Geographically, we’re part of the Pennine ridge of hills, stretching between the Peak District and the Yorkshire Dales National Parks. Covering 460 square miles of spectacular uplands, we take in lush, sheltered valleys, drystone walls and urban fringes. We’re a wild and wonderful place, home to rare birds, vast peat and heather moorlands and big skies.
We’ve long stirred the creativity of writers and artists, from the Brontes to David Hockney. Today, we continue to inspire them: Poet Laureate Simon Armitage is a local, and the area is teeming with diverse artistic and cultural representation .
However, we’re equally shaped by our legacy of industry and farming. Ours is a proud heritage, one where physical geography has been moulded by people past and present. This intertwining of people and place has helped form our identity, and will continue to shape our future.
We’re populated and highly accessible, with over 660,000 people, 53 railway stations and 4 motorways running through the Park. It’s this diversity, plus our bold, forward-thinking mindset – rural and urban, neighbours and visitors, for nature and for productivity – which defines our distinctive outlook and makes us a place for everyone.
