🌤Birchover 9 miles🪻Stanton Woodhouse🌸River Derwent🌊Clough Woods🌤

Our scenic walk starts from the pretty Village of Birchover, a characterful village surrounded by stunning scenery.
Birchover is an ancient village with beautiful old cottages, many built of the distinctive pink gritstone from the Stanton Moor quarries located above the village.
On the outskirts of the village lies the mysterious cave complex of Rowtor Rocks. There are numerous interlinked tunnels and caverns, some man-made. Many of the rocks have been carved with intricate symbols and pictures, including serpents, circles and cups, also a series of steps, thrones and altars have been carved out of the stone in a number of places.

Our route heads to Stanton Moor, due to its archaeological importance, the moor is protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
There are more than 70 ancient burial mounds upon the moor and four Bronze Age stone circles constructed by the people who lived and worked on Stanton Moor around 4,000 years ago.
The largest of the stone circles on Stanton Moor is the Nine Ladies Stone Circle, ten standing stones, nine in a circle and the tenth stone stands away from the circle.
Its name derives from a legend that nine ladies were turned to stone as a punishment for dancing on the Sabbath, with the tenth stone, or King Stone, being the fiddler.

Leaving this enchanting moor, our route heads through woodland and Lees Cross Quarry, continuing across pastures and woodland to Stanton Woodhouse.
It was once a shooting lodge belonging to the Duke of Rutland, a large 16th Century manor house. In the 1900s it was used for a time as a maternity hospital and residential home for the elderly but is now a private house.
The path goes through the characterful Stanton Woodhouse Farm, many of the farm buildings are listed.

As we approach the outskirts of Rowsley, Caudwell’s Mill comes into view, this historic complex was once a busy roller flour mill powered by water from the River Wye. The present mill was built by John Caudwell in 1874, although a mill has stood here since the 16th Century.

Our route reaches the pretty Village of Rowsley, surrounded by rolling countryside, Rowsley is where the River Wye meets the River Derwent and is part of the long distance path, the Derwent Valley Heritage Way.
There are a couple of pubs, the Peacock is Grade II listed and dates from 1652, originally built as a manor house.
The Grouse and Claret was built after the arrival of the railway in 1849, at which time it was the Station Hotel.

Leaving Rowsley, our route continues along the riverside path passing Rowsley South Terminus, the preserved heritage railway line, Peak Rail which runs into Matlock. The line was once operational as the Midland Railway line that linked Derby and Manchester cutting through the Peak District.

We continue heading through pastures to the Village of Darley Dale which is made up of several smaller settlements, Churchtown, Darley Bridge South Darley, Darley Hillside, Northwood and Two Dales.

In Churchtown, the church was founded around 900 AD and rebuilt after the Norman Conquest. Parts of the 12th century fabric remain, along with some earlier Celtic and Saxon stonework, Norman masonry, and a selection of ancient stone coffins in the porch.
Opposite the main porch entrance stands the famous Darley Yew, a tree reputed to be two thousand years old with a girth of 33 feet around its ancient trunk. A plaque on the tree tells of the Saxon settlers who built their huts in the church grounds, and around the base of the trunk are memorials to famous battles.
The five arched Darley Bridge which spans the Derwent, is a Fifteenth Century structure which we have crossed many a time.

Our chosen route continues over Darley Bridge to Clough Woods, it is known for its densly carpeted woodland with vibrant bluebells in May, hopefully, the bluebells are still thriving.

Emerging from Clough Woods, our route heads up to Birchover through pretty woodland to our carpark where we started our scenic walk.

During the walk, we make sure everyone is ok with catching up points and breaks along the way. As well as supporting eachother, and taking our time to enjoy the beauty of our surroundings.
Enjoyment is first and foremost, as well as respecting slower walkers..

A scenic walk with undulating paths acoss countryside

Bring a picnic lunch with plenty of snacks and enough water to keep you going

Walking boots are advised with mixed terrain
As always check the weather and dress accordingly

Toilets in Birchover and Rowsley

Looking forward to sharing another adventure with you all.. 🚶‍♀️🐕🌸🐕‍🦺🪻🐄🐑