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There are many great day tours from Manchester that you can enjoy, but one of the best options is to visit the Peak District National Park. Not only is it a place of wonderful scenery and foodie treats, but a central part of its history is tied up with Mancunian rebelliousness.
Many visitors to Manchester will be keen to explore its heritage of social, economic and political change. This includes events and movements such as:
· A campaign for political reform and an end to rotten boroughs that led to a gathering in Manchester in 1819 that was brutally put down, henceforth known as the Peterloo Massacre.
· The founding of the Trades Union Congress in 1868
· The formation of the Suffragette Women’s Social and Political Union in 1903
However, it is outside the city, in the Peak District National Park, that another significant piece of history was born of Mancunian protest and a desire for change.
Indeed, if you are going on the Inspiration, Innovation and Intellect Walking Tour, this may be a great complement to it.
A century ago, working-class Mancunians who wanted some exercise, fresh air and greenery after a hard week working in the crowded and smoky urban sprawl had rather limited choices.
There were places they could walk on footpaths, but wider roaming across high moors was largely forbidden, as these were privately owned by the landed gentry, set aside for grouse shooting each summer.
By 1932, campaigns for better access to the countryside for ordinary folk were already gathering pace across Britain. The first Youth Hostels had opened two years earlier, while a 1931 government report had recommended the formation of national parks.
The British Workers Sports Association had not been involved in the access movement up to this point, but during its Easter Weekend camp in the Derbyshire village of Rowarth, a group attempted to access one of the High Peak moors near Glossop.
A group of gamekeepers forced them to turn back, stating that they were trespassing, a civil offence for which they could be fined.
This led the group’s leader, Mancunian Benny Rothman, to plan a mass trespass in protest. The reasoning was that no amount of gamekeepers could keep a big enough group off.
So it was that he led a group of 400 walkers up the existing path by William Clough on Kinder Scout on April 24th. Once they left the path, they were officially trespassing.
A large group of extra gamekeepers had been hired by landowners to meet them, and in the ensuing scuffles, one gamekeeper suffered a broken ankle.
This was to lead to police intervention and Rothman, along with four others, was arrested and charged with incitement to cause riotous assembly. All but one of them were convicted and jailed.
However, this sparked a backlash and the Great Kinder Trespass has been widely regarded as galvanising the access movement. In the following few years, the Campaign for National Parks and the Ramblers Association were formed.
With public opinion changing, a new consensus emerged. Legislation to create national parks in England and Wales was passed in 1949. The Peak District was the first to be founded in 1951.
New access rights were swiftly granted on Kinder Scout and the Great Trespass was credited with inspiring the further extension of access rights in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.
It has also been recognised in popular culture, including songs like the Manchester Rambler by The Spinners and the Chumbawamba song You Can.
This historic link adds an extra reason to visit and enjoy walking in the Peak District, especially Kinder, which features the national park’s highest point at 2,088 ft, although it can be hard to locate in the middle of a flat, peaty plateau.
However, there is far more to the Peak District than that. Other great features include:
· The Castleton Caverns
· The popular Mam Tor ridge between Castleton and Edale
· Froggatt and Curbar Edges near Sheffield
· The Derbyshire Dales
As for foodie treats, there are some fine pubs and restaurants to enjoy. However, the biggest delicacy to try is to be found in Bakewell.
The Bakewell Pudding was born 160 years ago and can still be enjoyed at the Original Bakewell Pudding shop.
Made with flaky pastry, jam and custard, this should not be confused with the Bakewell tart, which has thick pastry and a covering of icing. It is not for us to say which tastes better, so it is best to try both.
That may involve a lot of calories, but you can soon burn them off by roaming on the moors, enjoying the freedom Benny Rothman and the other Manchester ramblers literally fought for.
