Family-friendly walks

PADLEY GORGE

Next to Grindleford Station, eight miles north of Bakewell, lies Padley Gorge, a jumble of ferns and mossy rocks. Trails are kept as natural as possible — it’s more a case of finding the gaps in the woods than following a path — and the rock pools in Burbage Brook are perfect for paddling in.

LONGSHAW ESTATE

The 1.7-mile walking route around this National Trust estate skirts the upper end of Padley Gorge. Children love the stepping stones, but Longshaw is mostly all about the giant fallen trees, left in place for little hands and feet to gleefully scramble over.

HIGGER TOR

A stack of giant rocks dominates Higger Tor, the best of several lookouts along the Ringinglow Road between Hathersage and Sheffield. Stroll through the adjacent sheep-grazed fields, then let the kids clamber over hundreds of strangely smooth grey gritstone boulders. The views out over the Hope Valley are epic.

STANAGE EDGE

Popular with rock climbers, this gritstone escarpment marks the boundary of the brooding moorland of the Dark Peak escarpment and the grass-covered limestone plateau of White Peak. It’s a six-mile circular walk from Hathersage. Alternatively, park at the Hollin Bank Car Park and huff and puff half a mile to the top.

CHATSWORTH ESTATE

A three-mile loop from Calton Lees Car Park takes in a ruined mill, the pretty village of Edensor and views of Chatsworth House. Save the stretch along the River Derwent for last — deer often hang out there.