Beacon Hill Country Park encompasses a nature area with trails, rustic play equipment for kids, sculptures, an arboretum, and even a rhododendron labyrinth. For me, the rhododendron labyrinth was the top attraction! For some unknown reason, exploring rhododendron dells as a child is a key memory for me, so I'm always happy to come across one, and this one has easily walkable paths cut through it…
Built in 1771 by Sir Richard Arkwright, Cromford Mill is the world’s first successful water-powered cotton spinning mill. Today, the mill buildings house a variety of independent shops and a small museum, all of which are free to explore. To visit, there is (paid) parking on site (53°06'34.5"N 1°33'17.2"W)
Lying just behind The Druid Inn in the village of Birchover is a fascinating cave complex known as Rowtor Rocks. It consists of numerous interlinked tunnels and caverns, some natural and some man-made. A series of steps, thrones and altars have also been carved out of the stone around the place. There are plenty of opportunities for climbing, hiding, and adventures... but do watch the children as this is a…
Stanton Moor is an area of gritstone that stands between the villages of Stanton in Peak to the north and Birchover to the south. It contains the remains of 2 definite stone circles (Nine Ladies and Doll Tor) and 3 other possible circles or ring cairns (Stanton Moor North, Central and South), as well as Earl Grey Tower, and the cork stone (climb it if you can). All of these are held in an environment that…
We chose to walk from where we were already parked, rather than move to the nearer parking, which meant we had an extra walk through misty woods - that otherwise wouldn't have been the case. To me, this only added to the magical feeling of the day, watching the fog clear and the sun come out as we approached the Tor was breathtakingly beautiful! Because of…
Also known as the Grey Ladies, this circle has only 4, of the original 9, stones remaining. The tallest remaining standing stones of any prehistoric site in Derbyshire, they stand isolated in a farmer's field on Harthill Moor. (You can read more about them here) Also on route are Robin Hood's Stride (yes, more rocks with a name. 😂) and Hermit's Cave. To visit, we parked…
Arbor Low is an impressive example of a Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age henge. Standing almost 400 metres above sea level, its earthwork enclosure is defined by a bank and internal ditch which is about 90 metres in diameter. It has two entrance gaps (or causeways as they are sometimes called) facing north-west and south-south-east. It is made up of 50 large limestone slabs that encircle a central cove of 7…
Magpie Mine is a well-preserved disused lead mine, one of several such ventures working different lead veins in the same area. The earliest recorded workings there date from 1740. Right from the start, the miners had difficulty in keeping the workings free from water, but by 1824, a Newcomen-type pumping engine had been erected on the Main Shaft. This led to the production of 800 tons of…
Resting on windswept moors and in shady woodlands throughout the Peak District are more than a thousand abandoned millstones, covered with lichen and moss, weather-worn and often hidden to all that pass by. Lawrencefield is one of the places where you can find hundreds of them! These huge stone ‘wheels’ are so synonymous with the Peak District that ornamental versions grace every sign on key routes into…
I wouldn't go out of my way to see Owler Tor, but as it's between two beautiful spots - Padley Gorge and Lawrencefield - we stopped on the way back from Lawrencefield. The fog rolled in making views impossible, but adding an atmospheric feel to what was an otherwise unremarkable place. To visit, we parked in a layby on the B6521 (53°18'40.0"N 1°37'05.5"W). There are steps…
Padley Gorge is only a stone's throw from civilization, but it certainly doesn't feel like it. Walking from the moorlands into the ravine tumbles you through wizened woodlands, little changed in centuries; ferns and mushrooms flourish in the damp ground; Burbage Brook's cascades and falls providing the sound of an ancient song flowing through the depths; with the occasional millstone, abandoned long ago, reminding you of forgotten…
Stanage Edge is a gritstone escarpment, famous as a location for climbing If you wander beneath many of the Peak District's edges, you will see reminders of the area's history - large millstones abandoned on the ground. Stanage Edge is one of those places. Continue past the millstones and up to the top of Stanage Edge and you can wander along the ridge, soaking in the far-reaching…