Additional information
Terrain
- Field paths and firm moorland tracks; many stiles
Landscape
- Open fields, woodland and narrow limestone dale
Dog friendliness
- Lead required around livestock and in nature reserve
Parking
- Considerately in Sheldon village centre
Toilets en route
- None on route; nearest at White Lodge and Ashford in the Water
About the walk
The rocks and minerals of the Peak District have always been in demand, none more so than lead. For centuries men have toiled below the surface to extract the highly valued metal, so vital for roofing and other building uses, and in its heyday (the early 1700s) as many as 10,000 miners were busy on... the ore fields of the Peak District. Although profits were certainly made, many business ventures ended in failure, and abandoned shafts, redundant chimneys and grassed-over spoil tips litter the White Peak landscape. The best surviving mining remains are to be found just outside the village of Sheldon, near Bakewell. Ancient monument Magpie Mine was first worked in 1740, then more or less continuously for the next 200 years, and although now silent the buildings and even some of the machinery have been carefully preserved by the Peak District Mines Historical Society. The site, a scheduled ancient monument, shows the various stages of development, from the earliest stone buildings through to the dark, corrugated iron sheds and steel headgear that date from the last unsuccessful attempt to revive the mine in the 1950s. Magpie Mine is free to look around, but do beware sudden drops and don’t touch any of the old machinery. At weekends there’s often someone from the adjacent field centre on hand to answer questions or provide information.   A dangerous business Mining was not just a difficult business, it was also dangerous. There was a constant threat from rock falls and poisonous gases, as well as disputes between different miners. The hardest battle, though, was with water and the never-ending attempts to pump it out of the mines so that the ore could be worked. Ever more larger and powerful devices were used, including a huge Cornish pumping engine housed in the stone building that dominates the centre of the site. Next to it is a round Cornish chimney, unlike the squarer versions more typical of Derbyshire. Finally, in the late 1800s, a 1.25-mile (2km) underground drainage channel, known as a sough, was dug all the way to the Wye Valley near Ashford in the Water in a last-ditch attempt to rid the mine of water. Carpets of cowslips This long and varied walk also takes in a stretch of glorious woodland above the River Wye, plus the nature reserve of Deep Dale (not to be confused with the dale of the same name near Chelmorton). In May its slopes are overrun with up to a million cowslips, as well as other wild flowers like salad burnet, tormentil and mountain pansy.Â
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Derbyshire
The natural features of this central English county range from the modest heights of the Peak District National Park, where Kinder Scout stands at 2,088 ft (636 m), to the depths of its remarkable underground caverns, floodlit to reveal exquisite Blue John stone. Walkers and cyclists will enjoy the High Peak Trail which extends from the Derwent Valley to the limestone plateau near Buxton, and for many, the spectacular scenery is what draws them to the area.
