A sunrise in the Peak District to ruin all future sunrises…

2026 started wonderfully. On Saturday 3rd January, I led a group of 8 wonderful people on a sunrise hike at one of my favourite spots in the Peak District - The Roaches. We pulled up at the base to be greeted by a clear sky and a full moon which brightened up quite quickly; pink tinges started to appear as we set off up Hen Cloud.

As we perched at the top, the orange began to seep into the sky and after 10 minutes of sipping our flasks of coffee, we were treated to a stunningly bright sunrise over the rolling hills of the White Peak area of the national park. After taking around 4,000 photos we set off on our hike, heading up the rugged ridge of The Roaches and along the top. he light frost on the ground provided a beautiful backdrop as we hiked all the way down to the forest taking us to the majestic Lud’s Church. After strolling through the mysterious chasm and posed for a group photo we headed back through the forest and across the quiet countryside behind The Roaches ridgeline we were up on earlier that morning.

We were absolutely spoilt with the weather and I know it’ll be tough to top this fresh winter sunrise hike! If you’re feeling you missed out on this one, there’s plenty more group hikes planned in for the coming months, so be sure to keep an eye out for future adventures.

And keep in mind The Roaches is a fantastic sunrise and sunset spot in the Peak District, so if you get an opportunity to head over there I highly recommend it, and i’ll most likely see you there…

I led this hike on behalf of Ray of Sun Adventures, check out their upcoming adventures here