White Lodge - Taddington - Priestcliffe - Millers Dale - Tideswell - Litton Mill - Water cum Jolly Dale - White Lodge

Paul John Bridgett

You need to log in as a member of Walkingworld to access the details for this walk and have an active subscription. Please join, or log in above if you are already a member.

Priestcliffe - Millers Dale - Tideswell - Litton Mill - Water cum Jolly Dale - White Lodge

This walk is quite demanding and has sections that are better to avoid if you are not too steady on your feet. Much of the walk is easy to follow, though one short section is tricky to find the path; the main part is waymarked to a point then not at all. I could see the gated stile I needed to get to, but there was not a easy route to it and not as detailed on the map. The route I offer will get you to the right points with the least effort.
Most other waymarks and stiles were in place and easy to follow. This walk follows the concessionary path along Water cum Jolly Dale, traversing the hillside between Litton Mill and Cressbrook Mill areas. This is a narrow path and stony in places, with steep drops beside the path. If you are not too steady on your feet, best avoid this path; I offer an alternative lower route, though not illustrated.
The pub used on this walk is the George Hotel in Tideswell. This is a walker-friendly pub situated adjacent to the town church, regarded as the Cathedral of the Peak. They offer a good-value menu with a wide choice, if a little thin on salads, though they will provide on request. Also offered are a couple of hand-pulled beers from the Kimberley Brewery with Olde Trip and Friars Fancy on offer when walked.

England - Central England - Derbyshire - Peak District

Features

Cafe, Flowers, Food Shop, Gift Shop, Great Views, Industrial Archaeology, National Trust, Pub, River, Toilets, Wildlife, Woodland

12/8/2015 - Malcolm Watts

Done December 2015. A good deal further than 14.5 km, though I didn't have my gps to check exactly. The time of 6 hours was partly due to very slippery mud in several sections, though. Car parking is expensive (a rip off) throughout the Peak District, so I started at Monsal Head and just used a layby. Easy enough to pick up the route from there. The tunnels are now open and lit, so the comments re following the trail round them no longer applies. Some of the distances are way out. The 120 m after WM 7 is nearer 300 m. I puzzled over the description of WM 5, before I realised that 'veer to right towards farm in far right corner...' refers to a distance of about 5 metres. Go 'through the gate by the farm and follow the drive', is all that's needed. At WM 14 it says in the second sentence, 'follow the wall on the right'. For this read 'follow the fence', there is no wall. The descent mentioned at WM 22 is very steep and very slippery in wet weather. The stout fence makes a useful handrail. The notes re blockage at WM 26 are no longer applicable. The marked route is open and clear. At WM 28 the way is, likewise, open, at least in winter and as shown on the map. The phrase 'turning back to the right' at WM 31 is very misleading as it's well ahead and out of sight. This I found confusing, missed the turn and resorted to different paths to take me into Tideswell. WM 45 mentions a fork and 'slight right turn'. I couldn't see either. Just take the footpath on the left about 100 m from the pumping station. In summary, an enjoyable walk, despite the muddy conditions, but one where a critical rewrite of the description might be encouraged.

1/27/2011 - paul mcconkey

We did this walk on 23/01, not impressed at all. Actual mileage was 13.6 miles, just a tad more than the 9 miles given! The walk was really hard to understand (might as well have been written in Chinese) plus, because of this, we missed parts 10-13 out without even knowing because we just couldn't understand the wording of the walk. As far as we were concerned, we were doing our best with the wording that was given. On point 39, it tells you to go to the pub in Tideswell. We thought this was the route to take to continue our walk but in actual fact, it was just taking us to the pub to go in it!! As I read down some more, I realised this & not wanting to go in the pub, we ended up coming back the way we'd just been. Good job we hadn't walked too far out of our way..... but it was very annoying!! Lastly, the author of this walk describes junctions as 'forks' & 'Y' junctions when in fact they aren't at all which just added to the confusion.

8/24/2010 - Andrew Maidstone

Walked 16/8/10. Really enjoyed it - thanks Paul. We started a bit late in the morning so called in at the Anglers Rest at Millers Dale rather than at the pub in Tideswell. Would recommend the Anglers Rest also as it has good real ales and good ramblers food at very reasonable prices.