The Dukes Road
1
SK262919 From the car park in Low Bradfield walk back to the road and turn right, then right again. Walk up the quiet country lane until you see a metal gate on the right giving access to a woodland lane by Agden Reservoir. Go down the lane, cross the bridge and turn right downhill, crossing a second bridge, then bearing right along the reservoir track.
2
SK253928 Take the footpath on the left up the steep hillside, crossing a wall in the trees. At the top turn left, following the stone wall north to reach a minor road. A good place to spot raptors. Cross the road diagonally left.
3
SK252937 Go through the gate, aim for the right-hand side of the stone wall as you ascend to the moor. Follow the footpath northwest, exiting the moor by a gate and turn left to the road. Cross the road to a wide track opposite.
4
SK245944 Follow the wide shooting track, known as Dukes Drive, through the gate and continue for 4.5km until it forks at the head of Abbey Brook.
5
SK207933 Take the left-hand fork, across Cartledge Flat, along a line of stone slabs leading to the rocky outcrop of Cartledge Stones Ridge. Keep to the left of the stones, then follow a faint path south-west, with fine views down Abbey Brook, to reach Back Tor.
6
SK197909 Head south along stone slabs until you come to a boundary stone marking
Bradfield Gate Head and the top of the Foulstone Road.
7
SK197907 Turn left to follow the track downhill until you exit through a wooden gate onto a minor road by a sharp bend. If time allows, turn right after exiting Foulstone Road and follow the road uphill to the Strines Inn, where food and drink can be obtained. Otherwise, go left, taking care as you
walk up the road, following it round a sharp left-hand bend.
8
SK227908 Shortly after the bend cross the road and take the track on the right following it downhill and around a sweeping left-hand bend, then turn right after the house and take the public footpath towards Strines Dam. Just as the path reaches a plantation of trees, go left through the trees to the corner of a field and follow the concession path north-east, skirting the north-western shore of Dale Dike Reservoir. After passing Dale Dike Dam, bear left up the track and exit on to a minor road. As you ascend the final section of the track, look to your right for a small stone bearing the initials C.L.O.B. The centre line of the old bank. Dale Dike Dam burst in the 19th century, the flood waters rushing down the valley into Sheffield with a huge loss of life.
9
SK245920 Bear right, 50m, then go left on to rough ground, working your way uphill. At the top, exit on to a road, turn right, then right again at the junction. Walk downhill and just after passing the derelict Wilkin Hill outdoor centre on the right, take the footpath on the left.
10
SK249927 Walk down the path, crossing the stone bridge, then bear right following the path down through trees to reach the bridge first crossed at the beginning of the walk. Turn right across the bridge and retrace your steps to Low Bradfield.