walking in the peak district

When we were getting ready to move to the UK, my British acquaintances, who were living in Vancouver, told me matter-of-factly, "Oh, you'll love the Peak District". Since moving here, we've been on several walks in the Peak. However, each time has left me feeling lukewarm about the whole experience of walking in the Peak District -- mostly because of the misuse of the word 'peak'; linguistically, it should be called Hill District -- and very muddy at the end of each walk.

This past weekend, I decided to give my reservation about walking in the Peak District another go; after all, it has been over a year since our last walk.

We spent most of our walk, sharing the trail with the local livestock and trying to stay on dry and solid land. Even though I was very careful to avoid sloppy mud puddles, within the first 30-minutes, my trouser bottoms -- up to the knee -- were muddy. Whenever we go walking, I always think about Elizabeth Bennet and how she trekked across muddy fields to tend to her ill sister. The only difference is that I prefer to be mud-free.



Don't get me wrong, I really love walking/hiking especially when there's a distination to get to. Maybe we should aim for the northern part of the Peak District next time but I think the geography of the Lake District is more to my liking.