A stroll through the beautiful peak district countryside from Bakewell, taking in the stunning Lathkill Dale and a section of the Limestone way
Bakewell to Chatsworth House loop - June 2022
Calke Abbey walk - May 2022
High Seat, High Tove and Armboth Fell - April 2022
Back of Skiddaw - Longlands Fell, Lowthwaite Fell, Brae Fell, Little Sca Fell, Great Sca Fell, Knott, Meal Fell and Great Cockup - April 2022
Lingmoor Fell - April 2022
Kielder Lakeside and Wave Chamber - November 2021
Downloads: GPX File | KML File | FIT File | Google Maps File | OS Online route
About Kielder Water | About Kielder Wave Chamber
Parking Location | OS Map | Current Weather
Setting out from the Hawkhope car park, we wanted to follow a short route to the Wave chamber built onto the lake. It was a late afternoon walk and with the weather wet and windy, we had decided on a small, sheltered walk through the woodland.
We started along the distinct path just above the car park and found it easy going. The path runs alongside the lake with water lapping up against the surface. Although rain was falling, the sun had come out on the opposite side of the lake, so the far-off views were spectacular. As we continued along the meandering path, following the lakes shore, we reached a small cliff face set out against the lake. Following this around, we started to get views of the Belling, a small outcrop in the direction of the Wave Chamber.
By this point, we had passed quite a few signs advising of downed trees due to the recent storm, and that we should take care, but luckily the main path had been cleared and there were no serious issues as we travelled along it.
Eventually, we came to the Belling. There was a small sign and some cones advising of too many downed trees and that this should be avoided. It looked fine, so we followed the path for a short while before discovering there were, in fact, many downed trees. Who would have thought! Although passable, they were probably a bit too much of a risk. We made the decision to turn around and unfortunately miss the wave chamber. If clear, is normally a simple walk around this outcrop.
Once back on the main route, the path carried on as expected and if we had more time, we would have looked at walking much further along the Kielder lakeside. As it was, it was getting a bit later and the winter night was starting to draw in, so we took a path on our right up onto the North Haul Road and this track takes you all the way back to the car.
This ‘road’ is just a wider track, and is used by some forestry vehicles, but none passed us on this day. It does mean that the path is muddy at points, but the higher-level walk through the woodland was nice and it is a very quick route back to the car.
It was a shame the storm had taken down so many trees blocking our route, but it is still a charming afternoon stroll without much difficulty.
Kielder Observatory Walk - Feb 2022
Otterburn Ranges, Chew Green Roman Fort and Pennine Way - February 2022
Downloads: GPX File | KML File | FIT File | Google Maps File | OS Online route
About Otterburn Ranges | About Chew Green Roman Fort | About Pennie Way
Parking Location | OS Map | Current Weather
Starting out in Byrness, we followed the main road until we hit the section where the Pennine way crosses over the road. We latch onto the path and then start the assent up the hill to take in this section of the Pennine way. This path is a direct route up the hill, a little unforgiving at first before taking in a steadier climb. It's mostly through woodland, and surprisingly considering this routh a main “way” it’s a small, albeit very clear path.
As we started to rise above the trees, the views became better and better. As we neared the edge of the woodland, we found a few trees down over the path. We managed to make our own way around these and then exited the woodland. Crossing over a forest path, we carried on up and headed over a much rockier section where the views out down the valley were extremely picturesque.
It was here we came across the first of a few military warning signs, stating that the ranges are a live firing area and to not wander into the ranges or pick anything up. The OS Map’s clearly lay this information out, so make sure you’re carrying one.
From here, we headed left, following the Pennine way. This takes you across a large hilly section of the Otterburn Ranges. It’s here that the beauty of the undulating raw hills comes out. It’s a wild place, and with the weather soon moving in, the harsh wind that had developed made it feel all the wilder. Making our way along the path, we passed a few more signs. Once we started to run more parallel with the woodland below us, the ground grew boggier in sections. Luckily, these are cut through with a wooded walkway or rocky steps, both of which make it very easy to not get wet feet. Eventually, we take a left turn to face Grindstone Law and Scotland. From here the path drops down and you still have the rawness of the area on show but with a view out to even more hills and mountains than before.
Still following the path running parallel to the wooded area to our left, we left the woodland behind and entered Scotland! About 20 minutes of walking through a grassy and bumpy path swings you around and heads towards the Roman fort. Winding back over the border into England again, we soon reached the fort. There isn’t much to see here, some obvious remains of a fort but as they’re all grass covered, I imagine the view is much better from above than ground level.
