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Hathersage Circular via Stanage Edge Higger Tor and Padley Gorge Walk

Dark Peak Highlights - up a green valley to Stanage Edge, over Higger Tor and Carl Wark hill forts and down the narrow wooded Padley Gorge, then along the Derwent River

Circular Peak District

History

Club walks since April 2015, and a summary which goes back to Jan 2010.

Date Option Post # Weather
Sun, 12-Apr-26 Dark Peak Highlights: Hathersage Circular (via Stanage Edge, Higger Tor, Padley Gorge) [Hope Valley Trip] [Extra Walk] 24 mostly overcast with a cold wind
Sun, 05-May-19 Bluebells in the Peak: Hathersage Circular (via Stanage Edge, Higger Tor, Padley Gorge) [Peak District Trip] [New Walk] 31 mostly overcast with rare breaks
Thomas G
Length : 20.0 km (12.4 mi) [shorter walk possible, see below]
Ascent/Descent : 488m
Net Walking Time : ca. 5 ½ hours
Toughness : 6 out of 10

From the east (Sheffield): take the 09.14 Manchester Piccadilly stopping service via the Hope Valley (Dore & Totley 09.21, Grindleford 09.29), arriving Hathersage at 09.32.
From the west (Manchester Piccadilly): take the 07.45 or 09.31 Sheffield stopping service via the Hope Valley, arriving Hathersage at 08.44 and 10.31 respectively.

Return trains : xx.32/33/34 to Manchester; xx.42/43/44 to Sheffield.

“ Centred on Hathersage, an attractive village in the Hope Valley, this route leads through some outstandingly beautiful scenery and passes along the cliffs of the Stanage Edge as well as over the distictive Higger Tor and the ancient iron-age hill fort of Carl Wark on Burbage Moor and down the spectacular wooded Padley Gorge.
You walk from the station through Hathersage village and ascend gradually to Stanage Edge through the Hood Brook valley, a tributary of the Derwent River, not without first diverting past the village church and also passing through the Camp Green medieval ringworks. You also pass Brontë Cottage and North Lees Hall, places inspirational for Charlotte Brontë’s ‘Jane Eyre’.
From the southerly end of Stanage Edge continue across the plateaus of Higger Tor and Carl Wark (both descents from the plateaus involve some light scrambling) and across the Burbage Brook valley and Burbage Moor to lunch at The Fox House Inn.
From lunch the route is less challenging, as you meander through the landscaped Longshaw Estate on a choice of routes and down through the very atmospheric deep and narrow Padley Gorge following the Burbage Brook with its tumbling waterfalls in ancient woodland. Upper Padley has the Grindleford Station Café and a historic chapel in a gatehouse to offer before you join the Derwent River and follow it through quiet pastures and past bluebell woods back to Hathersage.”

Walk Options:
A Variation near the start follows the Hood Brook through attractive woods rather than going past North Lees Hall (certainly recommended in bluebell season).
Buses 271/272 to Sheffield or Bamford stations (6 buses per day, Mon-Sat only) leave from the lunch stop The Fox House Inn.
Bus Lines 65/65A Buxton to Sheffield (broadly two-hourly) enable various shorter versions. Stops are passed at a couple of points around lunch (Fox House Inn & Longshaw Estate), and on the B6521 at the end of the stretch through the Padley Gorge, before dropping to Grindleford Station.
A Variation right after lunch avoids the busy parts of the Longshaw Estate and routes through a wood down to the Burbage Brook directly.
A Finish at Grindleford Station (one stop closer to Sheffield) results in a 14.4 km/8.9 mi walk with 416/406m ascent/descent and is rated 5/10.
A Shortcut near the end, en route to the Derwent River, cuts 900m.
Elevenses/Lunch: The Fox House Inn (10.8 km/6.7 mi, food all day); The Longshaw Tea Room (11.3 km/7.0 mi).
Tea: Grindleford Station Café (5.7 km/3.5 mi from the end), plus numerous options in Hathersage, check the webpage or the pdf.
For walk directions, map, height profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here . bad walk tag
  • Karan
    Apr-26

    To the walk poster I will be starting the walk from Coggers Lane and meet the group at St Michael Church instead of Hathersage station.

  • JohnL
    Apr-26

    I have booked a table for 4 at the Fox Hous Inn for 12.45 one for me 3 available first come first served

  • Thomas G
    Apr-26

    9.14 train cancelled, next one is 11.14. So we will take buses from Sheffield Interchange to Hathersage. Line 257 leaves at 9.00, arrives 9.45. Them hourly thereafter. There may be others... Let's try for the 9.00

  • Thomas G
    Apr-26

    Bad research. 257 not running Sundays. 271 at 10.05 next best option, seemingly

  • Thomas G
    Apr-26

    The Sheffield contingent are now walking the start of SWC 266 instead to The Fox House Inn. See you there

  • Thomas G
    Apr-26

    One walks all the way, the others cut out 4 km by bus, so we should arrive at about the same time as the Hathersage group.

