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Around Lyme Park

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Our view

"A circuit partly within and partly outside the park itself, climbing to an elevated ridge."

Walk directions

Follow the main drive left from the car park. Keep right at a fork, but at the second fork, take to the grass between the branches and climb onto the Knott, the small hill directly ahead. Drop left from the summit to a car park. Through a gate, follow a descending track along a wooded valley. Emerging beside West Lodge, go left to the lane.

Turn left and immediately left again beside a Methodist chapel. Keep ahead at a fork, but as the track swings right to Lark Hill, follow the path ahead to a gate and continue beside the estate wall. Dip across a stream in a wooded dell and fork right over a rise. The trod remains clear, eventually emerging through a gate onto a track. Go right past Keeper's Cottage on Moorside Lane, then leave left, following a trod by the left wall through a gap and onto the moor. Over a stile at Dale Top, head across a shallow dip to join a track as it passes through a gate. Carry on, closing with the left wall. Towards the top, bear right to a crossing track, Moorside Lane.

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Location

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Stony tracks and moorland paths, several stiles – some very high

Landscape - Woodland, rough pasture and moorland

Dog friendliness - On lead in deer park, sheep or cattle elsewhere

Parking - National Trust car park adjacent to house

Toilets en route - Near cafe in Timber Yard, just below car park

Walks in Cheshire

About the walk

It is hard to get near Lyme Park without encountering some mention of Pride and Prejudice, though the connection is frankly tenuous. In the acclaimed BBC dramatisation of Jane Austen's novel, Lyme Park stood in for Pemberley, Mr Darcy's home. There is no reason to think that Austen herself had Lyme... Park in mind. In the novel, Pemberley is in Derbyshire – and was fictional. But it is a pretty good representation of Jane Austen's description of Pemberley and any excuse for a good walk. A wooded valley The walk quickly leaves the bustle of the car park for relative tranquillity around the Knott – though this can be lively, too, as there's an area where mountain-biking is allowed. The route then descends a wooded valley. The mixture of trees includes Scots pine, sycamore, oak, larch and birch and there are masses of rhododendrons. A good range of woodland birds, from woodpecker to nuthatch, is also present. Soon the route starts to climb again. Along the first lane are banks of traditional meadow flowers like poppies, ox-eye daisies and cornflowers. Then there's a steady climb through pastureland, punctuated by some self-explanatory place names: Moorside Lane, Keeper's Cottage and Planted Moor. On the last, are several circles of rhododendrons, as obvious and incongruous as any crop circle. Though no one seems to have suggested that these are of extra-terrestrial origin. Views from the crest It's the sort of climb where a rear-view mirror would be useful as the views expand steadily. Alderley Edge stands out, with Manchester Airport slightly further away and the whole conurbation beyond. Reaching the crest, there's a new and very different view ahead. The green little valley of Todd Brook, containing the village of Kettleshulme, seems totally enclosed. It actually drains eastward, towards the higher hills of the Peak District which lie beyond. In reasonable visibility the short out-and-back trip along the near-level ridge is highly recommended to open out the view southward. Kerridge Hill and White Nancy are conspicuous and the Cheshire Plain sprawls to the west. You return along the ridge and continue, still virtually level, towards the isolated Bowstones Farm. Just beyond on the left are the Bow Stones, two shafts of late Saxon crosses. These may have served as landmarks or boundary stones as well as objects of devotion for the local community. The shafts are missing their heads, but these may well be the ones which now reside in the courtyard of Lyme Hall. You now re-enter Lyme Park and soon descend, with glimpses of the house over the trees. The final section goes through the fallow deer park and then skirts the edge of the gardens, from where you get a classic view of the house reflected by a pool and framed by oak and beech trees.

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About the area

Nestled between the Welsh hills and Derbyshire Peaks, the Cheshire plains make an ideal location to take things slow and mess around in boats. Cheshire has more than 200 miles (302 km) of man-made waterways, more than any other county in England.

Route details

Difficulty:

Medium

Gradient:

Moderate

Distance:

6.25 miles (10.1kms)

Ascent:

1050ft (320m)

If you like this walk, you can try more routes in the area.

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Around Lyme Park

Recommended by

Our view

"A circuit partly within and partly outside the park itself, climbing to an elevated ridge."

Walk details

Difficulty:

Medium

Gradient:

Moderate

Distance:

6.25 miles (10.1kms)

Ascent:

1050ft (320m)

Walk directions

1 of 4

2 of 4

Walk right along the broad ridge of Sponds Hill for almost 0.5 miles (800m) to the high point, where an impressive view to the south is suddenly revealed. Return along the track and continue with it through a gate to meet the end of a lane by Bowstones Farm. The Bow Stones are on the left, just a few steps beyond the entrance to the farm. Go back to a stile beside the farm entrance and follow the Gritstone Trail to a high ladder stile into Lyme Park. A path leads right beside the wall for 0.5 miles (800m), passing a topograph marking the estate's highest point.

3 of 4

Reaching a corner by a marker stone, swing left and descend beside a plantation. Take either branch at a lower fork, that to the left offering an easier gradient. The paths rejoin beneath a high stile at the bottom corner. Beyond, a track continues beside a high fence to a gate into the fallow deer park. When open, turn through and walk over a bridge. Bear right below the house gardens, ultimately dropping out down steps and through a gate back to the car park. During the winter rut, the deer park is closed and you should instead keep ahead, passing through a gate to meet a drive. Go left, skirting the grounds of the house and descending steps back to the car park.

4 of 4

Location

Starting point

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Stony tracks and moorland paths, several stiles – some very high

Landscape - Woodland, rough pasture and moorland

Dog friendliness - On lead in deer park, sheep or cattle elsewhere

Parking - National Trust car park adjacent to house

Toilets en route - Near cafe in Timber Yard, just below car park

Walks in Cheshire

About the walk

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Walking in Safety

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About the area

Cheshire

Around Lyme Park

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Around Lyme Park

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