[1] Leaving Hope Station on the south side, turn immediately left along the lane marked Private. In 100m turn right on a path, over a stile then a field to the A6187. Go left along the road for 180m then look for a stile in the hedge on the right. Go diagonally left across the field to the hamlet of Brough. To the right, below the grassland between the 2 rivers are buried the remains of the Navio Roman Fort. Take the road right over the footbridge with the Derwent weir and mill on the right then in 150m turn up a lane on the left then immediately right in front of cottages. Turn left and go through a gate into a field. At a fence go left up to a Footpath sign which you follow towards Bradwell. At the second field the path bears right to the right hand side of a hedge line which it then crosses through an old gate. Cross a stile, then continue on the waymarked path maintaining direction across several fields and a farm track to emerge on a lane by a barn conversion in Bradwell. Bear left. Throughout you will see the chimney and enclosed crushers and conveyor belts of the Lafarge cement works. The Peak Mountain Rescue is also based here.
(A) Bradwells’ award-winning Dairy Ice Cream is nationally famous and has been made here since 1899 when Grandma Hannah Bradwell had ice brought by train from Sheffield and first made her legendary recipes in her front parlour on the corner of Bridge Street. Her Grandson Noel Bradwell carried on the business from the 1960's until it was sold ten years ago to Lawrence Wosskow. These days, with a factory across the road at Wortley Court producing a million litres of ice cream a year in 16 different flavours Bradwell Ice Cream continues to win national awards and is still sold from the busy ice-cream parlour where it was originally made. Or enjoy some at Edale tea shop.
Brookside is an attractive area of Bradwell and at one time held the headquarters of Messrs. Evans Bros who in the 19th century produced telescopes, opera glasses and spectacles. Bradwell also contained no less than six hat makers and retailers producing the ‘Bradder Beaver’. These hats were worn by generations of lead miners. The last hatter was Job Middleton who died in 1899.
[2] At the traffic lights turn left along the main street past the church, then immediately bear left on a side street up some steps and continue ahead on Bessie Lane. Bear down left to join Edge Lane. The metalled road leads into a rough enclosed path to Bradwell Edge through a gate, climbing the hillside. Keep right with the fence on your right all the way up this strenuous climb which can be overgrown and slippery. At a stone go right to continue by the fence. Eventually the path opens out and climbs to a wall at a squeeze stile. Continue across two fields (with views of Stanage Edge distant left) via a gateway then cross another wall into a walled track used by paragliders to bring their equipment to the hilltop and by off-roaders. Turn right.
[3] In 100m leave the track at a seat via a stile on the right on a faint track over Abney Moor. After the end of the fence on your right, the track bears left (c 142°) then becomes clearer as it bends up right again then starts to descend towards the trees at Grange Farm. 20 mins after the seat stile, reach another stile into a road. Cross diagonally right to go down to the drive towards the farm. Just before the buildings cross the wall on the right, under a tree to a small gate at the field bottom, then turn left to zig zag right steeply down to the bridge at the bottom of Bretton Clough. Cross this and bear left for 100m, then right to climb straight up to join some old steps by a fence on the other side of the clough. At the top cross the wall on to a road along the ridge from Sir William Hill.
[4] Cross straight over the road to descend on a sometimes slippery path, through two gates into fields alongside a wall to join Bradshaw Lane in the same direction.The lower field is occupied by cows and when there are calves an option is to turn left before the second gate onto the well-used level cross path which joins Bradshaw Lane higher up, then turning right down it to the bottom. In 6 mins pass a well on the right,and enter the village of Foolow.
(B) Foolow was formerly a lead-mining village and many of the houses are from the 17th century. The mere, or pond, is fed by natural springs and the shaft of the village cross is medieval, though the base is more recent and has a bull-baiting ring attached to it. There are no shops but there is a pub, the Bull's Head.
The area around is limestone and the village stands on the 'Foolow Beds'. Huge, deep slabs of Carboniferous limestones that mark the transition at the ridge just crossed from the gritstone of the Dark Peak in the north to the White Peak in the south. There is much evidence of lead-mining locally. There are also some interesting geological features, such as Waterfall Swallet, where one of the local streams disappears underground. This lies to the north of the road to Eyam.
