LITTON WALK
THE WALK
Litton Walk takes you along picturesque dales, through woodland and lovely open countryside. The infamous Litton Mill and Cressbrook Mill, both now converted for residential purposes, are passed in the riverside stretch of the walk.
Water-cum-Jolly Dale that links Millers Dale and Monsal Dale is one of the most attractive short dales in the country. Here, the river begins to widen to form a large millpond, which the path skirts around under impressive overhanging cliffs. William Newton, probably better known as the Minstrel of the Peak, was the manager of the Cressbrook Mill and showed much greater compassion for his workers than at Litton. He built a school and a row of lattice-windowed cottages that look down on the mill.
The route then climbs up a quiet country road and through woodland, before crossing a series of undulating fields back to Litton village.
LOOK OUT FOR
Route Point 2 – Litton Slack is a small hamlet with a few cottages lying to the north of Litton Mill. It is known locally as the ‘Slack’, and it is likely that most of the inhabitants worked at the mill. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, it was known as Litton Mill Slack. The tall chimney standing nearby was connected to Litton Mill by an underground flue and is the only known example in the Peak District of a flue and chimney in good condition.
Point 4 – Litton Mill acquired notoriety through the memoirs of a London orphan apprentice, Robert Blincoe. He was employed from 1803 to 1814 at the mill, having arrived as a child. He wrote a harrowing tale of the cruelty and inhuman treatment meted out to the mill workers, many of whom never saw their families again. Apartments now take over the mill.
Point 5 – There is a vast expanse of water at Water-cum-Jolly, which is held back by a weir and mill stream, which centuries ago would have operated a huge waterwheel. The river flows through a deep, scenic ravine with impressive rocky limestone crags on either side. The steep bank to the north is where the alpine-style cottages of Cressbrook stand. A thick band of trees leads up to Cressbrook Hall on the hilltop.
Point 6 – William Newton was the manager at Cressbrook Mill; he is probably better known as the ‘Minstrel of the Peak.’ He showed much greater compassion for his workers than that shown at Litton. Newton built a school and a row of latticed windowed cottages that look down on the mill, now converted to luxury apartments.
WALK DETAILS
Length: 4.5 miles.
Start: The centre of Litton Village near The Green.
Location: One mile south of the A623 Baslow to Chapel-en-le-Frith Road, turn left after passing through Tideswell. Alternatively, approach through Miller’s Dale and turn right on the outskirts of Tideswell.
Terrain: Mainly easy with a long, steady climb up from Cressbrook Mill, followed by a steep climb out of the woods and a sometimes-slippery walk along the edge of the wood. Water-cum-Jolly Dale can become impassable due to flooding after heavy rainfall.
Refreshments: The Red Lion, a traditional country pub and the village shop offer refreshments. Nearby, Tideswell has several pubs, restaurants, and a tea shop to suit all tastes.
THE ROUTE
1. Walk up the main street from The Green, and take the first right turn, down a road leading to Cressbrook. Continue down the road that bends first to the right and then to the left. After about half a mile, you pass a cemetery on the right.
2. Maintain the same direction until you reach a sign for Litton Slack, where you turn right by a row of tall dwellings called New Houses and follow the narrow lane down until it bends sharply to the right. Here you cross the stile straight in front of you.
3. Keep to the left, close to the fence, and walk down a grass track towards a solitary, tall chimney you can see in the distance.
4. Close to the chimney, the track loops around the hillside and then descends to a metal gate. Go through the gate, down a narrow track, turn left at the bottom to the hamlet of Litton Mill. Go to the right of the tall gateposts at the entrance to the mill and follow the concessionary path through the mill yard.
5. The path continues through Millers Dale to Water-cum-Jolly Dale, with its towering cliffs. After heavy rainfall, the dale floods to make further progress impossible. You can divert through Cressbrook village, by following a diversion with a steep and often slippery ascent – not recommended.
6. Leave Water-cum-Jolly-Dale by walking behind Cressbrook Mill. Go to the left up a minor road. At a fork in the road, keep to the right. Continue climbing up the hill until, where the road turns sharply to the left, you carry straight on along a track into a wood.
7. Just before coming to a clearing in the wood, near a gatepost, keep a sharp lookout for a path on the left, which you follow to a long winding flight of steps which climb steeply up to the edge of the wood.
8. Follow the path to the right, keeping just inside the wood, before eventually crossing a stile and angling across the corner of a field to another stile on the right.
9. Cross the following field diagonally and continue over a series of fields and a farm track, maintaining the same direction along an obvious path, aiming towards a barn in the distance.
10. As the land rises, the angle of your walk alters to straight ahead, with the barn you have been aiming for, still two fields away on the left. At the top of the field, turn left onto a farm track and within a few yards, go to the right along the road you used earlier that takes you back to the start of the walk.
LITTON
