Driving Cotswolds to Peak District

First, it would help to know what you are looking to do there. The Peak is really known for its beautiful scenery and hiking paths, but there also other types of sights like Chatsworth House, the Blue John caves, old churches, Bakewell tarts, and much more.

That said, I spent 5 nights in the Peak District in April and loved it. I thought it was incredibly beautiful and would love to go back. There are lots of options for towns to stay in. If you like larger towns, Buxton is a good choice. I stayed in Castleton and found it perfect for me. It's small enough that it's easy to drive in, but with a good number of hotels and restaurants. It sits right by Winnats Pass, which is just gorgeous, and is close to a lot of the sights.

Most of the roads in The Peak are decent and relatively easy to drive. You will find some single track roads, mostly going to the very small towns, but not nearly as many as you will find in Cornwall or the Scottish Isles. :-) And none of them have the high hedges you find in Cornwall.

Coming up from Chipping Campden, you could easily just take M roads and A roads and not have any problem at all. I just used Google Maps to navigate for me (although I was coming from Liverpool) and it worked out fine.

FWIW, driving on the left is very easy. Within about 5 minutes, it will seem perfectly natural. It is a bit harder to drive on the single track roads, but they almost always have passing spots to pull into. I drove around for 4 1/2 weeks during my stay and didn't hit any other cars. :-)

Thank you. We are primarily there for nature and hiking. Your comments are both useful and calming. Much appreciated. I wish we had more time for the Peaks.

If you're there for nature and hiking, then I would suggest Castleton. It's a wonderful place to go hiking and there are many hikers that come there just for that. I stayed at the Bull’s Head Pub in Castleton and liked it a lot. There was a good-sized car park in the back, and the staff was very friendly. I had a nice room with a mini fridge, a heated towel rack, and a heated radiator. Breakfast was unusual. You had the option of ordering a continental breakfast the day before, and it was brought to your room that evening, or you could have breakfast at the cafe next door (owned by the pub) when it opened at 9 am in the morning. And of course, you could have lunch or dinner in the pub. The food was good with a pretty large and varied menu.

But there are several other hotels there as well, and they all looked very nice. All have restaurants and there are several cafes in town, wine shops and a gorgeous castle ruin that sits at the top overlooking the town that you can walk up to. I really enjoyed my stay here.

Castleton sounds ideal. I just checked Booking.com and unfortunately, Bullshead only has availability for one of the two nights

Have you tried going through the pub’s website? That’s how I booked it. I don’t typically book on booking.com. I think that the pub keeps some rooms back, so it wouldn’t hurt to check there.

https://www.bullsheadcastleton.co.uk/

And there are other hotels and pubs that look nice, too. I remember The George Hotel and Castle Hotel (or something like that).

We will be driving from Chipping Campden to Keswick in September and would like to spend two nights in the Peak District

confused Nigel. Going to the Peak District but Keswick is in the heart of the Lake District which is quite far from the Peak District in Derbyshire...

Strictly personally I think this is a reasonably natural diversion to the Lake District. From Castleton or Buxton (another obvious base for the Peak District) it is 3 hours via the Motorway system to Keswick.

Coming up from the Cotswolds if heading for the Peak I'd be inclined to come off the Motorway at Stockport then the A6 to my destination.

Leaving for the Lake District from Buxton I would head for Glossop on the A624, or from Castleton the A57 Snake Pass, to pick up the M67 to the M60 Manchester Ring motorway. .

If I wanted to make it a scenic day trip rather than the M61/M6 direct route from the M60 you could do the M66/A56 route up through Burnley to Skipton. From there the A65 through to Kendal and the Lake District.

These are all good roads. There are odd little short bits of the A65 between Kirkby Lonsdale and Kendal which are a bit tight, but they are short and just take them slowly.

Or even better get a taste of the Yorkshire Dales, and take the B6265/B6160 route up through Grassington and Wharfedale., then the A684 through Hawes to Kendal. The A684 is almost always a very quiet road.

Marge— Thanks for the tip. Unfortunately, get the same result on the pub website
Nigel— I should’ve been clearer. We want to stop two nights in the peak district on our way to the lake District
Isn31c— Thank you for the detailed driving suggestions. Exactly what I was looking for.

As someone who has lived half his life in the Hope Valley,Castleton is a fine pick.
My friend runs the Peak Hotel.
Red Lion at Litton
The Barrel up at Bretton are great pub picks
Edale is just over the hills start of the most famed long distance path.
The Rambler is the locals pub ,very very good food.
Don't miss Cave Dale in Castleton and if you hanker for a cave tour,Blue John is the one to do.

Oh and on route to Buxton or Castleton, The Royal Oak at Hurdlow is superb ,ring ahead to get a table

Yorkshire, wonderful advice. Thank you very much. Everyone has been incredibly generous with their input. I hope to report back with some information when we return.

When I stray from my patch ,the Peak District straddles 6 counties.
The Staffordshire bit has lots of hidden corners and maybe a wallaby or two.
Longnor Craft shop or more to the point the cafe is worth several miles detour and its a very attractive village.
Just a shame the Mermaid up on Morridge closed down ,place was perfect with a side order of legend

Oh yes, as we have to make our own entertainment in the hills.

https://www.kinderbarrelraceedale.com/

There's also gigs played in the Devils Arse ,great accoustics and a place apart

Sent you a private msg too.
Best wishes