The Limestone Way is a waymarked long-distance
footpath in
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 ...
, England. It runs for through the
White Peak
The White Peak, also known as the Low Peak, is a Carboniferous limestone, limestone plateau that forms the central and southern part of the Peak District in England. It is mostly between and above sea-level and is enclosed by the higher altitu ...
of the
Peak District National Park Peak or The Peak may refer to:
Basic meanings Geology
* Mountain peak
** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics
* Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion
* Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-d ...
, from
Castleton south to
Rocester over the county boundary into
Staffordshire. The trail is named for the
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
scenery along its route. It was devised by Brian Spencer of Matlock
Rotary Club and developed and opened in 1986 by the
West Derbyshire District Council (which became
Derbyshire Dales District Council in 1987). It originally ran to
Matlock, but was extended to its current, longer route in 1992 to join up with the
Staffordshire Way.
The route
From Castleton, the route runs up
Cave Dale
Cave Dale (sometimes spelt Cavedale) is a dry limestone valley in the Derbyshire Peak District, England. It is located at grid reference . The northern end of the dale starts at the village of Castleton where the valley sides are almost perpend ...
, past the village of
Peak Forest
Peak Forest is a small village and civil parish on the main road the ( A623) from Chapel-en-le-Frith to Chesterfield in Derbyshire. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 335.
The village grew from the earlier settlement of ...
, down
Hay Dale
Hay Dale is a short dry valley near Buxton, Derbyshire, in the Peak District of England. It is part of a longer valley that runs for approximately north–south from Peak Forest (on the A623 road) to the River Wye at Millers Dale. This va ...
(shared with the
Peak District Boundary Walk
The Peak District Boundary Walk is a circular walking trail, starting and finishing at Buxton and broadly following the boundary of the Peak District, Britain's first national park. The route was developed by the Friends of the Peak District (a ...
) and along
Peter Dale. It then runs parallel to
Monk's Dale and through the village of
Millers Dale
Millers Dale (Ordnance Survey: Miller's Dale) is a valley on the River Wye in Derbyshire, England, where there is also a hamlet of the same name.
It is a popular beauty spot in the Peak District of England, much of the area being preserved a ...
(passing under the viaduct which carries the
Monsal Trail
The Monsal Trail is a cycling, horse riding and walking trail in the Derbyshire Peak District. It was constructed from a section of the former Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway, which was built by the Midland Railway in 1 ...
and crossing the
River Wye).
It then crosses the A6 near the Waterloo Inn and over Taddington Moor. The trail follows old miners' tracks through the villages of
Flagg and
Monyash
Monyash (/muhn-ee-ash/ munyash) is a village and civil parish in the Peak District, Derbyshire, England, west of the market town Bakewell. It is centred on a village green above sea level at the head of Lathkill Dale in the limestone area k ...
, across
Cales Dale and past
Youlgreave
Youlgreave or Youlgrave is a village and civil parish in the Peak District of Derbyshire, England, on the River Bradford south of Bakewell. The name possibly derives from "yellow grove", the ore mined locally being yellow in colour.
The popul ...
along the
River Bradford through
Bradford Dale. The route then continues across
Harthill Moor
Harthill Moor is a small upland area in the Derbyshire Peak District of central and northern England, lying between Matlock and Bakewell near the villages of Birchover and Elton. The moor is within the southern portion of Harthill civil pari ...
(past the rock outcrops of
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 ...
and Cratcliffe Rocks), following the ancient Portway track past the village of
Elton Elton may refer to:
Places
England
* Elton, Cambridgeshire (formerly Huntingdonshire), a village
** Elton Hall, a baronial hall
* Elton, Cheshire, a village and civil parish
* Elton, County Durham, a village and civil parish
* Elton, Derbyshire ...
, around
Winster
Winster is a village in the English Derbyshire Dales about from Matlock and from Bakewell at an altitude of approximately . It was formerly a centre for the lead mining industry. The village lies within the Peak District National Park and T ...
and
Bonsall and through
Grangemill (across the Via Gellia road), after which it crosses the
Midshires Way
The Midshires Way is a long-distance footpath and bridleway that runs for from the Chiltern Hills from near Bledlow in Buckinghamshire, through the Midlands counties of Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, to Sto ...
and the
High Peak Trail
The High Peak Trail is a trail for walkers, cyclists and horse riders in the Peak District of England. Running from Dowlow , near Buxton, to High Peak Junction, Cromford , it follows the trackbed of the former Cromford and High Peak Rai ...
. The trail then passes north of
Brassington
Brassington is a village and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, 16 miles north west of Derby. The parish had a population of 573 at the 2011 census.
The name, spelled ''Branzingtune'' in the Domesday Book, is thought ...
, past Rainster Rocks and runs through the ancient hamlet of
Ballidon. The route goes into the village of
Parwich and then crosses the
Tissington Trail
The Tissington Trail is a bridleway, footpath and cycleway in Derbyshire, England, along part of the trackbed of the former railway line connecting Ashbourne to Buxton. It takes its name from the village of Tissington, which it skirts. Open ...
before running through
Tissington
Tissington is a village in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. The appropriate civil parish is called Tissington and Lea Hall. The population of this parish at the 2011 census was 159. It is part of the estate of Tissington H ...
itself and onto
Thorpe.
