European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 12, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Peak District National Park covers 542 Square Miles and includes some of England s most challenging hiking paths. A amps Brian Smith British National Park May be too popular palatial Chatsworth House is one of the Park s most impressive Man made attractions. Attractive Bakewell is a popular starting Point for hikers and visitors. The National Tram museum includes parts of buildings and other structures moved from elsewhere in  Graham Heathcote the associated press Britain s first National Park turned 40 this year and continues to draw Large crowds of visitors eager to escape the surrounding cities. But not everyone is pleased with the Park s Success for the crowds have brought problems. The Peak National Park is a mainly undeveloped area of moors Hills valleys and caves ringed by the cities of Manchester Huddersfield Sheffield Derby and Stoke on Trent. Half of England s 46 million people live within an hour s drive. It is no wilderness like the world s first National Park Yellowstone in the United states which was created in 1872 and is More than six times larger than the 542-Square-mile English Park. But it is the second most visited National Park in the world after mount Fuji in Japan which draws around 100 million people a year. The Park s lands Range from the Bleak Heather Clad Fessenden Moor in the North to the Lush Dove River Valley made famous by Izaak Walton s the compleat Angler in the South. Popular with hikers and up clunkers it is a Region of challenging Hill walks and footpaths including the Start of the Pennine Way the longest continuous path in England which snakes North for 250 Miles to the scottish Border More than 60 ancient monuments the largest being the Stone Circle at Arbor Low Are scattered across the moors. Other attractions include the Manor Homes in the Eastern part of the Region especially palatial Chatsworth and a few Miles away romantic Haddon Hall the Small spa town of Buxton and the Market town of Bakewell near Haddon Hall and Matlock Bath a tourist oriented Chain of Small towns in a Valley bordered by Cave filled Cliffs. Near Matlock is the world s first weaving Mill at Cromford and the National Tram museum at Crich where a collection of 50 trolley cars from around the world Clatter along a couple of Miles of track. The highest of the Park s peaks is the 2,088-foot Kinder scout. It was chosen in 1932 for a mass trespass by 400 walkers to claim Access to the moors. The Campaign culminated in 1949 in the National Parks and Access to the Countryside act. Two years later the Park was established. The Park is an Oasis in the Middle of what Many consider Urban overgrowth. Quot if this Lovely Countryside had not been designated a National Park Manchester by now might have stretched 30 Miles to Sheffield in one continuous line of Urban development Quot said Jennie Ainsworth an official guide for the Region. But not everybody is Happy about the Park especially those who live inside its boundaries. There Are 110 villages and townships within the Park and residents complain that 22 million visitors come and go every year without contributing much to the Economy. Quot the busiest Man in this town is the undertaker Quot said mayor Leonard Twigg of Bakewell referring both to the influx of retirees and the troubled Economy of the Park s Headquarters town. Quot life for a significant minority is not 8 stripes Magazine december 12, 1991