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Bleaklow's peatlands

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Walk directions

From the car park, cross a bridge and walk through Manor Park, passing the café to emerge on to Manor Park Road. Turn left towards Old Glossop and then right along Shepley Street, passing a factory, to a bus turning circle. Continue eastwards on a farm track, between the partially wooded dome of Shire Hill on the right and the wooded slopes of Edge Plantation on the left.

On reaching a gate, leave the track through a kissing gate on the left. The path, confined at first by a fence and dry-stone wall, climbs northeast on a pastured spur overlooking the curiously named but pleasant craggy valley of Shittern Clough. In the upper reaches and beyond a second kissing gate, the now well-defined path continues the climb through bilberry bushes and then over the heather of Upper Lightside.

The path settles along the spur’s southern brow high above Yellowslacks Brook. A dilapidated wire fence comes in from the right and the path goes along the left-hand side of it before joining the cliff edges of Yellowslacks and Dog Rock. The crags close in to form the rugged channel of Dowstone Clough and the path slips through the fence posts. Towards the top, the path joins the stream in the now shallow clough to avoid the peat haggs.

Eventually the stream divides among a bed of rushes (grid ref SK 088953). Cross the main stream and follow the snaking tributary gully, which soon curves east and then south through a complex of peat haggs. The summit of Higher Shelf Stones lies just over 0.25 miles (400m) to the south, but remains hidden until the last moment, when the trig column suddenly appears a short distance to the right, perched atop a rocky slab.

From Higher Shelf Stones, leave the trig column in a northerly direction and after approximately 20yds (18m), curve left skirting the edge of the peat haggs to pick up a narrow path towards Lower Shelf Stones. Carry on to the shoulder of James’s Thorn, where a grass path forks off left to the second crash site (see ‘What to see’). The way back continues beside the peat (with the peat haggs to the right and moorland to the left) over the crest, dropping to a fence stile by a small pool.

Now clear, the path descends across the grassy hillside, later settling beside the gully of a stream. Passing through a broken wall, it joins a track from the right and continues as a broader track, eventually meeting Doctor’s Gate Path by a stone barn.

Continue down the valley to a junction by Mossy Lea Farm. Bear right, soon picking up the outward route at the foot of Lightside to return to Manor Park.

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Location

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Unsurfaced tracks and sometimes indistinct moorland paths (good navigation skills advised), several stiles

Landscape - High peat moor

Dog friendliness - Walk is on access agreement land; dogs should be kept on lead

Parking - Manor Park car park, off Glossop High Street East (A57)

Toilets en route - By Manor Park café

Walks in Derbyshire Dog-friendly walks in Derbyshire

About the walk

Bleaklow’s not so much a hill, more a vast expanse of bare black peat, where even the toughest moor grasses can’t take root. Wainwright once wrote that nobody loved the place, and those who got on it were glad to get off. But there’s another side to Bleaklow. There are corners where bilberries... grow thick round fascinating rock sculptures; where heather, bracken and grass weave a colourful quilt. Places like Grinah Stones, Yellowslacks and Shepherd’s Meeting Stones are all remote, but they’re dramatic places, far superior to anything seen on the popular routes. Bleaklow’s true top lies in the midst of the mires, but only a few feet lower is Higher Shelf Stones, a bold summit with a distinctive mountain shape and some good crags. Climb Higher Shelf Stones from Old Glossop, and you’ll see the best of Bleaklow. Bleaklow’s not so much a hill, more a vast expanse of bare black peat, where even the toughest moor grasses can’t take root. Wainwright once wrote that nobody loved the place, and those who got on it were glad to get off. But there’s another side to Bleaklow. There are corners where bilberries grow thick round fascinating rock sculptures; where heather, bracken and grass weave a colourful quilt. Places like Grinah Stones, Yellowslacks and Shepherd’s Meeting Stones are all remote, but they’re dramatic places, far superior to anything seen on the popular routes. Bleaklow’s true top lies in the midst of the mires, but only a few feet lower is Higher Shelf Stones, a bold summit with a distinctive mountain shape and some good crags. Climb Higher Shelf Stones from Old Glossop, and you’ll see the best of Bleaklow. From the summit rocks you look down on the deep twisting clough of Shelf Brook and out across the plains of Manchester to the shadowy hills of north Wales. Leaving the high moors is a faint path across a grassy spur descending into Shelf Brook’s clough, where you join the Doctor’s Gate track. This gets its name from Doctor Talbot, the Vicar of Glossop, who paved the packhorse route over the moors to make hist visits to his father in Sheffield easier. His trips were worthy of note because he was in fact the illegitimate son of the very powerful Earl of Shrewsbury. Much earlier, the old highway was used by Roman troops marching between their forts at Navio (Brough, near Hope) and Melandra (Glossop).

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About the area

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.

Route details

Difficulty:

Hard

Gradient:

Moderate

Distance:

7.75 miles (12.5kms)

Ascent:

1700ft (518m)

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

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Bleaklow's peatlands

Recommended by

Walk details

Difficulty:

Hard

Gradient:

Moderate

Distance:

7.75 miles (12.5kms)

Ascent:

1700ft (518m)

Walk directions

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Continue down the valley to a junction by Mossy Lea Farm. Bear right, soon picking up the outward route at the foot of Lightside to return to Manor Park.

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Location

Starting point

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Unsurfaced tracks and sometimes indistinct moorland paths (good navigation skills advised), several stiles

Landscape - High peat moor

Dog friendliness - Walk is on access agreement land; dogs should be kept on lead

Parking - Manor Park car park, off Glossop High Street East (A57)

Toilets en route - By Manor Park café

Walks in Derbyshire Dog-friendly walks in Derbyshire

About the walk

Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

Find out more

Walking in Safety

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

Learn more

Get an AA guide

Explore our range of ‘50 Walks in’ guides - they’re the ideal companion for a ramble.

Learn more

Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

Find out more

Walking in Safety

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

Learn more

Get an AA guide

Explore our range of ‘50 Walks in’ guides - they’re the ideal companion for a ramble.

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About the area

Derbyshire

Bleaklow's peatlands

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Walking in Safety

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Bleaklow's peatlands

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