The trail crosses into Staffordshire over the
River Dove at Coldwall Bridge and then down into
Dovedale
Dovedale is a valley in the Peak District of England. The land is owned by the National Trust and attracts a million visitors annually. The valley was cut by the River Dove and runs for just over between Milldale in the north and a wooded r ...
at
Ellastone
Ellastone is a rural village in the West Midlands of England on the Staffordshire side of the River Dove, between Uttoxeter and Ashbourne in north Staffordshire.
Geography
Ellastone lies on the River Dove and is a hive of fluvial activity. ...
on its approach to the Roman settlement of Rocester.
Sights
The Limestone Way passes through a historic landscape with prehistoric monuments, Roman sites and centuries of industrial heritage:
*
Peveril Castle
Peveril Castle (also Castleton Castle or Peak Castle) is a ruined 11th-century castle overlooking the village of Castleton in the English county of Derbyshire. It was the main settlement (or ''caput'') of the feudal barony of William Peverel, kn ...
ruins at Castleton
* Route of
Batham Gate
Batham Gate is the medieval name for a Roman road in Derbyshire, England, which ran south-west from Templebrough on the River Don in South Yorkshire to Brough-on-Noe (Latin '' Navio'') and the spa town of Buxton (Latin ''Aquae Arnemetiae'') i ...
Roman road
* Hay Dale, part of
Derbyshire Dales National Nature Reserve
The Derbyshire Dales National Nature Reserve is a series of unconnected limestone dales in the Peak District National Park. It is managed by Natural England and has a permanent staff of wardens who carry out conservation works and ensure the dales ...
* Twin railway viaducts at
Millers Dale railway station
A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents ...
*
Wye Valley
The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; cy, Dyffryn Gwy) is an internationally important protected landscape straddling the border between England and Wales.
The River Wye ( cy, Afon Gwy) is the fourth-longest river in th ...
SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest)
*
Five Wells
Five Wells is a Neolithic chambered tomb between the villages of Chelmorton and Taddington on Taddington Moor in the Derbyshire Peak District in England.
The tomb is a protected scheduled ancient monument. Three stones mark the main chamber, whi ...
chambered tomb on
Taddington Moor
Taddington Moor is a limestone hill between the villages of Taddington, Flagg and Chelmorton in the Derbyshire Peak District. The moor is an upland farming landscape. The summit at Sough Top is above sea level.
Five Wells is a Neolithic chamb ...
* One Ash Grange, established by the Roche Abbey monks in 1147
* Lomberdale Hall at Youlgreave, home of local
Victorian antiquarian
Thomas Bateman
Thomas Bateman (8 November 1821 (baptised) – 28 August 1861) was an English antiquary and barrow-digger.
Biography
Thomas Bateman was born in Rowsley, Derbyshire, England, the son of the amateur archaeologist William Bateman. After the deat ...
*
Nine Stones Close, Bronze Age stone circle
*
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 ...
gristone outcrop and pinnacles
* Cratcliffe Rocks with its hermit cave
* View of
Carsington Water
Carsington Water is a reservoir operated by Severn Trent Water located between Wirksworth and Kniveton in Derbyshire, England. The reservoir takes water from the River Derwent at Ambergate during winter months, pumping up to the reservoir by l ...
* Medieval settlement and field system of Ballidon, with its Norman chapel
*
Tissington Hall
Tissington Hall is an early 17th-century Jacobean mansion house in Tissington, near Ashbourne, Derbyshire. It is a Grade II* listed building.
The FitzHerberts, descended from the Norman family of Norbury Hall, acquired Tissington by the marr ...
, historic
Jacobean home of the
FitzHerbert family
* Civil War redoubt (military earthwork defence) at Tissington
* Coldwall Bridge over the River Dove
* Ellastone Bridge over the River Dove
Access
Train stations:
Matlock,
Cromford
Cromford is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England, in the valley of the River Derwent between Wirksworth and Matlock. It is north of Derby, south of Matlock and south of Matlock Bath. It is first mentioned in the 11th-century Do ...
.
Spurs link to Bonsall and onto Matlock (along the old route of the path) and from Thorpe to
Ashbourne.
Details of connecting routes may be found on the Limestone Way page of the Long Distance Walkers' Association website.
The official guidebook is the ''Limestone Way Walker's Guide'', published by Derbyshire Dales District Council.
[{{Cite web, title=The Limestone Way, url=https://www.derbyshiredales.gov.uk/things-to-do/visiting-the-dales/outdoor-activities/walking/the-limestone-way, access-date=16 August 2020, publisher=Derbyshire Dales District Council, language=en-gb]
The route is marked on Ordance Survey maps and is covered by three OS Explorer maps:
* OL1 – The Peak District (Dark Peak)
* OL24 – The Peak District (White Peak)
* 259 – Derby
References
Peak District
Footpaths in Derbyshire
Footpaths in Staffordshire
Long-distance footpaths in England