The Peak District is an upland area of England that forms the southern end of the Pennines. Lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, the region also covers the east of Cheshire, as well as several other counties. Most of the area falls within the Peak District National Park, the first National Park in England and Wales to be designated and, as of 2018, the fifth largest.

The Cheshire region forms part of the South West Peak area of the Dark Peak, whose gritstone and shale supports heather moorland and blanket bog environments. Rough sheep pasture and grouse shooting are the main land uses. Features include the hills and edges of Shining Tor, Shutlingsloe, Tegg's Nose, The Cloud and Windgather Rocks, the Dane, Dean and Goyt rivers, and the woodland of Macclesfield Forest.

The national park attracts millions of visitors every year, with tourism forming a major part of the economy. Recreational activities include walking, climbing, caving, fell running, orienteering, horse riding, cycling, hang gliding, paragliding and birdwatching on the fells; sailing, fishing and canoeing on reservoirs such as Lamaload; and visiting historic houses such as Lyme Park.

Salt-making by the open-pan method dates back to the Roman occupation, and was one of Cheshire's major industries. The Lion Salt Works was the last place in the county to use the method. It closed in 1986, when this picture was taken, and is now a museum.

Credit: Chris Allen (8 June 1986)

1 February 1863: Artist and printmaker John Romney died in Chester.

1 February 1869: The first goods train crossed Runcorn Railway Bridge.

3 February 1646: Chester surrendered during the Civil War.

3 February 1857: First meeting of Cheshire Police committee.

3 February 1885: Foundation stone of Grosvenor Museum laid by the Duke of Westminster.

4 February 1253–4: Lordship of Chester gifted to Edward, heir of Henry III.

5 February 1977: Olympic gold medallist sailor Ben Ainslie born in Macclesfield.

6 February 1987: Lindow III discovered at Lindow Moss.

9 February 1539: First recorded race at Chester Racecourse.

13 February 1839: Riot at Chester Castle in support of poachers awaiting trial.

14 February 1926: Fire partially destroyed Oulton Hall.

15 February 1918: Physicist John Holt born in Runcorn.

19 February 1943: Nobel prize winning biochemist Tim Hunt born in Neston.

20 February 1643: Beeston Castle seized from the Royalists by Parliamentary forces commanded by Sir William Brereton (pictured).

20 February 1907: Radar pioneer Skip Wilkins born in Chorlton.

21 February 2008: Sunny Lowry, first woman to swim the Channel, died in Warrington.

26 February 1993: IRA explosive devices went off at Warrington gasworks.

Many Cheshire museums focus on the area's industrial heritage, including Quarry Bank Mill and Clarence Mill (cotton), the Macclesfield Museums (silk), the Catalyst Science Discovery Centre (chemicals), and the Lion Salt Works and Weaver Hall Museum (salt). Poynton's Anson Engine Museum is on the site of a former colliery. Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre explores astronomy. There are also several transport museums, including the Crewe Heritage Centre (railways), the National Waterways Museum in Ellesmere Port, and the Anderton Boat Lift (canals). There are water-powered mills at Bunbury, Nether Alderley and Stretton.

Chester and Warrington have combined museums and art galleries, Grosvenor and Warrington Museums, and Congleton and Nantwich have local museums. Norton Priory is the remains of an Augustinian abbey, and Englesea Brook Chapel documents the Primitive Methodist movement. Historic house museums are also represented in the county, including Little Moreton Hall and Lyme Park. Cheshire Military Museum in Chester Castle covers the county's regimental history, and RAF Burtonwood and Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker explore more recent military history. The Museum of Policing in Warrington documents Cheshire's police forces. Unusual specialist museums include Cuckooland Museum (pictured), which exhibits cuckoo clocks.

Warrington

Chester

Crewe

Runcorn

Widnes

Ellesmere Port

Macclesfield

Winsford

Wilmslow

Congleton

Northwich

Sandbach

Nantwich

Poynton

Neston

Middlewich

Alsager

Knutsford

Lymm

MERSEYSIDE

GREATER MANCHESTER

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STAFFORD-SHIRE

SHROPSHIRE

WALES

Alderley Edge

Bickerton Hill

Bosley
Minn

The Cloud

Croker Hill

Old Pale

Helsby Hill

Peckforton Hills

Shining Tor

Shutlingsloe

Tegg's Nose

Windgather

Kerridge

Top: Map of modern Cheshire showing urban areas (grey) and the major road network. Chester (red) is the county town, and Warrington has the greatest population. Towns with more than 10,000 inhabitants in 2011 are highlighted; the size of dot gives a rough indication of the relative population. Wales and the adjacent English counties are shown in capitals.

Bottom: Relief map showing the major hills. The Mid Cheshire Ridge is a discontinuous ridge of low hills running north–south from Beacon Hill (north of Helsby Hill) to Bickerton Hill. Most other high ground falls within the Peak District in the east of the county. Shining Tor (559 metres), on the boundary with Derbyshire, forms the county's high point.

The ceremonial county of Cheshire is administered by four unitary authorities (click on the map for details):

1 – Cheshire West and Chester

2 – Cheshire East

3 – Warrington

4 – Halton

In the local government reorganisation of 1974, Cheshire gained an area formerly in Lancashire including Widnes and Warrington. The county lost Tintwistle to Derbyshire, part of the Wirral Peninsula to Merseyside, and a northern area including Stockport, Altrincham, Sale, Hyde, Dukinfield and Stalybridge to Greater Manchester.

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