GREAT LONGSTONE WALK
THE WALK
The Great Longstone Walk is easy; it first climbs gently up towards Longstone Edge, before descending to Little Longstone. The next stop is Monsal Head with its magnificent views, before returning along the Monsal Trail to Great Longstone.
After leaving the village, a narrow track is followed up towards Longstone Edge, giving expansive views to the south. The descent is through fields to Little Longstone, from where a short walk takes you to Monsal Head to enjoy some stunning views.
The last section of the walk takes you back to Little Longstone and then along the Monsal Trail.
LOOK OUT FOR
Route Point 5 – The tiny hamlet of Little Longstone, strung out along the roadside, has a late 17th-century Manor House and an even older public house. The Pack Horse Inn is a popular refreshment stop for walkers and has been providing refreshment for weary travellers since 1787. Originally two miners’ cottages, it is on the old packhorse route that runs from Chesterfield, through Baslow, Hassop, Great Longstone and Little Longstone before climbing up towards Monsal Head to join an ancient Roman Portway. The population of Little Longstone is about 100 inhabitants, much smaller than that of Great Longstone, as its name implies.
Point 6 – From Monsal Head, you get a fantastic view of the viaduct. Yet John Ruskin, the poet and conservationist, ranted when it was built: “The valley is gone – and now every fool in Buxton can be in Bakewell in half an hour and every fool at Bakewell in Buxton.” Despite the controversy over the building of the Monsal Dale Viaduct, it is now considered an essential feature of historic and architectural interest. When the railway line closed after 100 years, and plans were mooted to demolish the viaduct, there was a widespread protest. The answer came in 1970, with the award of a preservation order.
Point 7 – Since the summer of 2011, the four railway tunnels on the Monsal Trail have been reopened to the public, having previously been closed for safety reasons, when diversions were in place for walkers. The Headstone Tunnel at Monsal Head is the easternmost of the tunnels and the longest at 533 yards. The railway closed in 1968, and the line remained unused for twelve years before being taken over by the Peak National Park. The track has been converted into a route for walkers, cyclists and horse riders that stretches from Coombs Road Viaduct, one mile southeast of Bakewell, to the head of Chee Dale, about three miles east of Buxton. It follows the deep limestone valley of the River Wye through breathtaking countryside.
Point 8 – Great Longstone and Ashford’s pretty little woodland station, the last stop before crossing Monsal Dale Viaduct, still stands, but now is only passed by walkers, cyclists, and horse riders and is a private residence. At the rear is Thornbridge Hall, a Grade II listed building, is one of Derbyshire’s most attractive and fascinating estates, surrounded by over ten acres of characteristically English gardens. Apart from house and garden tours, it has a popular and rather quirky café named Quackers.
WALK DETAILS
Length: 4 miles.
Start: Roadside parking close to the Village Green.
Location: On a minor road off A6020 from Ashford in the Water, 1 mile from Monsal Head.
Terrain: Relatively easy walking with no steep sections. It can be muddy in places.
Refreshments: The Crispin is a large, comfortable old pub in the village’s centre. St Crispin was the patron saint of shoemakers, which was once a traditional local trade. There is outside seating. The Pack Horse Inn at Little Longstone is a popular refreshment stop for walkers and has been providing refreshment for weary travellers since 1787.
THE ROUTE
1. From the village green, walk up the street past The Crispin pub and turn right up Moor Road. After passing several houses, you continue beside a high wall and follow it around to the left into the access road for Dale Farm.
2. Follow the road behind Dale Farm to the right and continue to follow it as it becomes a rough track and climbs steadily up the hillside. Eventually, the track swings to the left and flattens out before starting to descend gradually.
3. About 100 yards before you reach the Wardlow to Ashford Road that you can see in front of you, go over a stile on the left signed for ‘Little Longstone’. Follow a well-trodden path across a field to a stile in the wall opposite and then, keeping close to the wall, go through two further fields, crossing a stile and a wall remnant.
4. After entering a long, narrow field, head for a high stile in the bottom right-hand corner, go down the next field angling to the left to a stile in the bottom corner. Continue slanting slightly to the left, heading towards a group of houses, until, on reaching a wall junction, you turn sharply left over a stile.
5. Then, with the wall on the right, walk for a short distance before going over a wall stile on the right. Turn left over the stile and head for a stile 20 yards in from the wall on your left. Then walk down a narrow passage to the road between some farm buildings and a public house to enter Little Longstone.
6. To visit Monsal Head, turn right and walk alongside the road for a short distance to reach your destination. Otherwise, if you want to shorten the walk, turn left and follow the instructions below.
7. Return along the same road from Monsal Head to Little Longstone past the Pack Horse Inn, and look out for the ‘Monsal Trail’ sign on the right, to then follow a much-used path through fields down to the Trail.
8. Turn left along the Monsal Trail for a short walk. A few yards after going under a bridge with Great Longstone and Ashford’s former railway station on your right, go to the right up the ramp and over the bridge. Pass through a squeezer stile on the other side.
9. Follow a clear path across a field to a lane leading straight back into the village of Great Longstone and the start of the walk.
GREAT LONGSTONE
