Description

Join acclaimed travel writer and incurably curious hiker Tom Chesshyre in this celebration of the Peak District, Britain’s first National Park, on its 75th anniversary

‘Funny, fair and honest, and effortlessly readable’ Matthew Parris

In the heart of England lies a fascinating landscape of rugged dark gritstone plateaus and gentle green limestone valleys: the Peak District. But this national treasure hasn’t always been open to all.

On a spring day in 1932, 400 disgruntled ramblers embarked on a ‘mass trespass’ of Kinder Scout, the Peak’s highest point. Their aim? To establish a right to roam across the land, against the wishes of wealthy owners. And in 1951 they finally got what they wanted: the Peak District was established as Britain’s first national park. Home to striking dragon-back ridges of rock, vast expanses of peat, farms and villages, cloughs and caverns, the Peak is much more than the ‘howling wilderness’ described by Daniel Defoe three centuries ago.

To mark the park’s 75th anniversary, celebrated travel writer Tom Chesshyre hit the trails on a 360-odd mile ramble to find out how this dramatic landscape has fared – and to celebrate this symbolic home of hiking.

Wild Peaks follows winding paths, pausing at old inns and mountain huts, and along the way meeting a rich cast of landowners, farmers, historians, mountaineers, publicans, rangers, right-to-roamers, travellers, mountain-rescue members, mystics, dreamers and fellow hikers.

Don your cagoule, grab a compass and join Tom as he explores how this place has changed, and how we have too.

Publisher Review

‘Funny, fair and honest, and effortlessly readable. This is not a travel guide, it’s one man’s encounter with a place and its inhabitants. I live there, and I loved it.’ Matthew Parris

‘Tom Chesshyre does the Peak District proud – not just its history and rugged beauty, but the fascinating cast of characters he meets on his epic walk.’ Brian Groom

‘Tom Chesshyre evokes the landscape of the Peak District vividly but without grandiosity; he also brings a wonderful ear for dialogue to his encounters with its people.’ Andrew Martin

Praise for the work of Tom Chesshyre…

‘In his amiable and relaxed company we climb the fells and skirt the lakes; just as engagingly, we meet a carnival of characters whose personalities and opinions are the real focus of Chesshyre’s tale.’ The Times

‘He has a journalist’s ability to intersperse descriptions of dazzling scenery with brisk historical facts… this book makes you yearn to go there.’ Country Life

‘Easy-going, discursive and digressive.’ Stuart Maconie

‘A lovely book.’ Michael Portillo

‘There is something nostalgic about the clatter of wheels and sleeper trains … by the end, the reader will struggle to resist the urge to follow his lead.’ Economist

‘Tom Chesshyre celebrates the UK… discovering pleasure in the unregarded wonders of the ‘unfashionable underbelly’ of Britain. The moral, of course, is that heaven is where you find it.’ Mail on Sunday

‘You warm to Chesshyre, whose cultural references intelligently inform his postcards from locations less travelled.’The Times

‘Highly readable Bill Bryson-esque travel writing.’ Clover Stroud, Sunday Telegraph

‘A charming travel companion, entertaining and engaging.’ Times Literary Supplement

‘A fresh perspective to every new discovery.’ Christian Wolmar

‘A British Paul Theroux.’ Andrew Martin