Peak District Tours launches with Dark Tales of the Peaks, an immersive new experience combining historic locations, storytelling, a guided walk through Stoney Middleton and Eyam and period-inspired dining
A unique new visitor experience bringing some of the Peak District’s darkest stories to life has launched this autumn.
Believed to be the first experience of its kind in the Peak District, Dark Tales of the Peaks: Eyam, Plague & Murder combines immersive storytelling and guided walking through the places where events unfolded. It also features lesser-known historic locations and a period-inspired Derbyshire meal.
The experience takes visitors through Stoney Middleton and Eyam, following old roads once used for trade and travel. Along the way, it uncovers stories of plague, doomed love, highwaymen, murder and justice.
Among them is the story of Eyam’s devastating 1665-66 plague outbreak and the Boundary Stone where villagers exchanged money for food while isolating themselves from surrounding communities. There is also the tragic story of lovers Emmott Sydall and Rowland Torre, who were separated by the outbreak. Moreover, the tale of notorious highwayman Black Harry, whose crimes and punishment became part of Peak District folklore, is included.
Visitors also discover Stoney Middleton’s historic Roman Bath House and natural thermal spring. They hear stories of lead mining, old toll roads and the movement of people and goods through the landscape. This reveals how many of the paths and roads still travelled today have stories of their own.
The approximately four-hour experience is the first to launch from Peak District Tours, a new venture based at the award-winning The Cupola Kitchen & Apartments in Stoney Middleton. It has been created to offer visitors a different way to discover the Peak District. This is achieved through guided experiences that combine landscape, history, storytelling and local food.
Dark Tales begins and ends at The Cupola and includes approximately three hours of guided walking through Stoney Middleton, the surrounding landscape and Eyam. It features regular stops for storytelling, interpretation and refreshments.
Rather than treating the area’s history as a collection of individual tales, the experience follows the threads connecting its villages and landscape over hundreds of years. This includes the roads and routes along which people, goods and disease travelled to the industries that supported local communities, and the ways in which crime and justice were dealt with.
The route takes visitors through village streets, woodland paths and historic locations before reaching Eyam. Eyam is internationally known for the actions of its community during the plague outbreak of 1665-66.
Visitors discover how the disease arrived in the village and the extraordinary measures taken to contain it. They also learn about the individual lives and relationships caught up in the tragedy.
The journey continues through the landscape towards Carlswark Cavern and the story of Black Harry, one of the Peak District’s most notorious historical figures. It then returns to The Cupola.
There, guests sit down together for a Derbyshire dining experience inspired by food of the period, with dishes including pottage with flatbreads and Bakewell pudding.
Alison Ahern of Peak District Tours said:
“People come from all over the world to walk through the Peak District, but so many of the extraordinary stories behind the places they are walking through remain hidden.
“You might have travelled a particular road dozens of times without knowing why it is there, who travelled along it hundreds of years ago, what was being traded or the events that happened around it.
“Dark Tales brings those stories together. There’s plague and murder, but also love, survival, trade, industry and justice. You’re hearing these stories while standing in the places where they happened, which gives you a completely different connection to them.
“There are some fantastic ways to explore the Peak District, but we couldn’t find anything bringing all of these elements together – guided walking, immersive storytelling, historic locations and food – in one experience. That was really the starting point for Peak District Tours.
“We want people to come away feeling that they’ve discovered another layer to the Peak District and perhaps see places they thought they knew in a completely different way.”
The launch of Peak District Tours forms part of a wider development of The Cupola as a visitor hub for Stoney Middleton and the surrounding area.
The Cupola, which combines a visitor centre, café and restaurant, will provide a base for guided experiences designed to encourage visitors to explore more of the area and discover its history, landscape, communities and food.
Visitors travelling from further afield can also turn Dark Tales of the Peaks into an overnight stay or short break. There is luxury self-catering accommodation available at nearby Rock Mill in Stoney Middleton.
The recently developed Rock Mill offers a collection of one and two-bedroom holiday apartments, with fitted kitchens and living and dining areas. This provides a base for visitors wanting to combine the Peak District Tours experience with a longer stay exploring the Peak District National Park.
Alison added: “We’re thinking about the whole visitor experience and how The Cupola, Peak District Tours and Rock Mill can work together to give people more reasons to come to Stoney Middleton and stay for longer.
“Someone can stay at Rock Mill, start their experience with us at The Cupola, spend several hours discovering the stories and landscape around Stoney Middleton and Eyam and then come back to eat.
“Stoney Middleton is surrounded by some of the best-known places in the Peak District, but there is so much history and character here too. We want The Cupola to become somewhere people can start their visit, discover something they didn’t know before and then go out and explore.”
Dark Tales of the Peaks has been developed and tested ahead of its autumn launch and is now available to book online at thecupola.uk/explore.
The experience lasts approximately four hours, including around three hours of guided walking followed by the period-inspired dining experience at The Cupola. The route covers just under three miles and includes village streets, woodland paths, uneven ground and moderate inclines.
It is recommended for visitors aged 10 and over. Adult tickets cost £85 and children’s tickets for ages six to 17 cost £45. The price includes the guided experience, refreshments during the walk and period-inspired dining at The Cupola.
Private group bookings are also available.
