Vale of Edale, Peak District, England

Up hill and down dale. Vale of Edale, Peak District, England

Welcome to the Vale of Edale, home to a small village which marks the starting point of one of the UK's most famous long-distance walks. Edale is one of many dales—or wide valleys—of England's Peak District National Park, a picturesque area where heather moorland and rocky gritstone landscapes sit side-by-side with rolling uplands. From here, walkers set out on the hilly and remote Pennine Way, covering 268 miles along England's wildest landscapes up to the Scottish Borders. But if you don't want to hike that far, excellent walking country surrounds the village itself, which lies to the south of the Peak District's highest point, Kinder Scout.

Edale is home to about 350 people but while it might look remote, it is easily accessible by train from the nearby cities of Manchester and Sheffield. Its tiny station handles crowds of visitors every year, keen to explore the picturesque hamlets and rolling countryside.