The Derbyshire Portway is a pre-historic trackway that runs for over 40 miles across the

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southe ...

of England.

History

The well-known section of the trackway runs from

Mam Tor Mam Tor is a hill near Castleton in the High Peak of Derbyshire, England. Its name means "mother hill", so called because frequent landslips on its eastern face have resulted in a multitude of "mini-hills" beneath it. These landslips, which ...

in north

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

through the Peak District via

Wirksworth Wirksworth is a market town in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. Its population of 5,038 in the 2011 census was estimated at 5,180 in 2019. Wirksworth contains the source of the River Ecclesbourne. The town was granted a mar ...

to the

Hemlock Stone The Hemlock Stone or Himlack Stone is an Monadnock, inselberg on Stapleford Hill at Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, England. Geology The Hemlock Stone is an outcrop of New Red Sandstone, deposited more than 200 millio ...

near

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

and is said to have existed since the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

before falling out of regular use in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. However, there is evidence to suggest that the trackway originally extended to Manchester at the northern end and to Nottingham in the midlands. The trackway takes in several historic locations, amongst others: *

Robin Hood's Stride Robin Hood's Stride (also known as Mock Beggar's Mansion) is a rock formation on the Limestone Way in Derbyshire close to the village of Elton. The nearest town is Bakewell, to the north. The popular tourist spot can be accessed via the Limes ...

* Nine Stones Close *

Alport Height Alport Height is a hill near Wirksworth in Derbyshire. It is a popular picnic site, since it has extensive views to the South, and is the first hill over within easy reach of the Derby area. Like Shining Cliff Woods, 2 km to the east, it i ...

Dale Abbey Dale Abbey is a village and civil parish in the borough of Erewash in Derbyshire in the East Midlands of England, 6 miles north east of Derby. The population of the civil parish on the 2011 census was 1,351. Formerly known as Depedale or Deepda ...

The Portway was the subject of a 2017 episode of the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

programme ''

Britain's Ancient Tracks with Tony Robinson ''Britain's Ancient Tracks with Tony Robinson'' is a television documentary series presented by Sir Tony Robinson. The first series, consisting of three episodes, was broadcast in 2016 by Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air publi ...

''.

References

{{Reflist Ancient trackways in England Bronze Age England Peak District