Forty years ago Dunford Bridge was a major coal-handling depot with trains thundering through the Woodhead Tunnel. Now the railway has become the Trans-Pennine Trail and one of its prettiest sections must surely be at Dunford Bridge. Here, beside the old trackbed, the verge is covered with wild flowers. Mallow, mullein, toadflax, golden rod, St John's wort, centaury and even orchids grow in profusion while tortoiseshell butterflies flit among the purple heads of knapweed.
LOCATION: Peak District, twenty miles east of Manchester
START: Winscar Reservoir car park. Turn off the A628, 4 miles beyond Crowden signed Trans Pennine Trail
Grid ref: SE152020 Postcode: S36 4TE
DISTANCE: 5.5 miles
GRADE: Easy
TIME: 2.5 hours
MAP: Explorer OL-Dark Peak Landranger 110
REFRESHMENTS: The Stanhope Arms (closed Mons)
EN ROUTE: Townhead, Carlecotes, Soughley, River Don
This walk was originally published by
The Manchester Evening News