Peak

Peak, the hilly district of north-west Derbyshire, having Castleton for its capital, 10 miles N.E. of Buxton. Measuring some 30 by 22 miles, it is watered by the Dove, Derwent, and Wye, and culminates in Kinderscout (2082 feet), other emi- nences being Axe Edge (1810 feet) and Mam Tor (1710). The Peak Cavern or Devil's Hole near Castleton penetrates 750 yards; and crowning a rock above the village is Peveril Castle, so named from its first lord, a bastard of William the Conqueror's. The wonders of the Peak were celebrated early by Thomas Hobbes (1666) and Charles Cotton (1683); recent works are by Croston (1862; new ed. 1889), Bradbury (1879), L. J. Jennings (1880), and Leyland (1891), besides others cited at DERBYSHIRE.