walking hotspots, does remain an issue as the demand far outstrips the availability, as driving to your location walking start point is often the only viable option. 

With the restriction of travel and more people choosing to take up walking across the country since the Covid pandemic began in the spring of 2020, the Peak District has seen a massive increase in visitors throughout the year, but particularly during the weekends and holiday seasons. This would explain why Peak District locations all rated fairly low to average scores in the Peace and Quiet category.  

However, there are over 500 square miles within the national park boundaries and there many fantastic hidden gems to be enjoyed. From hidden waterfalls, to old quarries and remotes hills, there is something for everyone.

The Peak District locations didn’t receive any five-star ratings for Scenery and Places of Interest. Given the wealth of breath-taking landscapes and rich natural and human history present all across the national park, we must admit that this did surprise us. 

Malham Cove and Gordale Scar in the Yorkshire Dales was declared the best walk in the UK, gaining five stars in the Places of Interest and Scenery categories, below is the list of the top ten rated walks. 

#	Walking location	%
1	Malham Cove and Gordale Scar, Yorkshire	89
2	Botallack Mine Walk, Cornwall	88
3	Lizard Peninsula Circuit, Cornwall	88
4	Helvellyn, Lake District	87
5	Buttermere, Lake District	86
6	Grosmont to Goathland, North York Moors	86
7	Rhossili Headland, Gower, Wales	86
8	Sycamore Gap, Northumberland	86
9	Cat Bells, Lake District	85
10	Craster, Dunstanburgh and Low Newton Circuit, Northumberland	85

Read more: www.which.co.uk/reviews/uk-destinations/article/find-the-best-uk-walks-near-you-a2Pyq6s2IC1X - Which?

To find out more about how you can enjoy walking in the Peak District, join our Derbyshire and Peak District Walks facebook group