The Peak District: Landscapes Through Time (Landscapes of Britain) [Paperback]

The "Landscapes Through time" book is a really good one covering the whole prehistory and History of the Peak District.The Amazon synopsis is a fair one.I dont need to say a lot more. There are plenty of walking opportunities in the park to visit some of the historic sites.I have done so. Read also the books by Ali Cooper, Paul Morgan and Mark Edmonds.There are not too many books that focus on the history of just The Peak District and this one is a goody.
Go read and then explore.

I have completed many of the walks in this guide and have enjoyed them all. Directions and maps are clear and as such most of the walks are easy to follow. Each walk is given a difficulty guide and approximate time and I have found these to be realsitic. Information about wildlife, refreshmnents and points of interest mean that you can make the most of your walk and can plan what to take. A well written and informative guide. One of the best I've used.

Windgather Press's series of books on the landscapes of Britain are usually very good. Perhaps it's because that this volume had previously (1997) been published in English Heritage's own series means that it does not come up to the usual standard. When I say `the usual standard', I mean in terms of literary style rather than content For what cannot be said about this book on the Peak District is that it lacks content; its fault is, rather, that it is delivered in so dry a manner. Unlike the landscape under discussion, the text is neither exciting nor particularly inspiring.

The book contains an introduction and twelve chronological chapters. There are seventy-four figures, all fully-captioned and referenced to their text. These comprise maps, archaeological plans, and monochrome photographs. In addition, there are seventeen excellent colour plates. But for a book about landscape, I was surprised to find little or no mention of place-name evidence, nor a map of parish boundaries. Another failing of this study is a lack of stated geographical parameters. There is no definition given of the area under study. Is it the border of the National Park? Is it the border of the limestone plateau and millstone grit? For example, does it include Leek in Staffordshire or Bradfield in Yorkshire?

In their introduction, the authors state that their aim is "to give a brief introduction to the archaeology of the Peak District from the earliest people to the modern era." They intend to concentrate on themes that have shaped the region's character. By and large this is done through a broad chronological framework, and one theme that is repeatedly made plain is the differentiation in landscape developments between the three broad divisions of the Peak District, namely the limestone plateau, the gritstone, and the valleys inbetween.

As expected, the descriptions of the prehistoric eras are replete with `maybes', `perhapses', and `possiblys', arising from the lack of evidence or the inability at present to interpret it well. This is rightly stressed in the text and yet there are also some statements made without supporting evidence, such as "Hillforts were frequently larger and more heavily defensive than practicality demanded ... [They were] the nuclear deterrents of the Iron Age." For those wanting to know how much of the book chronicles the prehistoric eras, the Romans arrive on page forty-six of its 138 pages of main text.

The book ends with some good suggestions about sites to visit. There is also an extensive bibliography, which I will make use of, and an index. Overall, then, a book of use rather than of pleasure.