Derbyshire and the Peak District National Park offers the walker a large network of footpaths, lanes and trails mostly established long ago by the area's inhabitants in travelling from their farms, churches, mines and markets.
The natural beauty of Dovedale and the Manifold Valley alone draw some 2 million visitors with queues forming at the famous stepping stones near the southern end of Dovedale at the busiest times. However avoiding bank holidays and sunny weekends, it is still possible to enjoy a ramble even here in relative peace.
Other areas are less well known and with a planned route, a map, and a pair of walking boots are just as exciting to explore and often far more rewarding. The problem often lies in finding suitable routes.
Here are some websites offering a variety of walks.
1.Walking Britain contains many Peak District walks which include Deepdale, Peak Forest, Upper Dovedale, the edges above Baslow, Axe Edge and Three Shire's Head, and Hathersage Moor.
2.Walks in the Peak District These include Kinder Scout, the Eastern Gritstone Edges, Win Hill, Abney and Bretton, Chatsworth, Flash and the Roaches, Crome Hill and Birchover and Stanton Moor.
3.Walking the White Peak Offers a variety of walks in thw White Peak from 3 to 14 miles and include Froggatt, Longshaw and Padley Gorge, Long Dale, Monsal, Lathkill and Alstonefield and Wolfscote Dale.
4.Go4awalk.com Go4awalk is an award winning subscription website with many Derbyshire and Peak District walks available.
5.Transpeak Walks TRANSPEAK WALKS is a 'not for profit' voluntary group which organises "free to the public" guided walks in The Peak District. We specialise in linear Station to Station walks, concentrating on The Hope Valley (Manchester - Sheffield), Buxton & Glossop railway lines.
Derwent Valley Heritage Way was opened in April 2003, a new 55-mile linear walk which runs from
Ladybower Reservoir in the north - through
some of the area's richest natural landscape
and industrial heritage - to Derwent Mouth,
where the river Derwent flows into the Trent,
in the south.
Highlights along the way include
the scenic stretch of the river between
Hathersage and Grindleford, the Chatsworth
Estate, the spectacular limestone cliffs at
Matlock Bath and the Derbyshire cradle of the
Industrial Revolution, the Derwent Valley
Mills World Heritage Site, where the factory
system was born.
More information and a map of the route can be found at Walking The Derwent Valley Heritage Way
Peak Tours is the Peak Districts leading cycling tours company & the only company which provides a cycle hire & delivery service. Peak Tours also offers a range of walking tours throughout the Peak District. For more information see Peak Tours
Another good website is Derbyshire Family Rambling
- a group of the Ramblers' Association
The Countryside and Rights of Way Bill of 2000 (CRow) gave you the right to walk across 'access land' in England and Wales. There are clear limitations, however. It only applies to clearly defined mountains, moors, heaths, downs and registered common land. It only applies to walkers and not to cyclists or horse riders. There are exclusions, too - on cultivated land for example. Access land can also be closed off by landowners for up to 28 days a year, and closed for routine management like heather burning, to protect wildlife, for defence reasons and for safety reasons.
Significantly, dogs must be kept on leads between 1st March and 31st July and always in the vicinity of livestock. In addition, you can be excluded from grouse moors and fields during lambing if you have a dog.
External LInks
www.roaches.org.uk - Walks and information on the Roaches
