Dark Peak Walks. Paul Besley

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      From Fox House Inn walk northeast along the A6187 for 300 metres and cross the road to go through the gate then follow the wall line up the field and through a second gate leading onto a road. Cross the road and go through the gate opposite and follow the defined track to Totley Moor. Where a second road, coming from the right, joins the track, proceed for 270 metres then take the faint footpath on the right southeast up towards the skyline and the triangulation pillar. Red deer are frequently seen on these moors, an incongruous sight when the city of Sheffield is the backdrop.

      Head southwest to cross a tumbledown wall and carry on through the boggy ground of Totley Moss to reach a gate in a wall leading onto the B6054. Cross the road and turn right along the tarmac path for 200 metres to go through a gate and onto White Edge Moor.

      Head left along the line of the wall on your left, stepping across the infant Bar Brook, for 750 metres and then go through a gate and on to a wooden waymark post. Go right at the post and walk down a wide grass track, the way marked by ancient trees on either side. At a fork in the track, keep left and descend the moor until the track intersects with a well-made vehicle track. Turn left along the track, passing an ancient guide stoop on the right, to a gate leading onto the A621. Go directly across and over a wooden stile to Greaves’s Piece and along a grass footpath right, leading down into a valley.

      Guide stoops (stone guideposts) started appearing in the early 18th century to act as signposts on what had become trade routes across the moors. There are several examples on Big Moor; the one passed here indicates the way to Bakewell and Sheffield. Close to the guide stoop is a flat stone laid on the ground. This is a companion stone, part of an art project connected with the ancient ways around Big Moor.

      Continue along the footpath to go over a wooden stile and into a fenced lane, known as Car Road. Turn left down the lane and take the next footpath on the right into woodland. Follow the footpath by the stream below Hewetts Bank, crossing it at a ford then rising above the valley and stream through a wooden gate to open moorland, joining a track that leads to a gate and a minor road. Go right along the road for 600 metres and take the footpath through a gate leading to Ramsley Reservoir. Turn left through the wooden gate and walk along the breached dam exiting via a gate onto a grass trail that turns northwest after 75 metres to arrive at a gate on the A621. Go straight across and through the gate opposite onto a wide footpath on Big Moor. Follow the path along to the Stone Circle just off to the right then regain the path and continue along this to reach a gate leading on to a house beyond.

      There is much evidence of Bronze Age settlement on the moor with several stone circles, cairns and field systems. The area was suitable for settlement having a good water supply from Bar Brook and fertile land in which to grow crops.

      Go to the right of the house and walk up to go through a gate then follow a footpath around a disused reservoir eventually reaching a second gate. This is a good area to spot merlin, curlew, red start and skylark, among other birdlife; adders can also be seen basking on footpaths.

      Proceed through the gate along the footpath to return to Bar Brook. Cross the brook and turn left, ignoring the gate onto the road, but walk up the moorland path to pass Lady’s Cross on the left and arrive at a wooden gate in a wall at White Edge. Go through the gate and down the steep footpath to White Edge Lodge. Turn right along the vehicle track to the road junction. Go across the road junction and enter the Longshaw Estate by the wooden gate at Wooden Pole. Take the wide grass trail down to join a second heading for Longshaw Lodge. At the lodge carry on along the exit drive from the estate but do not go onto the road. Instead take the footpath to the right up through trees to a gate leading to Fox House Inn and the end of the walk.