The Wild Peak Rounds connect wild spaces across the Peak District, they’re designed for walkers or runners.
Explore, Support and Celebrate Wildlife
The Rounds link a number of Derbyshire Wildlife Trust nature reserves in the Peak District to create a year-round challenge for walkers and runners.
They take in some of the most stunning scenery in the Peak District — a combination of peaks including Bleaklow, valleys and dales – in a discovery of a combination of well-known and hidden gems – you’ll be taken to areas of the National Park that many wouldn’t normally see and of up to 17 of Derbyshire Wildlife Trust fabulous nature reserves!
They will also highlight how isolated and fragmented some of our nature reserves are but give opportunity to raise awareness and enable wildlife corridors to be developed to better link up these biodiverse gems.
Three rounds to choose from depending on how far and how many reserves you’d like to visit.
Full round | 120km
The Full Round is a challenging route connecting 16 Derbyshire Wildlife Trust nature reserves. Depending on your route choice it’s approximately 118km with 3000m+ of ascent. You’ll cover a huge area providing a real sense of scale of the Peak District landscape.
Half round | 55km
The Half Round links up 6 Derbyshire Wildlife Trust nature reserves over approximately 50- 55km route with 1600m ascent. Giving you a great taste of both the Dark and White Peak District landscape to tempt you to step up to the Full Round!
Mini round | 15km
The Mini Round offers an easier introduction to trail running challenges at approximately 15km and 300m ascent. This route visits a lovely nature reserve nestled between the River Derwent and the Peak Shopping villiage at Rowsley.
How to take part
The Rounds can be completed at any time of the year starting on a day and time of your own choosing.
For each Round you will need to visit a specified number of named reserves that can be visited in any order or direction, travelling on foot only via public rights of way or open access land (no short cuts across private land!). More information on which reserves to visit are outlined for each round.
All start and finish at the Inov8 store in Bakewell, Peak District and each reserve has a single Wild Peak Rounds waymarker you must reach.
The Rounds are not waymarked between the reserves and there is no fixed route to follow leaving the route choice entirely up to you. Good navigation skills, understanding and preparedness of the grounds and changeable weather conditions are essential. Equally there are no manned checkpoints along any of the routes, so you must also take enough provisions and, or know where to get supplies from along your route.
Following your completion of the Half or Full round please fill in this form with your round details to be added to our leaderboards (we don’t keep a leaderboard for the Mini round). We’ll need stats from your Strava, Garmin, Mapmyrun etc or a GPX file showing start/finish time total elapsed time from leaving the shop to returning.
If you’re able to, please consider a donation and/or sign up for a volunteer reserve activity.
Please tag us in on your socials (Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, Inov8 Bakewell Store and SUMMAT), and use the hashtag #wildpeakrounds
Wild Peak Round prizes (for all 3 rounds) 🎉
Whilst the main incentive of the Wild Peak Rounds is to raise funding and awareness of Wild Peak projects and a catalyst to link up our nature reserves with wilder land in between, we have managed to secure a number of prizes.
When you finish your Round pop into the Inov8 store during opening hours – say hello and show your evidence for a complimentary Wild Peak Round ale from Peak Ales, coffee from Summat café and an Inov8 Wild Peak Rounds coaster*.
Everyone who completes any Wild Peak Round before April 8th 2024 will be entered into a prize draw to have a chance of winning one of the following…
- 12 months Derbyshire Wildlife Trust membership
- Derbyshire Wildlife Trust adopt an animal pack
- A pair of inov-8 trail running or hiking shoes
*One coaster and bottle of ale per person per round.
The Wild Peak initiative
The Wild Peak is an ambitious rewilding initiative based in the Peak District that is working in close partnership with landowners, local communities and project leaders to inspire and implement a landscape-scale, nature-led approach to nature’s recovery, using nature based solutions and rewilding principles wherever possible.
It’s a place where wildlife is thriving and extending into surrounding areas; where golden eagles and ospreys soar overhead; black grouse and hen harriers are back where they belong in wildflower meadows and healthy blanket bogs; native woodlands are re-generating and expanding, and are teeming with pine martens, adders and red squirrels, and beavers are managing and expanding its wetlands. It’s a dynamic place, with habitats blending together with complex interfaces. Wild Peak is a place that is valued by and benefits society, locally, nationally and internationally.