BRASSINGTON WALK
THE WALK
Brassington Walk commands outstanding views and fascinating places to visit. It reveals much of the heritage of this upland area, which is of considerable interest to the geologist, the botanist, and the climber. There are many strange rock formations found at Rainster Rocks and Hipley Hill.
Harborough Rocks, which are visited further on in the walk, where the remains of Bronze and Iron Age man have been discovered, are similar in formation. Here, you can see the site of the cave once occupied by human inhabitants as recently as the early 18th century.
LOOK OUT FOR
Route Point 4 – The unusual rock formations of Rainster Rocks are an example of dolomitic limestone, of particular interest to geologists and historians. The Romano-British settlement and field system at Rainster Rocks are scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The area is important because of the wide range of diverse features that still survive, which give evidence of the ancient agriculture and industrial usage of the site. It is in an area where the Romans acquired lead. An excavation of the land in the early 20th century produced evidence in the form of coins, pottery and metalwork to confirm the site’s occupation between 300AD and 400AD. A later excavation in the 1970s indicated that lead smelting was also probably carried out in the area.
Point 5 – Longcliffe, on the dry limestone moorlands, was an important watering point in the days when the Cromford and High Peak Railway operated. It is the home of Longcliffe Calcium Carbonates, the UK’s leading independent supplier of high-purity calcium carbonate and limestone powders, granules and aggregates. First quarried in Derbyshire in Roman times for building stone and lime, the county is still the UK’s largest lime and limestone producer. Today, 20 million tons of limestone are quarried annually for hundreds of uses.
Point 6 – Originally, the High Peak Trail was a railway line, considered an engineering masterpiece. It has attracted the interest of railway enthusiasts from all over the world. The line linked High Peak Junction, 277 feet above sea level, with Whaley Bridge, 570 feet above sea level. In the middle, it rose to over 1,000 feet at Ladmanlow. Following the closure of the line, it has been converted into a popular trail that links up with the Tissington Trail.
Point 7 – Harborough Rocks are easy to access from the High Peak Trail, from where you can visit the site of the cave once occupied by human inhabitants. There were people living in the area in prehistoric times. Remains of Bronze and Iron Age man have been found. Daniel Defoe visited the rocks on his ‘Tour through Great Britain’ in the early 18th century and described a family living in the cave. Only a short distance away is Minning Low, where Neolithic chambered barrows were found on the summit. There are also many strange rock formations in the vicinity at Rainster Rocks and Hipley Hill, seen earlier in the walk.
WALK DETAILS
Length: 5 miles.
Start: Wirksworth Dale Car Park.
Location: Between the B5056 Ashbourne to Bakewell Road and the B5035 Ashbourne to Wirksworth Road.
Terrain: A short climb out of Brassington, but generally easy going along moorland paths, quiet country roads, and the High Peak Trail.
Refreshments: Built in 1616, The Gate at Brassington was on a turnpike road and provided stabling for horses and refreshment for coachmen and remains extremely popular. – The Knockerdown Inn overlooking Carsington Water on the B5035. Dining and café facilities are also available at Carsington Water Visitor Centre.
THE ROUTE
1. From the car park, walk down Wirksworth Dale and turn left at the bottom of the road towards Brassington. Go to the right by the Village Hall and follow the narrow lane around to the right. At a crossing point of lanes, continue ahead along Hillside Lane with walls on either side, ignoring a permissive path on the right.
2. After passing a chapel converted into housing, directly opposite a house sign, Browntop, turn right into a field at a footpath sign. Angle to the left, at first and then follow the field boundary as it ascends. As the field levels out, with a wall a short distance in front of you, angle to the right to go through a stile onto a farm access road.
3. Do not cross the stile opposite, but walk down the road, ignoring another stile to the right, until you reach an access road just in front of you, and turn right along a Bridleway. At first, you go to the right, before bending to the left and then straightening out along a greenway.
4. Follow the greenway past a small outcrop of rocks and turn left to go over a stile in the wall, about 50 yards from the bottom corner of the field. Walk to the marker post that you can see in front of you. From this point, you can continue straight ahead to explore Rainster Rocks before returning to the same marker post. As you walk up the field from the marker post, you angle slightly to the right towards the top corner. To go through a stile by a metal gate, to the north of the one you previously used.
5. Go through the stile by the gate, and walk along the wall side, ignoring the gate stile on your right. Continue keeping close to the wall on your right until just after passing a barn, you join a cart track and follow it to a minor road. Turn right and carefully follow the road towards Longcliffe.
6. Fifty yards after passing under the High Peak Trail Bridge, go to the right along a surfaced track and then turn left down the High Peak Trail.
7. Follow the High Peak Trail for one and a half miles. You can then go to the left to explore Harborough Rocks, before returning to the same point and turning right immediately after passing an industrial plant.
8. On reaching Manystones Lane, turn right and after about 300 yards go over a stile in the corner of a field on the left. Head across the field, keeping close to the field boundary as it bends its way around, eventually arriving at a stile in the far-left hand corner. Turn right and walk down the lane to the car park and picnic site.
BRASSINGTON
