Peak District on Bank Holiday

Hey everyone! As my studying abroad term in England is coming to an end, I had a moment of realization that I have not explored enough of its countryside. I have been to a couple of England’s main cities such as Manchester, London, and Liverpool but I am a nature lover and hiking is one of my favorite hobbies. I guess since England is known for its cloudy and rainy weather for the most of the year, it could have mentally prevented me to take a risk of taking a train to the rural side and hike up the muddy mountains or valleys while it’s pouring. However, I luckily became friends with a geology major and he invited me to come hike the Peak District with him on England’s Bank Holiday, May 7th.  England’s May Day, the first Monday of May, is a national holiday when all banks are closed and the majority of the working population gets a day off to celebrate the start of summer season.

Peak District is a valley and a national park located in Derbyshire, Greater Manchester Area. Its origin goes back to the medieval era for agricultural and mining purposes. However, it is a popular tourist destination for its landscape, old towns, and caves today. It was a fresh experience for me to hike the Peak District because as far as I can remember, there isn’t really a valley with such open, flattish landscape with full of roaming sheep in Maryland. Also, there was a sign for touring a cave after following the hiking trail for about 2 hours, but the entrance fee was around 15 pounds so I had to skip it. The total hike was around 5 hours and I was so exhausted, I fell asleep on the train back to Manchester. However, it was such a nice experience to get away from the city for a day and clear my mind with a local friend. I hope I can have some more experiences like this before I fly back home.