Discover the countryside: South Yorkshire / Peak District

TRAIL: Cycle or walk the Trans Pennine Trail

Cheryl Burns, CPRE’s Digital Lead, recommends the Trans Pennine Trail, which crosses the North of England from Merseyside in Lancashire to Hornsea in East Riding of Yorkshire — but specifically the stretch around Sheffield. The trail is easily reached from villages and towns nearby, and is popular for both walking and cycling, connecting to a wider network of countryside routes. Cheryl used to join it around Eckington, which gave her a natural way into open countryside and the nature walks and spots nearby. 

LOCAL SECRET: Discover Cucklett Delf, Eyam

Cheryl Burns, CPRE’s Digital Engagement Lead, recommends Cucklett Delf, a secluded dale in the “plague village” of Eyam, where villagers held open-air church services after choosing to quarantine themselves rather than risk spreading the plague beyond the village in 1665.

The Delf was also where sweethearts Emmott Sydall of Eyam and Rowland Torre of neighbouring Stoney Middleton met in secret, calling to each other across the rocks to avoid contagion, until Emmott herself became a victim of the plague.

LOCAL SECRET: Find the hidden Fair Flora

Hidden in woodland near Grindleford stands Fair Flora, a statue of the Roman goddess of flowers, believed to have originated at Chatsworth House before being gifted to nearby Stoke Hall. Local tradition blames the statue for bad luck and hauntings at the Hall, saying that’s why it was moved to its present, secluded spot in the woods, where it still stands, wrapped in several conflicting local legends about who she was.