Padley Gorge Walk
“A Cloudy day walking in the peaks is better than a sunny day in the office”

Padley gorge walk is an excellent walk for children and grownups alike. The walk through Padley gorge starts at Longshaw car park and goes via grindleford café and Totley tunnel. The walk takes about 2 hours but there are plenty of stops on the way.

Start/Parking: Park in the Longshaw estate visitor centre car park just off the A6187 Owler Bar road Map reference (OL1 266800)

Tariff

£1.50 - Up to 1 hour

£2.60 - Up to 4 hours

£4.00 - All day

Free  - National Trust members

Walk summery for the Padley Gorge Circular walk. 

This is a great walk with the children or without. It starts by taking you through the Longshaw estate, down the scenery of Padley Gorge and a bacon buttie at Grindleford café.

Actual walking is about 2 hours, the rest of the time is playing.

Guided walks: We have guides available to escort you on your Padley gorge walk (or any other walks for that matter). Our guides are very friendly, experienced hill walkers. They are also highly qualified first aiders. Obviously there is a charge for their time; the more there are of you the cheaper it will be. Click here to arrange your guide.

Quick Guide for the circular padley gorge walk

  1. Follow path from car park pay machine and pass front of Longshaw Lodge
  2. Continue along path past duck pond to large wood ant.
  3. Turn left at ant and follow path
  4. After Y junction turn right SW 250° to gate
  5. Take path immediate right and follow downhill to road.
  6. Cross road to Gorge path, turn right and follow path downhill
  7. Arrive at gap in wall by road turn right to Grindleford Café
  8. Back over bridge and pass the mill and other buildings
  9. Take the right path uphill
  10. Through the gate and follow main path all the way to the top of gorge at A6187
  11. Cross bridge and follow path up and to right.
  12. Continue through woods to large gate by road B6521.
  13. Cross road and go through white gate next to small house
  14. Turn up path on the left to Car park

A more detailed description is found below and a PDF for you to save.

The Start of the Padley gorge circular walk.

Take the path downhill which starts at the car park pay station. You’ll  find a “Boggart trail” on the left and man or woman made shelters in the little wood on the right – let the child in you have a play. The path comes to a T junction.

For the walk we will take the right hand path BUT, just before you go right, impress your friends with your local knowledge.

If you take the left path to what seems behind the house and then a small track up on the left you will find an old Ice House - pictured right (Make sure you have a torch).

Back to the path (to continue the circular Padley Gorge walk) and follow it down to the open fields. You need to find the path to the left which runs in front of the estate house. Go through the gate and follow the path to the right and follow it through the woods to the large pond on the right. Stick to the main path which follows the pond and then weaves to the left. Follow this main path until you see a large wooden ant on the floor with an arrow pointing left. This is the path you take (It’s more interesting than going straight to the gorge – trust me).

Yarncliffe quarry

I also like this way because not many people take this route. Follow the path, through the gate and straight on past the hollow on the right. You’ll come to a Y in the path take the right hand path (straight on, not the direction of the arrow). Just after the Y there is a track to the right which you will take. It takes you to a small steam that you have to cross between 2 trees (250° SW).

The track will lead to a gate. Go through the gate and take the little track directly on the right (following the fence) to the main path. Turn right and continue down this path all the way to the road. At the bottom on the right hand side if you look there is a climbing area at Yarncliffe quarry.

Cross the road and through the wall to Padley gorge. Take the path on the left and follow. You’ll soon see a path on the right which takes you to the river edge. Sometimes we take this path and follow the river until you come to some steps going up. Whichever path you take just ensure that the river is on your right and that you are continuously going downhill. At the bottom of the gorge you’ll find a gap in the wall and the road. Turn left to cross the bridge next to the Totley tunnel and Gridleford Café.

One of the attractions to the Padley gorge walk is the fact that you can stop for a cup of tea and a chip/bacon buttie.

The café is legendary and gets very busy we love it.

Once you’ve had your fill and the kids have eaten all the chips!! Walk back over the bridge towards the mill house. Follow the road to the left until you arrive at an uphill path on the right.

Going straight on at this point joins the Bole Hill Quarry walk. You could walk down the road to visit the Padley chapel and ruins if you wanted to and return to this point.

OK, walk up the hill to the gate at the top. Go through the gate and continue up the main path.

You’ll see, what looks like, a double bed made of rock. Depending on how fit you are this is a welcome sight after the walk uphill.

The large stone building on the left is a valve house along the aquaduct carrying water from Derwent Dam.

Fred and Wilma!

Continue up hill on the main path. You will come across another small building in the woods on the left. This was a gunpowder store for Bole Hill quarry. Back to the main path and follow it all the way to the main rocks at the edge of the woods. When the suns out this makes for an excellent sun bathing spot (well we are English).

Continue along the path following Burbage Brook (on the right) all the way until you reach a wooden bridge. (This is not the wooden bridge you see at the exit of the woods – there’s another one about ½ mile up stream). Cross the bridge and follow the path up hill and to the right. The path follows the road (A6187) to another large gate near the junction of the A6187 and the B6521.

Cross this road and head towards the building to the right. You’ll find a path to the left of the building which takes you up through the woods and back to the car park where the padley gorge walk started.

Cross this road and head towards the building to the right. You’ll find a path to the left of the building which takes you up through the woods and back to the car park where the padley gorge walk started.

We hope you and your group enjoy this Padley gorge walk 

We hope you and your group enjoy this Padley gorge walk 

See my favourite walks in the peak District and Derbyshire

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