Climbing & Walking in the Peak District National Park

Mill Cottage is ideally situated for walkers and climbers: with the Roaches and Hen Cloud outside the front door, there's little need to get in your car or on your bike. However, here are a few pointers for the inquisitive.

Dove Dale & Manifold Valley

Two of the most beautiful valleys in the Peak District are about 30 minutes drive from Mill Cottage. Most of the walking is easy, on good paths and tracks, and you're never far from water.

Here's one decent walk we've enjoyed - it's just under 10 miles, and takes you up and down about 1100 feet.

From the car park in Thorpe village (SK 155 505) take the footpath north to Lin Dale, which is a small beck at the base of Thorpe Cloud. Thorpe Cloud is the unmistakable pyramidal hill 110 metres (360 feet) above the car park.

When the river Dove is reached, turn right and walk up stream for 3.1 miles until Milldale (SK 139 547) is reached. The track is mainly flat, and soon becomes quieter and narrower. The motorway style of the first few kilometres bears testament to the popular nature of the area around the stepping stones. Most casual visitors turn back once the motorway section ends, and the rest of Dove Dale is much quieter. The sides of the gorge are not quite so steep further up the valley, but this does not in any way detract from its splendour.

Mill Dale is the first settlement along Dove Dale. At Milldale, turn left to head uphill (do not follow the River Dove).

1.2 miles later, the next village is Hope which has a public house where food and drink can be obtained.

From Hope, head south west (continuing uphill). The cross roads at SK 116 545 is the highest point of the walk and is exactly 1,000 feet above sea level (417 feet above the car park at Thorpe). Continue straight across the road and take the stile on the left some 400 metres from the cross roads.

For the first mile, the path meanders up and down. After this mile, the path starts to loose height as it approaches the hall at SK 123 524.

Pass to the right of the hall after which the footpath follows the track down to the valley floor. At the road junction, turn left and follow the road into Ilam.

Follow the road towards Thorpe. After crossing the River Dove (by the entrance to the Izaak Walton Hotel on the left), take the footpath to Thorpe. The footpath heads towards the church with a tower in Thorpe. When the footpath ends, make your way back to the car park.

The Roaches

Turn left out of the front door and you're at The Roaches and Hen Cloud in a few minutes. Offering hundreds of gritstone pitches at every grade, plus lots of bouldering opportunities, this is climbing heaven. Ramshaw Rocks, Newstones and Baldstones are all within hiking distance.

If you're a keen climber, and already know the ropes (sorry), then you're going to love this place. There are 282 routes from Diff right through to E7 at the Roaches, spread across the 5 cliff sections: the Lower Tier, Upper Tier, The Skyline and The Five Clouds. There are a further 94 routes on Hen Cloud (including some "proper" multi-pitch routes), and a further 170+ routes at Ramshaw, Newstones and Baldstones. Please note that Hen Cloud is subject to access restrictions at some times of year because of nesting birds.

A good climbing guide will help you make the most of your stay - Rockfax's "Western Grit" (ISBN 1-873341-80-6) is among the best.

Check out the databases on Rockfax's web site, and UKClimbing.com for more information on the great climbs in this area.

Please don't try to climb anything without the proper equipment; even bouldering at low level can be extremely dangerous.

There are a huge number of walks you can do from the cottage door, taking in Doxey's Pool, Lud's Church (thought to be the setting for part of Gawain and the Green Knight), the ominously named Hanging Stone and, if you're feeling fit, Danebridge (where there's a pub!).

Only a few hundred yards up the track over the ford, you can visit Danes Mill which is undergoing restoration. From here, we like to walk up the narrow valley around the back of Hen Cloud, and strike across the fields to the Middle Tier of the Roaches. The path leads you past many of the climbers' best pitches and boulders, until you reach a set of steps and a path taking you to the top.

On anything other than a rainy day (we get a few up here!), the walk along the Roaches from is fantastic, with views across Cheshire and into Wales. Continue along until you come to the road. If you turn left and follow the road back, you will return to the cottage, but crossing the road leads you to the woods above Lud's Church and Gradbach Youth Hostel.

Lud's Church is a roofless cave about 200 metres long, dripping with ferns and often slathered in mud. The woods here are full of blueberries in late summer and autumn, and the river at the bottom is pretty damn idyllic.

Gradbach Youth Hostel is a converted mill, worth the detour if you're even vaguely interested in the industrial heritage of the area. Following the well marked path by the River Dane will eventually bring you to Danebridge.

If you'd like to plan some walks before you come, check out the excellent www.trailroutes.com or www.go4awalk.co.uk. Both sites make a small charge for excellent route descriptions and maps. However, to save you money, there are usually a lot of old copies of Trail magazine at Mill Cottage featuring many Peak routes.

Tittesworth Reservoir

Below Upperhulme lies Tittesworth Reservoir, which provides water for much of the surrounding area. It's a lovely place for a gentle stroll after lunch at the Rock or the Three Horseshoes. You can reach the reservoir by taking an old road called Whitty Lane - this is signposted as path from the road as you approach the Roaches from Upperhulme. You'll need an OS map to identify sections of it!

There is a great playground for kids at Tittesworth, a visitors' centre with a lakeside restaurant, and a couple of ice-cream and drinks kiosks. You can do worse than spend an hour or two in the sunshine watching the wind on the water, or ambling round one of the nature trails.

From Tittesworth, a short drive or walk will take you to Meerbrook, and the Lazy Trout pub. Suitably refreshed, you can follow the road (taking signs for Roche Grange) or paths back up to the Roaches and then down into Upper Hulme.

For more information, please contact us.