Caravan club sites in Derbyshire

The Peak District is the closest proper upland to two thirds of England's population, which is both its appeal and its problem. Sites fill from Thursday afternoon in summer, and the roads carry heavy day traffic out of Manchester and Sheffield at weekends.

Where the sites are

The Hope Valley cluster around Castleton, Hathersage and Bamford is the most popular, with Mam Tor, Stanage Edge and the show caverns on the doorstep. Bakewell and the Wye Valley form a second group, central for the White Peak and the Monsal Trail. A third sits south around Ashbourne and Dovedale, and there is a useful run of sites down the Derwent Valley near Matlock and Cromford.

Getting there

From the south, the A6 and the A515 from Ashbourne are the natural approaches. From the M1, use Junction 29 and the A617 through Chesterfield. From the west, the A6 through Buxton is steep in places but perfectly manageable with a decent tow car.

The A57 Snake Pass is the direct route from Manchester and Sheffield and it has an unreliable record. Repeated landslips have closed it for weeks at a time and Derbyshire County Council has raised questions about its long-term viability. Check before you rely on it. The A628 Woodhead is the heavy-vehicle alternative, open more often but exposed, and it closes in snow and high winds.

Local notes

Winnats Pass out of Castleton is 1 in 5 through a limestone cleft with no room to pass. Leave it alone with a caravan and use the A6187 through Hope and Hathersage in both directions. The old A625 under Mam Tor has been closed since 1979 and no longer exists as a through road, whatever an old map suggests.

Bakewell makes the best all-round base. Most sites run from late March to the end of October, and the well dressings between May and September bring heavy traffic onto otherwise quiet lanes.