"It is with great difficulty that we got in and out of the county", wrote an agent of the London Lead Company. No, he wasn't complaining about traffic jams, but until railways arrived in the 19th century the Peak District was cut off from the outside world. Nowadays avoiding cars is the problem, but these tracks, once taken by waggons carrying limestone to the crushing plants at Buxton, provide a haven where the only hazard is cyclists without bells! Most unusually this walk is all on tracks so you don't have to worry about muddy boots.
LOCATION: Eleven miles south-east of Buxton
START: Friden picnic site, signed from A5012. Turn off A515 at Newhaven Grid ref: SK172607 Postcode: SK170DY
DISTANCE: 7 miles
GRADE: Easy
TIME: 3 hours
MAP: Outdoor Leisure - White Peak Landranger 119
REFRESHMENTS: Jug and Glass
EN ROUTE: High Peak Trail, Tissington Trail, Hartington, Cronford and High Peak Railway, Newhaven, Aleck Low
This walk was originally published by
The Manchester Evening News