Bear left past the pond, green and the pub. Go right at the junction, and as you leave the village look for a Footpath after a barn conversion on the left. Go in front of this over a wall, then bear left to a gate in the field`s left wall. The way towards Eyam is now clearly marked by a range of stiles and gates. In the limestone step on one stile several fields on the crinoids and other fossils from Derbyshire`s geological past can be clearly seen. After 7 fields cross the diminutive Linen Dale then after several more fields keeping direction, descend through 3 fields to cross a lane into a snicket. Down steps cross the next lane and continue down through another snicket to emerge on the main village street opposite the craft shops and cafes of Eyam Hall, which is now leased to the National Trust and recently opened to the public.
(C) Eyam - the Plague Village. In August 1665, bubonic plague arrived at the house of village tailor George Vicars via a parcel of material from London. The tailor died from the plague within a week and by the end of September five more villagers had died. Twenty three more died in October. Some of the villagers suggested that they should flee the village but the rector William Mompesson persuaded them not to do this as he feared that they would spread the plague into the north of England that had more or less escaped the worst of it. In fact, the village decided to quarantine itself from the outside world even though it would eventually mean death for 260 villagers over the next 14 months. The villagers were supplied with food from outside the village. People left supplies at the parish stones that marked the boundary and the villagers left coins sterilised in a trough filled with vinegar.
The plague peaked in August 1666, and claimed the rector’s wife Catherine on the last Sunday. An annual remembrance service is still held on this Sunday. You can see her tomb in the churchyard, and there are information boards in the church. The Riley Graves contain the seven bodies of the Hancock family. Eyam Museum is at the west end of the village.
[5] Turn right on the road past the village green (a good place to stop), the Sheep Roast, Plague Cottage and the Church, keeping left on Church Street. Continue ahead past a tea shop to join New Road, then after leaving the village take the lane on the left going up through a wood. This ascends to pass the Riley Graves on the left with views ahead of the Derwent Valley towards Chatsworth. In 200m turn right off the lane to descend through another wood then right again more steeply down a heavily eroded track to a field to rejoin the road at a sharp bend. Cross over carefully to a gate half left, to continue descending down two fields to a main road. Cross over into a lane leading down to the River Derwent and cross the river at Froggatt Bridge. Turn left on Hollowgate passing Derwent Farm and at a chapel on the right continue ahead on Spooner Lane. You now are on a delightful section of the Derwent Valley Heritage Way which runs parallel to the river for 2 km to Grindleford Bridge. Follow the purple waymarks bearing right at the end of a wall. The path goes through Froggatt Wood and continues across fields to the B6521 near the bridge.(The walk could be shortened here if wished or train times pressing by turning right on the B6521 to the station drive opposite the hotel).
[6] Turn right up the road past houses on your left, then take the DVHW path left alongside the river. The waymarked path keeps to the right hand side of the long second field to cross the outflow of Burbage Brook at the right hand corner. Here (leaving the Derwent Valley Heritage Way) turn right on a muddy path to go up the left hand edge of a field. At the top, after a wall, bear right to a sign at a break in the far wall, then go right on a track which crosses the railway through a gate into a lane. Turn right past Padley Chapel, then a mill on the left where you re-cross Burbage Brook to arrive at Grindleford Station and Café if you are early for the next train.
Padley chapel was originally the private chapel of Padley Hall, owned by Sir Thomas Fitzherbert following his marriage to Anne Eyre in the mid 16th century. The Hall was regularly raided for evidence of Catholic worship until, in July 1588, two priests were found hiding within the walls. Nicholas Garlick and Robert Ludlam were found guilty of high treason and, together with Richard Sympson who shared their faith, were hung, drawn and quartered at Derby before the month was out, with their butchered remains stuck on to poles on St. Mary’s Bridge. They became known as the ‘Padley Martyrs’. Sir Thomas spent the rest of his life in the Tower of London and died there in 1591. Padley Manor was confiscated by the Crown.
Although Padley Hall eventually fell into ruin, its domestic chapel remained standing to serve for many years as a farm building. Then in 1933 it was restored as a Roman Catholic chapel and a pilgrimage to the martyrs is held here each year in July. It is sometimes open to visitors on Saturdays.