Matlock Bath and the Heights of Abraham

The original Heights of Abraham, which the hillside must have resembled, rise above Quebec and the St Lawrence River in Canada. There, in 1759, British troops under General Wolfe fought a victorious battle with the French under the Marquis de Montcalm. Both generals were killed and the encounter earned Wolfe, and Quebec, an unenviable place in English place-name folklore, to be joined later by Waterloo and, later still, Spion Kop.

Matlock Bath is like Derbyshire’s mini-Blackpool. Yet there are peaceful corners, and this walk seeks them out. It offers fine views across the Matlock Gorge. Spurning the cable car, it climbs through the woods and out on to the hillside above the town. The Victoria Prospect Tower peeps over the trees. Built by unemployed miners a century ago, it’s now part of the Heights of Abraham complex. Above the complex, a little path leads you through delectable woodland. In spring it’s heavy with the scent of wild garlic and coloured by a carpet of bluebells. Out of the woods, an attractive hedge-lined unsurfaced lane weaves its way through high pastures, giving distant views of the White Peak plateau, Black Rocks and the cliffs of Crich Stand.

At the end of the lane, there’s Bonsall, whose Perpendicular church tower and spire have been beckoning you onwards for some time. In the centre of this old lead-mining village is a sloping market square with a 17th-century cross. The Kings Head Inn, built in 1677, overlooks the square, and is said to be haunted. The lane out of Bonsall takes you to the edge of an area of old mine shafts and modern-day quarries. Here you’re diverted into the woods above the Via Gellia, a valley named after Philip Gell, who built the road from the quarry to the Cromford Canal. Those who wish can make a short diversion from the woodland path to see the Cromford Mills (site of Richard Arkwright’s first mill complex) and canal. The main route swings north, back into the woods of the Derwent Valley, passing the high hamlet of Upperwood, where fleeting views of Matlock appear through the trees.

From the north end of the car park, cross the A6 and take St John’s Road up the wooded slopes opposite. Fork right as the road divides, heading uphill and below St John’s Chapel to the gates of Cliffe House. Take a footpath immediately right of the gates; this climbs steeply through the woods before running along the field edge above a farm.

As views open out directly opposite Riber Castle, and with Victoria Prospect Tower directly ahead, the waymarked path swings right and climbs up to the top of the field. The footpath threads through mixed deciduous woodland (which can be muddy underfoot if wet) and a grassy field, before reaching one of the entrances to the Heights of Abraham complex.

Ignore an obvious, engineered path and continue briefly uphill beside the perimeter wall to a gate. Pass through, cross a wide vehicle track and carry on through woodland.

At the far side of the woods, turn right on to a farm track close to Ember Farm. This becomes a pretty lane that winds down pastured hillslopes into Bonsall.

Turn left by the church along a lane that becomes unsurfaced when you get beyond Town End Farm. Curving left, the track skirts the high fence of a quarry. Later narrowing to a path, it descends to the right into trees.

A brief clearing leads to a wider expanse of woodland. After a few paces, bend sharp right with the quarry fenceline, falling on a narrow path through woodland high above the Via Gellia. Stay with the fenceline heading right at a junction by a sharp fence corner then continue on a narrower path next to a derelict post and rail fence. This descends gently above Cromford. Ignore a path fork by an old gatepost and descend to the next fork (above a small wooden shed).

Turn left here (waymarked) to stay on the route, passing above houses – or detour ahead to Cromford if you wish. Fork left at a junction on a small spur, soon following a low wall on the right. Pass above a disused tennis court, then fork left. Continue ahead past a junction by an adit. At the edge of woodland, fork left on to a grassy track that soon becomes a lane. This descends through Upperwood, passing West Lodge, the main entrance to the Heights of Abraham.

Just before a sharp bend right in the road, fork left on to a stepped path through the woods on the left, signed ‘To Matlock’. Climb steps to a wooden footbridge over a lane, and continue on the woodland path. You’ll pass under the Heights of Abraham cable cars before joining a farm track that comes in from the left.

This joins St John’s Road and the initial outward route at Cliffe House. Retrace your steps to the start.