Cartographies of Occlusion and the Underground: Wanderings with(in) the Peak District

Abstract

The Peak District is known for is bucolic rolling hills and moorlands filled with hillwalkers and picturesque villages. Yet, within and underneath this landscape lies a unique and little known landscape of mines, quarries, and other occluded spaces. This article tries to recover these hidden places through a series of narrative explorations within the mines and other extractive industrial spaces are present in the Peak landscape. In turn, it allows for a haunted and absent landscape to come forward. Thereby encouraging an alternative point of view towards understanding this region and encouraging the multiple ways that this landscape is presented.