Cover of the novel Climbers by M. John Harrison

In M. John Harrison’s 1989 novel, Climbers, the action moves all over the United Kingdom but his climbers, whose sordid lives are transformed through their passion for their sport, are rooted in this area. Here they are climbing at Stanage Edge, and escarpment within Peak District National Park in Derbyshire: “Suddenly it was no effort. I could smell the damp bracken; and the curious spicy odour of the gritstone in front of my face. I could feel the new boots, edging on a tiny quartz pebble......and my hands as they selected and rejected a finger pocket, a little rib....”