Van Travel in the UK: Sheffield and the Peak District
Sheffield is known as being the greenest city in the UK, with a third of Sheffield actually inside the Peak District National Park. As such it makes for an amazing place to explore by van; there’s climbing, riding, hiking and plenty of ‘off the beaten track’ places to explore. And there are also plenty of places to park up for the night.
Although the UK has some great options for campgrounds, we managed to travel the entirety of the UK without booking a single night’s accommodation and the Peak District was one of the places we felt most comfortable parking up. Throughout our UK travels we used the app ‘Park 4 Night’ to find places to stay and often just kept our eyes open for a flay lay-by in a scenic spot to spend the night.
Although we’re focusing on the outdoor elements of traveling through Sheffield and the Peaks, make sure you take some time to explore the city and work your way through Sheffield’s many dining options. Ecclesall Road is one of our favourite places to wander the little shops and bars, and Abbeydale Road has some great food from all over the world.
Within Sheffield city itself there are also tons of opportunities to get outside. Take the Five Weirs Canal Path through the city centre, wander the Botanical Gardens off Ecclesall Road, head to Norfolk Park for a view over the city or wander through Endcliffe Park, and the Whiteley woods all the way out to the Peak District.
A great place to start exploring the Peak District itself is the little village of Castleton. Here you can hike Mam Tor, one of the most famous walks in the Peak District, visit the caves and caverns and drive the winding Winnats Pass.
The UK has no shortage of stately homes to wander around, and two of the largest in the Peak District are Chatsworth House and Lyme Park. An ideal time to visit is around Christmas when the houses are lit up with fairy lights and you can spend a cozy day wandering the grounds.
If you’re looking for a hike with some views, follow the Bamford and Stanage Edge circular walk. You can also park up close to the base of Stanage Edge and hike up to the top for some beautiful views.
If you’re after a chill bike ride, make your way along the Monsal trail. This 14km route winds its way between Blackwell mill and Bakewell and by the Monsal viaduct. Or if mountain biking is more your style there are plenty of options including Lady Cannings, Grenoside woods, Wharncliffe wood or Bolehills (back in Sheffield).
One of the places we ended up spending a lot of time at was Fox House. This corner junction becomes a popular break for road riders, pedalling out from Sheffield to the Peaks, and the Fox House pub serves hearty English food with views over the rolling hills. Across the road from the Fox House is the Longshaw Estate, a National trust property with miles of walking trails over the farmland and through the woods.
The National Trust pass became an unexpectedly huge part of our travels in the UK. With a membership you get access to not only hundreds of places to visit but hundreds of car parks! Many of these car parks were exactly where we would be headed anyway (beaches in Cornwall, central locations in the Lake District and nature reserves all over the country). And we found that often if we didn’t know where to go on a certain day, we would head to a National Trust location and find a ready made day out! We also regularly used these locations specifically for their bathrooms! (an unexpected van life hack that we’re not sure the general public would even think of as a perk. But when you’re living in a van, a clean private toilet is a Big Deal.)
We would often go back and forth between Sheffield and the Peaks. It’s only a half hour drive from Sheffield city centre to the middle of the Peaks and we took full advantage of this, going for a meal in Sheffield and then heading out into the countryside for the evening and to camp. It’s very possible to stealth camp in Sheffield but we were able to enjoy our evenings a lot more when we could park somewhere, go for a walk in our new neighbourhood then settle down for the night in a peaceful location.