Walking in the Peak District - White Peak East

42 walks in Derbyshire including Bakewell, Matlock and Stoney Middleton

By Paul Besley

ISBN

9781852849764

Availability

Published

16 May 2020

Reprinted

15 Oct 2022

Edition

Third

Pages

232

Size

17.20 x 11.60 x 1.60cm

Weight

260g

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Guidebook describing 42 half-day and day walks in the limestone landscapes of Derbyshire's White Peak, part of the Peak District National Park. One of two volumes, this book covers the east of the region, with potential bases including Bakewell, Eyam, Castleton, Birchover, Matlock and Wirksworth.

Seasons

Walking in the Peak District is enjoyable all year round although the famous limestone landscapes can be slippery in or after wet weather. A snowy winter walk in the White Peak can be an enchanting experience.

Centres

Ashbourne, Bakewell, Calver, Chatsworth, Cromford, Eyam, Hope, Matlock, Middleton, Monyash, Parwich, Stoney Middleton, Tissington, Tideswell, Youlgrave, Wirksworth, Winster

Difficulty

Ranging between 4 and 12 miles in length and largely following well-marked paths over gentle landscapes, these walks are suitable for walkers of all abilities. Free GPX files available to aid navigation.

Must See

Market town of Bakewell; medieval village of Tissington; plague village of Eyam; Thorpe's Norman church; Chatsworth House; Haddon Hall; Cromford World Heritage Site; Stanton Moor stone circle; the Dales of Lathkill and Cressbrook; Thorpe Cloud; the Monsal Trail; the Companion Stones on White Edge; limestone plateaus; Neolithic burial site of Arbor Low; the Headstone Viaduct

ISBN

9781852849764

Availability

Published

16 May 2020

Reprinted

15 Oct 2022

Edition

Third

Pages

232

Size

17.20 x 11.60 x 1.60cm

Weight

260g

Overview

This guidebook provides 35 day walks and 7 longer walks and trails exploring the eastern section of Derbyshire's limestone area. The walks are spread across the area, starting in pleasant towns and villages including Bakewell, Tissington, Eyam and Middleton. Largely travelling along well-marked paths over gentle rolling landscapes, these walks are suitable for walkers of all abilities.

The day walks range between 4 and 12 miles in length, and are illustrated with extracts of 1:50,000 OS mapping, while the longer walks and trails are covered by 1:100,000 scale mapping. Walkers can use the longer trails to link day walks into longer routes or explore the area on the three-day White Peak Circular, starting in Birchover.

While geologically fascinating with its layers of limestone and gritstone, the White Peak is also a landscape rich in history and art. These walks visit sites including medieval churches, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Cromford Mill, and Eyam, a village devastated by plague in the 1660s. Out on the hills are stone circles and ancient sites such as the Neolithic burial site of Arbor Low.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS

Map key

Overview map

Introduction

Geology

Plants and wildlife

History

Local communities

Customs

Peak District National Park

Local services and transport

The walks

Responsible walking

Maps and navigation

Using this guide

Northern section

Walk 1 Bradwell to Offerton

Walk 2 Hope to Shatton

Walk 3 Longshaw to Curbar Gap

Walk 4 Grindleford to White Edge

Walk 5 Foolow to Wardlow

Walk 6 Eyam to Abney

Walk 7 Eyam to Grindleford

Walk 8 Eyam Village

Walk 9 Tideswell to Cressbrook

Walk 10 Curbar to Gardom’s Edge

Walk 11 Calver to Hassop

Walk 12 Calver to Great Longstone

Walk 13 Taddington to Monsal Dale

Walk 14 Chatsworth to Beeley

Walk 15 Ashford in the Water to Monsal Head

Walk 16 Bakewell to Chatsworth

Walk 17 Bakewell to Monsal Head

Walk 18 Bakewell to Over Haddon

Walk 19 Monyash to Sheldon

Walk 20 Rowsley to Birchover

Southern section

Walk 21 Youlgreave to Elton

Walk 22 Middleton to Elton

Walk 23 Middleton to Kenslow Knoll

Walk 24 Winster to Bonsall

Walk 25 Matlock to Dethick

Walk 26 Biggin to Minninglow

Walk 27 Cromford to Black Rock

Walk 28 Cromford to Crich

Walk 29 Middleton to Harboro Rocks

Walk 30 Brassington to Kniveton

Walk 31 Parwich to Alsop en le Dale

Walk 32 Parwich to Tissington

Walk 33 Wirksworth to Alport Height

Walk 34 Tissington to Thorpe Cloud

Walk 35 Ashbourne to Thorpe

Long Walks and Trails

Walk 36 Derwent Valley Heritage Way

Walk 37 Eastern Gritstone Trail

Walk 38 Limestone Way

Walk 39 White Peak Circular

White Peak Trails

Walk 40 High Peak Trail

Walk 41 Tissington Trail

Walk 42 Monsal Trail

Appendix A Route summary table

Appendix B Useful websites

Appendix C Bibliography and further reading

Maps

Maps and navigation

The best map for the area is the Ordnance Survey White Peak OL24 1:25000. OL1 Dark Peak and OS Explorer 259 would also be useful. The Harvey/BMC White Peak 1:40000 has a wealth of information and covers the area well. Smartphone apps are now becoming more prevalent in their use. The GPX files of the walks are available for download from the Cicerone website.

While signposts and fingerposts are useful, a compass can always ensure you are walking in the right direction.

