MY WAY AROUND – LYME PARK TO WHALEY BRIDGE

Renowned for its wonderful paths and trails, Lyme Park is a romantic treasure trove of stately house, formal gardens, woods and wild moorland. It is a delight for walkers as well as being a magnet for lovers of Jane Austen who can wander with pride in the footsteps of the fictional Mr Darcy.

We exited the main car park and walked uphill in front of the gated entrance on the final approach to the front door where carriages would have turned long ago. We then continued past the former stable block before turning right along a track between Kennel Wood and Hampers Wood that would eventually lead us up to Higher Moor.

Lyme Park contains some high ladder stiles, designed to provide access for walkers into the deer park. The National Trust have installed little dog hatches beside some of them which Nellie very much appreciated!

It got quite steep so I stopped for a breather from time to time and took in distant views behind me. It was a lovely clear day and I could make out the skyscrapers in Manchester including the famous Beetham Tower which rises up 554 feet. Completed in 2006 as the UK’s first proper skyscraper outside London, it consists of 47 storeys. However, in November 2018, it was surpassed by the then newly topped out South Tower at Deansgate Square.

Beetham Tower is known to emit a loud hum during windy weather, recorded at a B below Middle C and said to have been picked up on occasion when filming Coronation Street at their old city centre studio site.

At the top of the moor we were on a roll, ambling our way through bog and reed grasses before passing through Dissop Head on the National Park border. After descending to cross a gated footbridge we then made our way to a lovely gated track that brought us downhill through Cliff, crossing back from Cheshire into Derbyshire.

It was a very scenic route with extensive views over High Peak Hills. Eventually we emerged onto Start Lane where we turned left to enter Whaley Bridge. A steep but straight footpath on the right after Slattersbank Wood brought us down to Reservoir Road where I could see that work is still ongoing at Toddbrook Reservoir to landscape the dam wall for the finishing touches of an extensive £15 million repair project.

Opened in 1838 as a feeder for the Peak Forest canal, the reservoir made headline news on 1 August 2019 when a major incident was declared. The reservoir came close to catastrophic failure after persistent heavy rain partially dislodged concrete slabs on its spillway. A danger to life warning was issued as it was thought the dam wall could collapse, forcing the evacuation of 1,500 residents. Emergency teams used an RAF Chinook helicopter to drop bags of aggregate to stabilise the dam which was then ‘grouted’ with concrete to shore it up whilst pumps reduced the water level in the reservoir meaning the structure was thankfully saved. However, the incident led to major, long-term reconstruction work.

As of late April 2026, the reservoir is in the process of being refilled naturally in stages, monitored by experts to test the new spillway structure, and is expected to be fully functional again for water storage by autumn, assuming of course that we don’t have another drought!

Nellie and I now had a little wander through the town. The high street in Whaley Bridge appears to have lots of independent shops, eateries and businesses. I also saw many characterful houses and after what had been a long spell of dull winter months, it was so pleasing to the eye and good for the soul to see fresh leaves unfurling on trees and nice gardens full of colour.

The parish of Whaley Bridge is quite extensive and includes Furness Vale, Horwich End, Bridgemont, Fernilee, Stoneheads and Taxal. I also think of it as being the top end of the former Cromford and High Peak Railway (C&HPR) completed in 1831, which was a standard-gauge line linking the Cromford Canal at High Peak Junction with the Peak Forest Canal at Whaley Bridge. The railway was constructed to carry minerals and goods up and over the limestone area of the Peak District with the use of steep inclines, one of which I will see in my next walk.

Sally Mosley

FOOTNOTE BY NELLIE: Dad is of an age now when he nods off from time to time when sitting on the sofa with me, sometimes in mid fuss. I look up to see his eyes shut and can tell that he’s in ‘noddy land’ again. The other day though I got a nasty fright because Mum said dad was having a cat nap and I thought one of those furry critters had invaded my home so my hackles went up ready for action. What a silly old saying! Woof, Woof! love Nellie xx