Travel: A perfect holiday cottage break in the heart of the Peak District

Being able to escape into the lush rolling hills for a few hours is great for the mind, body and soul.

But what is even better is a few days away in this fabulous natural playground - away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

There are a plethora of holiday cottages for rent in the country’s largest national park, available for weekend breaks or even longer breaks.

Our weekend in the wilderness was spent at a two bedroom cottage in the Dark Peak - a few miles outside Castleton.

The five of us (four grown-up humans and one dog) arrived at our cottage - Top Tack - on a Friday evening.

We were pleased to find our hideaway was nice and secluded, well away from any main roads and a good drive up a narrow country lane.

Top Tack is situated amongst a small cluster of charming holiday cottages of various sizes at Rushop Hall.

There is also a coffee shop within the grounds

Our home for the weekend was a two bedroom cottage - both rooms and and a bathroom on the ground floor - with an upstairs living area, kitchen and further bathroom.

We found the cottage to be clean, comfortable and extremely well-appointed.

It was the end of a long working week so we decided the first evening would be spent lazing around in the living room sitting in front of the TV and eating pizza.

The wood burning stove made the evening even more relaxing and cozy.

After a good night’s sleep I flung open the curtains in our bedroom early on the Saturday morning to be met by a sight to behold - the rolling green pastures of the surrounding farmland. Idyllic.

After a cooked breakfast we were then ready for a day of exploring.

Our holiday cottage proved to be a fantastic base for exploring the Peak District.

We headed to nearby Edale and put our dog Hugo through his paces with an exhilarating two hour hike around the stunning hills.

Following a well-deserved drink and lunch at the end of our walk at the excellent Rambler Inn in Edale we then headed to Castleton for a potter around the shops.

The day was rounded off with another cozy evening in front of the fire, this time with a delicious curry from a takeaway in nearby Chapel-en-le-Frith.

The next morning it was time to leave our idyllic little bolthole and return to real life.

Just half an hour or so drive from Sheffield and about an hour from Manchester, Top Tack is a great place for city slickers to escape to for a few days in the great outdoors.

For more information about Top Tack, and other Peak District holiday cottages visit www.peakcottages.com