I decided to do this one yesterday, on the hottest day of the year so far. Perhaps not my most sensible decision. I further decided to take in a bit of Froggat Edge, so I could check out the stone circle, rather than sticking to cooler woodland paths! A fine walk, nonetheless. Padley Gorge is particularly beautiful, and would be fun paddling and scrambling with kids.
My route took me 14km (approx 8.7 miles) in 4 hours and 15 minutes, including a brief segment of getting lost in Haywood near Nether Padley (so perhaps don’t try following my GPS trail precisely).
Including The Fox House at the start, this walk offers stops at some nice pubs (The Grouse Inn and The Chequers Inn) and at the Grindleford Station Cafe.
Download file for GPSParking is at the National Trust at Longshaw, with on-road parking available nearby if you’re not a member and prefer to avoid the parking charge. The walk takes in several different landscapes, starting in some classic wooded National Trust parkland.
The stone circle on Froggat Edge is just off to the north of the path, nestled into the bracken.
I do love a gritstone edge.
Below the edge, and then again further down the path through Bee Wood to Froggatt itself, I found a few abandoned millstones.
The woodland path between Froggatt and Nether Padley, leading to Hay Wood, is charmingly bucolic but looks like it could get pretty boggy in wetter weather.
The walk up through Padley Gorge was charming, lots of places to tuck yourself into, cool your feet, and while away some time.
Overall a great walk, and one I’d do again.
I might also try looping around Froggatt Edge, Curbar Edge, and, above and to the west, White Edge and Big Moor. There’s a couple more stone circles up there, and I do like an edge. Looks fun.