  • Thomas G
    Apr-26

    Of the 21 on yesterday's walk, 1 went home, the 2 who had sat out the walk joined today, and we also had 2 new arrivals (1 of those only missed yesterday's walk due to her early morning train being very delayed), so there were 24 on the walk. The Sheffield contingent (8 of us) had to be inventive after the 9.14 was cancelled (see previous comments) and we enjoyed the anemones, celandines and wild garlic in the Porter Brook Valley, with the bluebells also there but not in flower yet. 5 of us had a drink stop at The Norfolk Arms in Ringinglow, and we also booked a table for the Fox Inn while there. We arrived at The Fox before the Hathersage contingent trickled in. Most of those had sandwiches and moved on before the 5 + 4 lunchers got going again. After the gorgeous Padley Gorge (mossy old trees, a bubbly brook, sun appled, a dipper on a boulder in the brook doing - well - some dipping), some went into the café at Grindleford station, while some also took advantage of the trains and buses from there to finish the walk early. The reason for posting this on a Sunday is the Padley Chapel, a rather lovely historic building that is only open on summer Sundays and most everyone spent some time inside. On along the Derwent to Hathersage, some with urgency to get to the Pool before it closed, others happy to turn left to the Plough before finishing the route. mostly overcast with a cold wind There was a shower but it passed while we were in The Fox Inn...

  • Thomas G
    Apr-26

    Oh, and 1 of the Sheffield contingent, from the Fox Inn walked back along Stanage Edge, reversing the morning route we would have walked if it wasn't for the cancelled train

Thomas G
Length: 20.0 km (12.4 mi) [shorter walk possible, see below]
Ascent/Descent: 488m; Net Walking Time: ca. 5 ½ hours
Toughness: 7 out of 10
From London there are no good connections on Sundays.
From the West : take the 09.45 Sheffield train from Manchester Piccadilly (…var. stations…, Edale 10.29, Hope 10.36, Bamford 10.39), arriving Hathersage at 10.43.
From the East : take the 10.17 Manchester Piccadilly train from Sheffield (Dore & Totley 10.23, Grindleford 10.30), arriving Hathersage at 10.34.
Return trains to London: xx.43 to 20.43 (change at Sheffield, from 2 hours 44 mins). You may get better prices if searching for split tickets to Sheffield and then Sheffield – London!
Return trains if staying in the area: towards Manchester xx.31 until 20.31 then 22.33; towards Sheffield xx.43 to 20.43, then 21.39, 22.43 and 23.05.
“Centred on Hathersage, an attractive village in the Hope Valley, this route leads through some outstandingly beautiful scenery and passes along the cliffs of the Stanage Edge as well as over the distictive Higger Tor and the ancient iron-age hill fort of Carl Wark on Burbage Moor and down the spectacular wooded Padley Gorge.
You walk from the station through Hathersage village and ascend gradually to Stanage Edge through the Hood Brook valley, a tributary of the Derwent River, not without first diverting past the village church and also passing through the Camp Green medieval ringworks. You also pass Brontë Cottage and North Lees Hall, places inspirational for Charlotte Brontë’s ‘Jane Eyre’.
From the southerly end of Stanage Edge continue across the plateaus of Higger Tor and Carl Wark (both descents from the plateaus involve some very light scrambling) and across the Burbage Brook valley and Burbage Moor to lunch at The Fox House Inn.
From lunch the route is less challenging, as you meander through the landscaped Longshaw Estate on a choice of routes and down through the very atmospheric deep but narrow Padley Gorge following the Burbage Brook with its tumbling waterfalls in ancient woodland. Upper Padley has the Grindleford Station Café and a historic chapel in a gatehouse to offer before you join the Derwent River and follow it through quiet pastures and woods back to Hathersage.”
Walk Options:
Bus Line 65 (Buxton) and 218 (Bakewell) to Sheffield (broadly hourly) enable various shorter versions. Stops are passed at a couple of points around lunch (Fox House Inn & Longshaw Estate), and on the B 6521 at the end of the stretch through the Padley Gorge, before dropping to Grindleford Station.
A Finish at Grindleford Station (one stop closer to Sheffield) results in a 14.4 km/8.9 mi walk with 416/406m ascent/descent and is rated 6/10.
A Shortcut near the end, en route to the Derwent River, cuts 900m.
Elevenses/Lunch: The Fox House Inn (10.8 km/6.7 mi, food to 17.00); The Longshaw Tea Room (11.3 km/7.0 mi, open to 17.00).
Tea: Grindleford Station Café (5.7 km/3.5 mi from the end), plus numerous options in Hathersage, check the webpage or the pdf.
For walk directions, map, height profile , photos and gpx/kml files click here . bad walk tag
  • Thomas G
    May-19

    This being the shortest of the walk's posted over this long weekend, I felt a later start would find favour with everyone, but 13 of the Hathersage based walkers got itchy feet and started at 9.30 anyway. As 3 people left for London yesterday and we had 3 new arrivals today, this meant that we should have been 18 at the posted time, and so we were. 31. The weather was mostly overcast with rare breaks . We passed Little John's grave and ascended a scenic valley up to Stanage Edge, where we had elevenses with views. The edge was busy with walkers and rock climbers but it was still amazing. Further along, punters were not perturbed by the scrambly descents off Higger Tor and Carl Wark, then most had some food at the Fox House. Through the Longshaw Estate and down to the Burbage Brook and on down the amazing fairytale Padley Gorge. Everyone enjoyed that stretch. 3 bailed out at the Grindleford Station Café to catch a train connecting back to London, while the rest commenced past Padley Chapel and through pastures along the Derwent, where finally we got some decent bluebell displays. Most in my group ended up at The Plough Inn in Hathersage before parting our ways.