5 minutes of looking for old roman coins (because why not!) and we started back. We re-traced our steps back over the Scottish border, and then again into England before joining up with the path and the woodlands.
Here we went over a small hidden stile and took a permissive path through the forest. It is Forestry commission land here, so there is a substantial number of tree stumps over the floor between the small scattering of trees. It is bit of a rough trek here, there is no real path to follow and the tree stumps along with the thicker tree coverage means more concentration is needed for walking. As slow going as it was, it was still the most direct route back.
Once out of the main wooded section, we emerged onto a forest track. From here it is a case of walking the flat track all the way down the hill and back to the bottom. Just because it’s a generic forest track doesn’t mean it’s boring. It sweeps through the valley and even runs past a Bothy, all while still having fantastic views out to the valley bellow and the endless forests around the national park.
Once at the bottom, we followed the A68 back to where we had parked, there is no path here but there is plenty of space on the grass verge at the side of the road. In summary, this is a wonderful wild walk, taking in an interesting part of the UK. We will definitely be back exploring here in the future.
Hadrians wall and Greenlee Lough - Jan 2022
River dove Ashbourne tissington trail - January 2022
Downloads: GPX File | KML File | FIT File | Google Maps File | OS Online route
About River Dove | About Tissington Trail
Parking Location | OS Map | Current Weather
We started this route by heading into Thorpe and connecting briefly with the Limestone Way, before heading past the church and walking until a small path was found just over a stile to our left. This passes over a wide grassy field full of sheep. Here, there were great views of the hills and valleys both in front, and to the sides with a valley that the river Dove had carved away.
Reaching the bottom and over another stile, we headed into a small wood. This is where the path became very muddy. We had to take our time not to slip down the steep hill. After leaving more than a couple of large slip marks in the mud, we crossed a small wooden bridge, and the river Dove came fully into sight in front of us.
Taking the T junction left, heading over a stile, we found that the incredibly muddy hill was just the start! We had to cross a section of mud that was probably 3-4 inches deep with no real way around (check out the photos if you want to see just how muddy we got!) Once we had trudged our way over the mud patch and tried to clean up on the grass a little, the route became a little firmer.
The path follows alongside the river and is easy to follow without too much change in elevation. Mud continued to be a theme, but I suppose that’s what you get for walking the Peak District in a wet January. We carried on taking this path all the way to some wider fields where we skirted past Mapleton, before swinging back towards the river ...and back onto some muddier paths. Eventually the mud started take its toll and our pace suffered. At least we managed to stay up right! But luckily, things improved not too much further along, as the path made its way around the edge of a farmer's field. The ground here was much more stable and there was plenty to look at as a few birds of prey could be seen flying over the edge of the meadow.
The path begins to head off over Bentley Brook, at which point you can choose to carry following the river Dove to the right, or head left as we did and head towards Ashbourne. The path here is on a bankat the top of a sloping field, this made an awkward traverse, but at least it wasn’t muddy! Towards the end of the field, a small path appears to the right. This takes you directly into the heart of Ashbourne (a beautiful town if you’ve never been!) we followed the main steps down towards St Oswald's Church before swinging into the centre of town. After contemplating grabbing a coffee and cake, we realised that nobody in their right mind would allow our quite unbelievable muddy boots and knees in (no matter what the sign said), we decided to carry on into the heart of the town.
After a little picnic, we made our way to the main carpark and the start of the Tissington Trail. This is the magic part! We lumbered through the 350m brick lined historic train tunnel that runs under houses and roads of Ashbourne. It was surreal, and although not the normal natural view we love, it’s simply stunning. Definitely an experience to tick off if you are in the area. Once through this amazing landmark, the Tissington trail starts up proper. You quickly head down a small hill and over the river again, before the land heads back up. Expect lots of walkers and cyclists here, even in the cooler months. As you can imagine, being a disused railway, it’s flat and very quick. In fact, this whole section of the walk took about half the amount of time than the first and we didn’t even rush. There are some spots of views out, but most of the way you follow the wood lined path under and over tunnels before arriving back at an old train station where we leave the trail and back up to the car.
If you're considering this route, please do you’ll love it! However, I'd definitely recommend doing it in the drier months of the year to avoid the mud bath. Even then, take some gaiters!
