Parking: At the car park below Stanage Plantation. The cost is £3.50 for the day. DCC should follow the national Parks lead on pricing.
The Walk
Walk to the top of the car park where a path leads up and to the left towards Stanage Edge. At first the path is grassy but as you cross a wall (via a gate) into Stanage Plantation, the path becomes paved – in worn sandstone slabs similar to those you see on Roman Roads.
As you climb the views open up of Lose Hill, Win Hill, Crookstone Out Moor and Kinder.
Climb to the top of the Edge from the Plantation. The views from the Edge are some of the best in Derbyshire. Ahead is the edge of the Derwent valley leading to Back Tor and beyond onto Bleaklow. They looked inviting in any condition.
At the top turn left and walk along the Edge. Cross Long Causeway and continue heading NW to the trig point at High Neb. From the trig point the path continues along the edge and at Crow Chin the edge heads almost due North. Continue along the edge to Stanage End where the edge turns NE along Crow Chin Rocks. At a boundary stone with WW engraved on it the track drops down from the edge and continues heading just east of north along a well defined track on which there are a number of boundary stones. Ahead you can see Moscar lodge on the Snake road, where the path outturns.
At the Snake turn right and almost immediately left walking up a walled metalled track that gives access to Moscar Lodge.
Past the Lodge the track becomes grassy and climbs up to the junction with Stake Hill Road at Moscar Cross Farm.
Turn right along the track and walk past the farm on your right. The walled grassy track contours round and after a 5 bar gate it divides. Take the left hand track which climbs up Lodge Moor and onto Ughill Moor; there’s a wall on your left. As you reach the top you pass through a 5 bar gate and the walled track crosses Ughill Moor. In front of you the moors above Bradfield open up complemented by the valley holding the Strines and Dale Dike reservoirs. Below the track to the left is the former workings of Loftshaw. Good progress can be made along Stake Hill Road.
Eventually the road drops down to the metalled road of Wet Shaw Lane (FP). At the lane turn right and in 100m turn left (FP) along a path with a wall on the lhs and the sad sight of forested trees on the rhs. The path eventually drops down to another road which is crossed (FP) to give access to a path that tracks along a wall (on your rhs) to an edge. Below you are the Strines and Dale Dike reservoirs and to your left is a folly built by the owner of Sugworth Hall so that he could play his violin in solitude!
Drop down from the edge and cross Blindside Lane (FP) onto a further path that descends down a steep tree root covered path with a fence /wood on your right. Eventually you drop down to a track (running SW/NE) by a gate.
Turn right through the metal gate and walk on a good but muddy track contouring through the wood until you hit a walled track coming up from the left (FP). Turn left and drop down to the eastern side of Dale Dike reservoir and a path running along the reservoir bank. Turn right and walk along the path to the dam wall.
You can’t cross the dam wall may be because this is the dam that burst in 1864 resulting in the Sheffield flood with 250 people drowned. The path follows the dam overflow and drops down to a footbridge. Cross Dale Dike on the footbridge, turn left and follow the track back up through a wood ascending back to the top of the dam wall. Just before the dam wall the track switches back on itself and follows the topside of the wood until it outturns at a metalled road - Dale Road.
Turn right and in 50m turn left (FP) up a track that climbs up and away from the road. After crossing a gate the path ascends the valley side following the line of a wall (on your lhs). The path crosses 3 walls before hitting Mortimer Road.
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At the road turn right and in 30m the road forks. Take the right hand road (Windy Bank) which descends with a wood on your left heading towards Bradfield. 50m past a disused outdoor pursuit centre (Wilkin Mill) take a track off left (FP) and descend down to a bridge that crosses Emlin Dike.
On the far side of the Dike (north side) the track contours round the wood and above the Dike until it hits the track leading to Agden House. At the track turn right down a good track that outturns at the road at Windy Bank just above Agden Reservoir. Turn left and walk down Windy Bank, past the dam wall until it hits Dale road (sign post Bradfield and The Strines) at a bus turning point.
