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Fox House - Burbage Bridge - Hathersage - Padley Gorge Circular.

Difficulty Moderate

Walking time 4 hours 40 minutes

Length 14.9km / 9.3mi

Route developer: Steve Hughes

Route checker: Christine Whittaker

Start location Fox House Inn, Hathersage Road (A6187), Sheffield.
Route Summary A walk of stunning contrasts featuring moorland hills and edges, spectacular views, riverside paths, a wooded gorge, a National Trust estate, the attractive village of Hathersage and historic buildings all within the eastern Peak District.
*move mouse over graph to see points on route
Getting there

By car: The car park (free) is located adjoining the Fox House Inn with access directly from the A6187. There is also a pay-and-display car park nearby in the grounds of the Longshaw estate (free to National Trust members).

By public transport:  Bus Services from Sheffield, Buxton and Matlock call at Fox House. For details visit  www.travelsouthyorkshire.com

Description

[1] Leave the car park past the picnic tables at the back of the Fox House Inn down to and through a gate. Follow the path as it gradually bears right into the Burbage Brook Valley. Keep right as the path ascends up on to the edge and continue left along the top of the rocks. Eventually the path descends a little to cross another path. Keep ahead along the edge of the valley, above the rocks, to reach the road at Burbage Bridge. Follow the road round into the car park.

[2] Go through the gate to the left of the car park then almost immediately take the path on the right. Continue ahead towards Higger Tor climbing the steps to the top, with its great views over Carl Wark (A), the surrounding moors, Stanage Edge, and the Derwent and Hope Valleys.. Here turn right and descend to the road. Cross and go over the stile opposite. Shortly turn left and follow a path as it steeply descends to a stile. Cross and turn right along a track as it continues downhill past a ruined farmhouse and over a bridge before climbing up to a road. Turn left and follow the road downhill, but look our for a gate on your right. Go through gate and follow the track uphill until it bears right and levels out just before Toothill Farm.

[3] Go through a gate on the left and descend diagonally right across two fields before bearing left down to a stile. Cross and follow the path, soon becoming a narrow lane, downhill. Before reaching a cottage go through a kissing gate on the right and follow the path as it bears left to emerge through a gate at the back of Hathersage Parish Church. Turn right on to a lane, shortly turning left through a gate in the churchyard wall. Continue ahead then turn right (at the side of the church) past the cemetery down to Baulk Lane. Turn left then take the next right (Besom Lane) down to the main road (A6187) in the centre of Hathersage (B) and along to the George Hotel.

[4] Cross the main road and enter Station Road (B6001). Immediately before the Little John public house turn right and follow a lane as it continues under a railway viaduct until a gatehouse is reached on the right and the lane bends sharply to the left. Here continue ahead on a field track and then path until you reach the B6001 close to Leadmill Bridge. Cross the road and enter a lane to Harper Lees. Follow the lane along the River Derwent until just before the entrance to Harper Lees. Here turn left and follow a path as it heads uphill underneath the railway and through a gate. Soon turn left and follow the path past Kettle House farm into woodland (Rough Wood). Continue ahead until you leave the wood through a gate. Bear left uphill and after another gate bear right to join a track passing Padley Chapel (C) heading towards Grindleford station.

[5] Just before the station, where the track crosses Burbage Brook, take a path over a stile on the left up into Padley Gorge. Follow the steep path ahead uphill through the wooded gorge and at junction with path ahead, turn left and continue until it emerges onto the B6521. Turn left for a short distance then cross before immediately turning right on to a narrow path which initially parallels the road before turning left into woodland. Follow the path as it winds uphill, keeping left at a fork, to a fence. 

[6] Turn left after a gate in this fence into more open land and continue ahead, joining a track which eventually crosses two streams. Soon after the second stream you reach a grassy track through the bracken on the right. Take this diagonal track into trees, which soon becomes ill-defined, keeping straight ahead until you reach a path next to a small lake. Turn right on to this path and follow it round to Longshaw Lodge (D). Continue past the Lodge, its shop and cafe, and go left along the access road. Immediately before the gates (onto the B6521) take a path on the right uphill through trees to emerge on to the A6187. Cross in front of the Fox House Inn and walk round to the car park and the start of the walk.

 

POI information

(A) Carl Wark Iron Age Hillfort  www.stone-circles.org.uk/stone/carlwark.htm

(B) Hathersage  www.peakdistrictinformation.com/towns/hathersage.php

(C) Padley Chapel  www.hallam-diocese.com/visiting-padley-chapel.html

(D) Longshaw Estate and Visitor Centre  www.nationaltrust.org.uk/longshaw

Notes

Map:  OS Explorer Maps OL1 and OL24.

Refreshments: There are a number of pubs and cafes on route (Fox House, Hathersage, Grindleford Station and Longshaw).

Visitor Information:  www.visitpeakdistrict.com/.../visitor-information.aspx

Local Ramblers Group:  Sheffield Ramblers   www.sheffieldramblers.org

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to The Crowood Press. http://www.crowood.com/default.asp  for their permission to include this walk on the Ramblers Routes website.  The walk is based on a walk from their book ‘100 Walks in Yorkshire’ - part of their 100 walk books series - an updated version is soon to be published.  The Ramblers of South Yorkshire and North East Derbyshire have been asked to assist in updating a number of the walks.

  • Higger Tor with Carl Wark in front, soon after leaving Fox House.
    Higger Tor with Carl Wark in front, soon after leaving Fox House.
    By - Steve Hughes.
  • Looking along the Burbage Brook Valley towards Burbage Bridge (in the far distance) with Higger Tor on the left and Burbage Rocks on the right.
    Looking along the Burbage Brook Valley towards Burbage Bridge (in the far distance) with Higger Tor on the left and Burbage Rocks on the right.
    By - Steve Hughes.
  • Looking over Hathersage and the Derwent Valley from Toothill Farm track.
    Looking over Hathersage and the Derwent Valley from Toothill Farm track.
    By - Steve Hughes.
  • The path alongside the River Derwent on the approach to Harper Lees.
    The path alongside the River Derwent on the approach to Harper Lees.
    By - Steve Hughes.
  • On the path through Rough Wood with Millstone Edge in the distance.
    On the path through Rough Wood with Millstone Edge in the distance.
    By - Steve Hughes.
  • Burbage Brook from the bridge in Padley Gorge near Grindleford Station. The path runs up through the trees to the right.
    Burbage Brook from the bridge in Padley Gorge near Grindleford Station. The path runs up through the trees to the right.
    By - Steve Hughes.
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