Parking chaos and champagne: The value of Mam Tor’s recognition

So why has Mam Tor become so popular, when there are loads of areas to explore in the Peak District?

A flick through walking books doesn’t mark it out as being especially noteworthy, and some seasoned hikers regard it as being a bit underwhelming.

However, Mam Tor’s location makes it easy to reach from Manchester and Sheffield. Nearby Castleton – which has plenty of pubs, cafes and shops – also means visitors can make a day of it.

There’s a car park close to the summit, meaning visitors can walk up the paved footpath in about 15 minutes.

It’s also an accessible place to watch the sunrise without having to hike up a treacherous route in the dark, which has made it popular with TikTokers.

“Places like Mam Tor are that includes actually closely or prominently on TikTook and Instagram, and that’s an ad actually for other folks to come back and talk over with those puts,” says Craig Best, general manager for the National Trust’s Peak District portfolio, which includes Mam Tor.

“We are seeing large volumes of other folks arriving, actually early morning, sooner than daybreak, and the ones top volumes of persons are proceeding all the way through the day into the night.”

Dozens of families with young children walk past as Craig stands a short way up from Mam Nick car park.

He says visitors initially started to increase during the pandemic.

“All of a unexpected, a whole lot of other folks from throughout society came upon the nice open air as a result of numerous puts had been closed,” he says.

The National Trust installed people counters on Mam Tor just over a year ago.

“We know now, with proof, that virtually one million persons are strolling up Mam Tor yearly, which is improbable,” says Craig.

“We’ve no longer observed ranges of tourists like that ever, or so far as we are conscious.”

The popularity of Mam Tor is evident from Mountain Rescue data too. There were 77 callouts in 2024 – the highest number out of anywhere in the Peak District.

To put this into context, there were only 50 callouts to Kinder Scout, which is the highest point in the Peak District and much more challenging to hike.

While the National Trust aims to encourage more people to experience heritage and nature, Craig admits there are downsides.

“We’re seeing giant problems round clutter, canine waste, meals packing containers simply being left all the way through the outside, which is clearly having a large have an effect on on nature,” he says.

“We are seeing other folks parking inappropriately… to the level that the police at the moment are having to near roads, which is obviously having a large have an effect on on native other folks.”

The organisation is also having to do restoration work to repair erosion caused by high footfall.

“So simply up at the hill there, we have were given a hill fortress, which is a shockingly essential archaeological function,” Craig says.

“People are strolling off footpaths and they are harmful the heritage options.”

Concerns are so high that the National Trust is currently working with the Peak District National Park Authority, Derbyshire County Council, Derbyshire Police and High Peak MP Jon Pearce, to come up with a plan to reduce the impact of visitors.

Craig believes car park capacity needs to be increased, and physical measures need to be put in place on the side of roads to prevent people from parking in dangerous places.

He also says people should be encouraged to park appropriately via social media channels – or just go somewhere else if Mam Tor is busy.

“Have a back-up plan, take into accounts the place else you could need to talk over with within the Peak District,” he says.

“There are a variety of puts around the Peak District the place you’ll be able to talk over with and now have a super stroll.”

Back in Castleton, I struggle to find a parking space myself, until I spot a sign that directs me to Holmesfield Farm, where the owners have been running a pop-up car park.

“We get numerous regulars short of to come back,” says Jo Bradley, who owns the farm with her parents.

“They know the place they may be able to park and so they have not were given to trip around the village.”

But Jo is only allowed to open the field as a car park for 60 days a year.

“What we might actually like is extra days, no longer simply your 60 days,” she says.

“I’m certain it could assist the village much more. There are some that do not like paying, they park at the roads, however we are open, we are right here.”

While businesses in Castleton are profiting from high visitor numbers, parking is causing problems for them too.

“Within the ultimate six months, we have had 20% of our waste collections being unsuccessful, and we have been charged for that,” says Rachel Holloway, who runs Castleton Fish and Chips with her husband Martin Sutton.

“And when we have challenged it, the corporate have despatched us footage of the place they have been not able to get to us as a result of the thoughtless parking.”

She said delivery drivers also experienced “grave difficulties and relatively numerous verbal abuse when they are looking to opposite up in very tight areas”.

Rachel believes there isn’t enough parking for the amount of visitors Castleton is now attracting.

“Some persons are parking in some way that’s not protected, as an example throughout the ultimate couple of months the police have needed to pop out and price tag, and take away some cars that had been inflicting emergency services and products cars to get blocked,” she says.

She believes pop-up car parks are a good idea, but would like public transport to improve too.

“It could be nice to have extra built-in public delivery to allow other folks to come back from the native teach stations of Hope and Edale with more uncomplicated bus get right of entry to, extra dependable bus get right of entry to, and that might assist other folks to benefit from the valley in a extra sustainable means,” she says.

Lawrence Key says he can see the issue from multiple points of view – because he runs businesses in Castleton but has also lived here for 12 years.

“Tourism is excellent, it is what assists in keeping this village alive; it is the reason why I am getting to are living in a village of this dimension with seven pubs,” says Lawrence, standing outside Castleton Coffee Co.

“It’s simply that tourism must be sustainable and controlled in some way that there’ll nonetheless be a neighborhood right here.”

Most of his staff – both at the coffee shop and nearby Peveril Stores & Bakery – live locally so they don’t need to drive to work.

However, Lawrence believes more parking spaces need to be found for visitors.

“I believe probably the most main issues is just the scale of the village and the quantity of people who come to it,” he says.

“It’s like development a theme park for 10,000 other folks and 30,000 turning up. There’s naturally going to be issues of that.

“It’s not a sleepy village of a couple of thousand people that just live and work here any more.”