Updates

October 2023

Updates

White Peak Walks East Third Edition (Reprinted 2022)

Walk 2 Hope to Shatton (Page 37)

The text should read:

Where the road forks, bear right down Bowden Lane, cross the bridge over the River Noe, then turn immediately right on to a stone track leading to a fenced lane.

Walk 6 Eyam to Abney (Page 58)

Derbyshire County Council closed this path in May 2022 until at least April 2025. Motor vehicles are no longer allowed on that section of road. In view of the length of time and the precarious situation I have completely revised that section of the walk.

The text should read:

Due to a landlsip in the area the following section of the walk has been rerouted.

Go through two gates along the path and, at the stone wall running N-S, pass through the gate and head NW downhill to cross a footbridge over Bretton Brook. Follow the signposts NNE uphill to a stone wall. Go through the gate and follow the wall on your right round the field passing the farm at Abney Grange and exiting on to a minor road via a stone stile. Turn left up the road until you come to a fingerpost on the left just before the road junction. Follow its direction heading SW to the field corner. Go through the next gate, following the fence downhill, cross a small brook then continue uphill along the fenceline. Pass through a small gate and cross the large field SW keeping the woodland ahead, to your left. Descend to a small building, cross the stream and ascend the opposite bank. At the top of the field exit via the gate then walk to the fingerpost ahead, leading on to a minor road. Go left down the road until you come to stone steps on the right. Descend the steps to take the footpath immdeiately left down through the brush exiting via a gate on to the road. Walk diagonally left across the road to take the footpath to Grindlow.

New GPX has been provided. The map is shown.

Walk 8 Eyam Village (Page 64)

The text should read:

I recommend continuing into the village to visit Eyam Hall, and the village craft and information centre, opposite. Then, walk N, back along Church Street taking the next left down New Close, then left into Dunlow Lane.

Walk 11 Calver to Hassop (Page 77)

Actual distance is 12.65km (7.86 miles). New GPX has been provided. The map is below.

Walk 16 Bakewell to Chatsworth

I have made a small change to the map for clarity. New GPX has been provided. The map is below.

Walk 17 Bakewell to Monsal Head

The book description is correct. However, the map is incorrect. New GPX has been provided. The map is below.

Walk 22 Middleton to Elton

The book description is correct. However, the map is incorrect. New GPX has been provided. The map is below.

August 2023

Walk 11 Calver to Hassop

Third Edition (Reprinted 2022)
Page 77, paragraph 1
It should read:
'Where the lane meets a minor road, bear diagonally left and walk along Mill Farm Close. At the end, enter a passage between two fences.'

Reviews

Everything I want out of a walking guide. I heartily recommend it

First published in 2004, this is the third edition of Paul Besley's guide of over forty walks covered by the eastern sheet of Ordnance Survey White Peak map OL24. This means no folding, unfolding, flapping or tearing of the map to locate the routes.

The book starts with an eloquent introduction of the area's geology, flora, history and customs, supported by a bibliography. The walks are grouped into northern and southern sections, four long walks and trails, and the three White Peak trails. Lastly there is a route summary table for quick reference.

I get a frisson of excitement whenever I spot one of the Society's signposts in a walking book. Paul Besley is clearly appreciative of PNFS's efforts in keeping a "watchful eye on the footpaths" and its signposts, and one of his routes takes the walker past S456.

About the walks, they are 5-12 miles long with most being 7-8 miles. Each route is headed by essential details such as start/finish location, distance, terrain, and parking, and a brief description of the area to be covered. The route directions are very clearly written with each location or feature to be passed highlighted in bold text. Excellent colour photographs enhance them and items of interest are described but do not impede the flow of the directions. A very useful feature is that each walk is accompanied by an extract of an OS 1:50000 map with the route clearly outlined. I would have preferred this to be 1:25000 but the book's pocket size precludes this. The four long walks range between 22 and 42 miles consequently they are accompanied by two or three 1:100000 map extracts. The three White Peak trails which are on disused railway tracks are given similar treatment as they are 10-15 miles long. GPX tracks for the routes are available to download from Cicerone's website.

For many years my husband and I have had holidays in the Peak District, accompanied by a 1993 edition Pathfinder Guide which use 1:25000 map extracts. As many of its pages are now becoming loose and its routes getting predictable with much custom, it was with great interest that I opened Walking in the Peak District - White Peak East. I was delighted with it, especially with the very well-presented route descriptions being accompanied by an OS map. It has everything I want out of a walking guide. I know that it will serve us very well for many more trips and I heartily recommend it to all walkers who love the Peak District. It will be followed by another by the same author covering the western sheet of the White Peak map next year and I look forward to getting a copy of it.

Shirley Addy, Editor and Footpath Inspector

Downloads

Walking in the Peak District - White Peak East - GPX File

Paul Besley

Paul Besley is a writer who began exploring the British Landscape while at school in the 1970s. His focus of work is the interaction between human and the land. His work has evolved into the study of how the physical environment imprints itself on humans and how as a race we respond. His belief that walking is a simple activity has led him to support the effort of many just starting out on a lifetime of pleasure. He has a desire to show people that walking does not just have to be in the hills and mountains of national parks or rely on expensive equipment but can be enjoyed from the front door of home through our urban landscape and out into our local countryside. His books, Day Walks in the South Pennines and 1001 Walking Tips for Vertebrate Publishing, and the three Peak District guidebooks for Cicerone Press, are well respected by walkers and explorers of all ages. He lives close to the Peak District in The Outdoor City of Sheffield with his partner, metalsmith Alison Counsell, their three dogs Monty, Olly, and Scout.

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