Hayfield, Peak District

Distance 29.4km (18.3 miles) Climbing 1,120m (3,675ft) Time 2hrs 30mins to 4hrs 30mins

Route summary A tough ride, which heads up and down some rough tracks on the steep hills surrounding Hay ield Start/ inish Sett Valley Trail car park in Hay ield (grid ref GR 035/869, postcode SK22 2ES) 1

Follow the Sett Valley Trail to a road, then go right, over a bridge. Turn right on the Pennine Bridleway. Go left on the road, then right on a wide restricted byway.

2

Keep right at the first fork after the buildings and left at the next. After a rocky downhill, join a road. Bear left by the pub, then turn right. Go through Rowarth, then right on a bridleway. Cross the ford and climb up the other side. Turn right on the Pennine Bridleway, across fields and around Lantern Pike.

3

Descend to a road and cross it to rejoin the track from earlier. Go left on the tarmac, up to a junction. Join the dead-end road to the left of the pub. After a long, steep climb, go through a gate, up onto the moors. Follow the wall left, downhill. Pass a farm, cross a stream and climb to Chapel Road. Join what looks like a driveway on the other side.

4

Turn right at the T-junction, then left opposite a house, onto a bridleway. Follow this as it bends sharply to the left, crosses fields and ends with a technical descent through a wood. Go left at the T-junction and continue down to a road. Keep ahead/left on the tarmac, then walk over a footbridge by houses. Continue up to a road by a pub and head right on it. 5

Go right, over the bridge (by the campsite sign), and follow the road left and then around to the right. At the crossroads, bear right, uphill. Keep ahead, then bear left up Coldwell Clough, past a farm. At the end of the tarmac, fork left, uphill, through some gates and across a field. Go through the second gate on the left and cross the moor. Go north, around the hillside, crossing a footpath and then, later, following a wall on your left.

6

Pass through a gate in the wall to drop downhill. Join a track by the woods, heading left. Cross the tarmac and go down a rough track. Turn right, up a steep, narrow, cobbled track towards the reservoir. Follow the steep path sharply to the left, to a junction below the shooting cabin. Keep ahead on this track, over the footbridge, for an out-and-back across Middle Moor.

7

On your return, cross back over the bridge and turn right, down a long, fast descent with a steep finish. Head right on the road to go back into Hayfield. Keep left on Bank Street and left again to cross the bridge by the church. Go right, just before Millie’s Tea Rooms, behind the church. Cross the main road to get back to the car park.

LOCATION DETAILS

Hayfield is set on the western edge of the moorland plateau known as the High or Dark Peak. Ancient roads and moorland trails criss-cross the area, providing lots of top-quality riding. Many of the tracks su er in the wet though, and so will your brake pads.

GETTING THERE

Hayfield is south-east of Manchester, between New Mills and Glossop, at the junction of the A624 and A6015. Park in the Sett Valley Trail car park, which is well signposted.

MAPS & BOOKS

Ordnance Survey Landranger 110: She eld & Huddersfield. Peak District Mountain Biking: Dark Peak Trails by Jon Barton (Vertebrate Graphics).

FACILITIES

Stay at the Kinder Lodge (01663 743613, www.kinder-lodge.co.uk) or the George Hotel (01663 743691, www.georgehotelhayfield.co.uk), both in Hayfield. Millie’s Tea Rooms is great for after the ride, and also o ers B&B (01663 741584, www.millieshayfield.co.uk). There are pubs in Rowarth and Birch Vale and to the west of Hayfield. Sett Valley Cycles in New Mills can help with spares (01663 742629, www.settvalleycycles.co.uk).