Deep Dale

 

DEEP DALE

July 17, 2024

ASHFORD-IN-THE-WATER, MONSAL HEAD, MONSAL DALE, WHITE LODGE ON A6, DEEP DALE, COCK AND PULLET IN SHELDON VILLAGE, KIRK DALE, BULL’S HEAD IN ASHFORD

Distance: 8 miles Ascent/descent: 1,385ft

Difficulty: Easy.

Weather: Dry, warm and mainly sunny

Walkers: Peter Beal, Mike Cassini, Tom Cunliffe with Daisy, Mark Gibby, Chris Owen, Simon Williams

Alternative walkers: Jock Rooney with Milly

Apologies: Alan Hart (at grandson’s graduation in London), Andy Blease (domestic duties), Mark Enright (hols), Alastair Cairns (too far from Silverdale), Keith Welsh (dog training), Dean Taylor (cash-and-carry duties), Cliff Worthington (hols), Julian Ross (unclear)

Leader: Beal Diarist: Beal

Starting point: Outside Holy Trinity Church, Ashford-in-the-Water, near Bakewell.

Starting time: 9.52am Finishing time: 2.37pm

                                              

For once, in this so-far pretty miserable summer we were met with warm (nay, almost hot) sunny weather for a walk into two of Derbyshire’s more scenic dales.

We met in front of the church in the centre of the attractive village of Ashford-in-the-Water and walked past Rafters Hotel, a restaurant with rooms where a stay with dinner can cost £500 a couple.

We bore right at the foot of Vicarage Lane and after a short distance took a footpath on the left signed Monsal Head. This went uphill up stone steps between gardens and houses to emerge in a field.

The path crossed the fields and bore slightly right to cross a stone stile and emerge on Pennyunk Lane, a substantial track where we turned left. This took us past a farmhouse conversion where renovation work that was going on on our last visit a year ago was still underway. Shortly after this the track ended and we were taken on to a narrower and in places somewhat overgrown footpath. The rampant vegetation was to be a feature of today’s walk.

A short distance along the path we came across Jock and Milly, on their way to Monsal Head before joining us later. After around half-a-mile, the path swung left and then sharp right to bring us to the hillside above Monsal Dale (45 minutes). The path turned right with the foot of the valley far below us and became increasingly overgrown and eroded, calling for some care.

                                                

Shortly before reaching the Monsal Head Hotel, we took a sharp left turn downhill, signed White Lodge. Below us, we could see walkers and cyclists on Headstone Viaduct, part of the Monsal Trail. The eight-and-a-half mile trail is on the trackbed of the former Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway, built in 1863 to link Manchester and London and closed in 1968.

It was open to walkers in 1981 but involved long diversions until six formerly-closed tunnels, some of them a quarter of a mile long, were opened in 2011 and lit during the day, making the trail fully accessible to walkers and cyclists. There have been local calls for the route to be reopened as a railway, but so far the idea does not seem to have built up much steam (ho!ho!).

The going underfoot improved after the path junction and we dropped gently at first and then more steeply to reach the foot of the valley at a large weir. We crossed the River Wye on a footbridge and pietime was declared on the grassy riverbank in the sunshine (76 min).

The 15-mile-long river, which rises above Buxton on Axe Edge Moor before flowing under the town, is renowned for being crystal-clear and clean and well-known for its abundance of brown and rainbow trout.

Resuming, we followed the broad, if at times muddy, path up the river bank before scaling a stone stile to emerge on the A6 (101 min). We crossed this to reach the picnic area at White Lodge. A well-signed footpath here pointed us towards the Deep Dale nature reserve.

We followed the path through limestone, crossing a rocky stream to ascend a stile before climbing gently to a junction of paths, signed Ashford and Sheldon to the left and Monyash and Deep Dale to the right. It was here on our last visit almost a year ago that two-thirds of our 12-strong party were misled into following the wrong turning, thus avoiding Deep Dale altogether.

                                           

There was no such deviation today and we followed the path into the Deep Dale nature reserve, winding its way between limestone outcrops. The path became gradually less rocky and more grass-covered and nearing the top of the dale we exited the nature reserve by a gate, soon reaching a steep stone stile on the left (128 min).

Ahead of us was a very steep climb up a grass path which, as we tackled it, felt like a monster but which in fact was dispatched in around six minutes. This brought us to a stone stile at the top, leading into a series of fields of lush grass which led us to the minor road just above the small village of Sheldon.

Half-way down the quiet village street is the Cock and Pullet (168 min), a small and pleasant pub run by two landladies and a barman not known for their smiling welcome and jovial repartee. Their beers however were on excellent form with Landlord, Farmer’s Blonde and Doom Bar on offer.

We were joined here by Jock and Milly, having walked around 5 miles from Ashford to Monsal Head, then through Little Longstone, Great Longstone and back to Ashford via the Monsal Trail.

Leaving the pub, we turned right down the village street and just after the end of the village took a gate on the left, just past a white cottage, leading into fields. After around a mile a steep descent brought us back down to the River Wye at the foot of Kirk Dale, where we turned left on the minor road to Sheldon, to soon emerge on the A6. We turned right along the roadside footpath and after a few hundred yards crossed the road at the old river bridge to enter Ashford Village near our cars (213 min). Your diarist, Tom, Mark and Chris enjoyed a further refreshment at the Bull’s Head, a pleasant Robinson’s pub near the church.

Next week’s walk up Bosley Cloud, through Congleton and back down the Macclesfield Canal, will start at 9.40am in Bosley in the lay-by opposite the Harrington Arms. A previous report records this as 12 miles.

Happy Wandering!