The High Peak Trail & Long Dale

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Route: Friden, High Peak Trail, Newhaven Crossing, Gotham, Chapel Plantation, Mouldridge Lane, Holly Bush Farm, Gratton Dale, Long Dale, Bolderstone Plantation, Friden

Date: 20/05/2024
From: Friden

Parking: Friden
Start Point: Friden
Finish Point: Friden
Region: Peak District National Park

Route length: 10.1km
Time taken: 02:49
Average speed: 4.3km/h
Ascent: 124m
Descent: 125m

Points of Interest: Gratton Dale, Long Dale

After two years down under, we were back in the mother country for a visit and keen to get through a few days of jet lag by getting out and about in the countryside, specifically the Peak District which is close to where we were staying for the week. It is estimated that 20 million people live within an hour's drive of the Peak District, making it one of the most popular national parks in the country.

In a bid for something fairly easy after a long time travelling across the world, we opted for a short circular along the High Peak Trail to the beautiful Long Dale, a deeply cut limestone valley which is common in the southern parts of the Peak District leading to its alternative name, the White Peak.

We made a brief stop at the Mapleton Lane car park, which serves the Tissington Trail, a popular 13-mile cycling route linking Ashbourne and Parsley Hay. Fees apply unless you hold a national park permit. There is a bike hire centre and a small cafe that serves some excellent coffee, perfect for warding off any sneaking jet lag.

Leaving a car behind, we then headed to a small car park close to Friden, adjacent to the Friden Brickworks, located part-way along the High Peak Trail.

The High Peak Trail forms much of the first half of the walk. It follows the route of the former Cromford and High Peak Railway. When it was built between 1825 and 1830, it became one of the world's first long-distance railway lines. What was remarkable at the time was the High Peak Railway Act of 1825 obtained for a stationary or locomotive steam engine at a time when the only other public steam railway in the world had just opened in Darlington (powered by George Stephenson's Locomotion No. 1 - the predecessor to The Rocket). Despite this, it wasn't until the 1860s that steam locomotives came to use the line.

The High Peak Trail

Smerrill Moor

Smerrill Barn

The High Peak Trail and Pennine Bridleway share the same route

Being an old railway line, the High Peak Trail is nice and flat with good views across the rolling green hills of the southern Peak District. You must cross the A5012 before the High Peak Trail curves between Gotham Granges and heads into Chapel Plantation. The curves were once the sharpest of any railway line in the world.

High Peak Trail

Pikehall

Minninglow Embankment can be seen in the distance over Gotham Granges

Chapel Plantation

We left the trail shortly after the plantation, following Mouldridge Lane. You'll get a good view of the impressive Minninglow Embankment, the Grade II listed structure that carries the High Peak Trail across a depression in the fields. The lane leads to Pikehall and the beautiful Gratton Dale.

Minninglow Embankment

Like many of the steep valleys in the area, Gratton Dale and Long Dale are excellent examples of limestone grassland environments. The right-hand side of the valley is a National Nature Reserve. The dale is grazed by cattle and sheep, which prevents the development of longer-growing flora and preserves the diversity of the plant life.

Gratton Dale

Gratton Dale

Long Dale

The path follows the course of Long Dale, staying at the base of the valley until around halfway. Even during the drier months, it can be wet and muddy down here. The second half of the path climbs out of the valley following a wall, giving some nice views, before dropping back in at Bolderstone Plantation.

There are some nice views as you leave Long Dale

Long Dale

Bolderstone Plantation

From Bolderstone Plantation, there's just a short section of walking along a lane back to the car park at Friden. After collecting our other car, we made the short drive to Bakewell to sample some local beers before making our way back to base camp for a well-earned, jet-lag-driven sleep.

Bakewell