Turn left down Dale Road and drop down into Low Bradfield. After the road bends to the right take the left-hand road and cross the bridge over the river. The cricket pitch is on your left. Shortly a road joins from the left; follow the road round to the right following the northern bank of the river you’ve just crossed, past a garage.
50m down the road take a track that goes off right and crosses the river at the top of Damflask. After crossing the river take a good path on the left that tracks along the southern side of the reservoir. This is a concessionary path allowed by the water authority. The path eventually enters a wood and just after a shelter take a path on your right that climbs up to New Road. Turn right and cross the road. In 20m turn left and ascend diagonally to a post at the corner of a wood. The direction marker on the post is misleading. Follow the fence marking the edge of the wood up to a ladder stile over a wall. The path continues to ascend to a further wall which is crossed into Oaks Lane.
Immediately in front of you is a road (signposted Ughill). Go straight down the road which soon bends round to the right and tracks above Ughill Brook. After 1km you hit a T junction. Turn left and drop down to and cross a bridge over Wet Shaw Dike. Proceed along the road until it takes a sharp left turn.
At the left bend take a path that goes off right (FP) and climbs up the northern side of Royds Clough. After a short distance the path bends towards a ladder stile over a wall that gives access to a wood. Over the stile turn sharp left and follow the line of the wall (on your left) until it drops down to your left. The path continues to climb through the wood and above the stream. The clough is pretty and in winter the path is lettered with dropped brown leaves. As the path climbs up to and out of the wood it hits a farm track. Turn left and walk up that track to Crawshaw Farm. The footpath used to go through the farm but it is now re-directed. Just before the farm take a path off left (FP) that climbs straight up a field to a gate in a wall.
Go through the gate and turn left up a good track that ascends up to the top of the moor. The track shortly turns sharp left and tracks across the flat top of the moor. It then takes a further sharp left turn and descends down to a road at Crawshaw Lodge (FP).
At the road turn left, cross it and in 100m turn left on a path (FP Stanage pole) and follow a wall (on your lhs) down to a wall. Cross the wall through a stile and descend across three fields down to a stile that gives access to the Snake road just below Surrey Farm.
Above the farm is Hollow Meadow which used to be a school for bad boys.
Cross the Snake road and in a few metres turn left (FP Stanage Pole) down a path (with a wall on your right) to a further wall which is the boundary of a wood. Cross the wall and drop down to a footbridge. Cross the bridge and climb straight up the hill side and away from Hollow Meadows Brook. Keep on straight until you pick up and follow the line of a wall (on your rhs) until you cross a conduit from Redmires reservoir which is above you. Here carry on straight crossing a further wall. The path then follows the line of a wall (on your left) reaches the top of the ascent and then drops down to the Redmires Road by the top dam of the Redmires Reservoirs.
At the road turn right and follow the road round the reservoir to its bottom SW corner. Here the road ends and transforms into a good track that climbs up right tracking the edge of a wood (on your right) and climbing up to Stanage Pole. The going is easy as the track has been laid with crushed limestone – wonder why. Just before the track you leave the wood behind.
At the Pole take the track heading diagonally right just south of west which follows the line of a fence (on your right). The track is paved and straight and as you near Stanage Edge it turns heading NW. Carry on to the Edge, then turn right and in 100m take a paved path descending diagonally left off the edge. It’s an easy descent but in bad visibility it’s not easy to find. If you miss it going north you hit Long Causeway, while going south you’ll hit a wall. The path you are on is the path you ascended in the morning.
The path drops down into and through Stanage Plantation on a paved path. At the bottom side of the plantation the path descends to the right on a grassy path to the car park.
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GPS settings
Summary
A good walk with easygoing topography and route finding; it's all on good paths and tracks, even if they are wet and muddy. It’s a route to do in the spring as the reservoirs and woods will be pretty.
Some of the views are stunning.
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