Some places stay with you because of one unexpected detail: a narrow cleft between mossy rock walls, a seat carved into a boulder, or an archway standing among the trees. These twelve discoveries in and around the Peak District bring together unusual landscapes and the traces people have left within them.
Explore the chasms, caves and woodland of Lud’s Church, Thor’s Cave, Cave Dale and Padley Gorge. Seek out the curious rocks of Rowtor and Robin Hood’s Stride, then encounter the ancient stones of Nine Ladies and Minninglow. Errwood Hall, Lumsdale and Magpie Mine reveal different kinds of remains, while Solomon’s Temple adds a hilltop folly and views over Buxton.
Choose an individual place or explore the collection across separate outings. Local legends form part of the stories, alongside documented history and geology. Each place’s guide explains its approach, terrain and current access considerations.
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Places in this collection
The order tells a story, not a walking route or itinerary. Check each place’s visiting guide before setting out.
1. Begin with a woodland chasm whose moss-covered gritstone walls and narrow strip of sky give it an extraordinary atmosphere. Stories of secret worship and outlaws add another layer to the landscape.
2. A great limestone cave mouth looks out over the Manifold Valley. Its dramatic setting comes with a demanding approach: read the guide’s steep-path and slippery-entrance advice before visiting.
3. Step from Castleton into a steep-sided limestone valley beneath Peveril Castle. The crags and changing views make the lower dale a memorable encounter with the Peak District’s geology.
4. Burbage Brook threads between mossy stones through old oak and birch woodland. The gorge brings a quieter kind of discovery, with traces of old routes woven into the wooded setting.
5. Natural gritstone shapes meet carved seats, steps and small rock-cut spaces behind Birchover’s Druid Inn. This unusual private site depends on the landowner continuing to permit respectful visits.
6. The weathered gritstone towers on Harthill Moor make a distinctive walking destination. Enjoy their shapes from ground level and the surrounding landscape; the evocative name adds character without establishing a historical Robin Hood connection.
7. A Bronze Age stone circle on Stanton Moor pairs archaeology with the local tale of dancers turned to stone. The story belongs to folklore; the stones sit within a much wider prehistoric landscape.
8. A ring of trees encloses the remains of a Neolithic chambered tomb and later Bronze Age burial mounds. The approach from the High Peak Trail adds former railway and quarry features to the discovery.
9. Surviving walls and an archway mark a former country house among the Goyt Valley trees. Explore from permitted paths and open areas, respecting any barriers around the fragile remains.
10. Waterfalls, mill remains, ponds and channels reveal a wooded valley shaped by water power. Follow the permissive path and appreciate the fragile industrial ruins from outside fenced areas.
11. Engine-house ruins, chimneys and surviving machinery stand against the open White Peak fields. The surface remains offer a striking encounter with the landscape’s lead-mining past; there is no underground visitor access.
12. Finish with a Victorian hilltop folly reached through Grin Low Woods. The small stone tower and views over Buxton give the collection a final meeting of unusual architecture and landscape.