Mermaid's Pool

A natural plunge pool hidden in the Peak District moorland between Buxton and the Snake Pass - this is one of those places locals know and visitors stumble upon by accident. The water sits in a rocky hollow, dark and inviting, fed by a stream that's icy year-round. It's not Instagram-famous, which is precisely why it's worth the walk.

Getting there means a proper hike across open moorland, which weeds out the casual daytrippers. Allow a good two hours from Buxton if you're not a fast walker, and bring proper boots - the ground can be boggy. The pool itself is small, intimate, and utterly wild. On a clear day the views across the moors stretch for miles. On a grey one it feels genuinely remote.

It's for serious walkers rather than families with toddlers, and definitely not a "quick visit" sort of place. But if you're camping at Castleton Caravan and Motorhome Club Site, the pool makes a cracking half-day adventure. The swim itself is bracing - exhilarating in summer, downright shocking in winter - and the whole experience feels earned rather than handed to you on a postcard.

Free to visit, no facilities, no crowds. Go early or late in the day if you can, and respect it's a wild place - not a tourist attraction with railings and ice cream vans. The moors demand respect, but they give back solitude and space.