BUXTON HELICOPTER RIDES

The lift from Moor Grange Farm feels smooth at first, then suddenly the landscape begins to open. Dry-stone walls run across the hillsides like pencil marks, fields fold into one another, and before long Buxton itself comes into sight. From above, the Crescent and Pavilion Gardens sit neatly together in the middle of town, while the Devonshire Dome catches the light in a way you never quite notice from the ground. Even on the shorter flights, there’s that strange little grin that appears when familiar places stop looking familiar.

Push further into the Peaks and the scenery changes again. Reservoirs sit dark against the moorland, woodland fills the valleys, and winding roads thread their way through the hills.

On longer tours, the Derwent dams begin to reveal themselves — instantly recognisable to anyone who knows the story of the Dambusters — while Chatsworth House appears almost unexpectedly, sitting proud within its parkland as though the whole landscape was arranged around it.

But the thing people remember most is often the feeling of it all. The steady beat in the headset. The moment the helicopter banks and the horizon shifts sideways. The odd mix of excitement and calm that only really happens once you’re airborne. By the time you land again, the Peak District feels bigger, wilder and somehow more connected than it ever did before.