Christmas scene at Parkhall Countryside Park, Stoke-on-trent
Packhorse Bridge at Three Shires Head, in the Peak District, is part of an old salt packhorse route (note the low bridge sides so the panniers did not have to be removed) over the River Dane. The bridge and Panniers Pool lie in a secluded valley where the counties of Cheshire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire meet. If you stand to the right of the bridge and look at it then you are in Derbys., to your left is Staffs. and across the bridge is Cheshire. One story tells of illegal boxing matches held there. When the police arrived the participants would cross into another county and escape arrest. Established in April 1951 (in Cheshire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire) the Peak District National Park was Britain's first national park. Covering 555 sq miles (1438 km) it contains about 1600 (2575km) of public rights of way and 80sq miles (207 sq kms) of open access on the northerrn and eastern moors - it is a walker's paradise. From gentle strolls through limestone dales to tough walking across peat bogs of the Dark Peak. Climbers are challenged by severe gritstone pitches on the likes of: Stanage, Millstone and Froggatt. Receiving an amazing 22 million visitors every year approximately half of Britain's population is within 60 miles () of the park. Some of its 'honeypot' attractions include: Dovedale, Peveril Castle at Castleton, Chatsworth and Haddon Hall near Bakewell, the spa town of Buxton, Kinder Scout for climbers and for walkers, part of the Penine Way passes through. Topographically it is divided into the limestone 'White Peak' and the gritstone 'Dark Peak'. The central and southern White Peak contains the rivers Dove, Manifold and Lathkill amongst beautiful steep-sided dales, wildflowers and gentle landscape. The Dark Peak in the north, west and east contains base rock of millstone grit making for short but steep escarpements with peat-clad moorlands leading up to Kinder, Bleklow and Black Hill; an all together bleaker and more foreboding landscape
Size: 5066px × 3799px
Location: Park Hall Countryside Park, Stoke-on-Trent, England
Photo credit: © dean nixon / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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