Slippery Stones
DAY 1
SK204865 From 1 outside the pub, turn uphill and take the obvious path sloping up and curving off to the left. At the top of the path, near a drystone wall, turn left again to almost double back on yourself and follow the path through trees alongside a drystone wall traversing above and behind the pub. Pass through a gate and continue, now with a wall on your left and a swathe of bracken on your right. Near the crest, where Ladybower comes into view and beneath an electricity pylon, take a rough path branching right, uphill through the bracken. This can be hard to spot when the bracken is high.
SK201865 Where a
2
path joins from the left, continue ahead uphill, dog-legging right then left. Pass above a plantation and along the edge of moorland,
managed for grouse shooting. Soon the escarpment falls away to the left and you’ll find yourself walking along a distinct edge with wonderful views across the reservoirs below. At a path junction, stay ahead and slightly right (east), following signs for a permissive footpath to Derwent Edge. The path is very clear and shouldn’t present any difficulties. Continue along past a distinctive tor dubbed the Coach and Horses or the Wheelstones – a good stop for a break.
SK201885 From
3 here, follow a good path on to White Tor and north to Derwent Edge, where it is flagged with old millstones. Dovestone Tor is another good respite stop. At a path junction marked with a stone post, continue to Back Tor with its trig point and then branch west, downhill, still on a good flagged path. After about a kilometre, the path loses its flags and becomes vaguer and more wet. Continue downhill, west, toward Derwent Reservoir to meet the corner of an old drystone wall. Go along with the wall on your right and at a gap where the path turns down left, turn right, crossing the wall into open moorland.
SK178912 This path
4 takes a long 1km arc, first north and then west, through heather moorland. After about 200m, it meets another crossing path but ignore this and forge on ahead. Roughly 100m after this, it becomes a more obvious all-terrain vehicle track bending west, downhill to the plantation edge. Continue down to meet the main reservoir bridleway – a wide, easy going gravel track. Turn right to follow it north through trees, over a bridge and along to Howden Dam. At Howden Reservoir, take note of a path leading up to Howden Clough reservoir for rest possibilities. If not, continue north along the reservoir path passing through a plantation and then emerging above it. Carry on above the reservoir which narrows to become the River Derwent and then dip down to an idyllic clearing by a footbridge. There is excellent wild swimming just up from the bridge over the Derwent.
SK168952 This area 5
has been under a lot of pressure from wild camping, so it’s probably best to find somewhere slightly further afield. Rejoin the main track and at the footbridge which crosses Cranberry Ness, take the path east up the clough to the foot of the Sandy Lee spur. As always, when wild camping, arrive late, leave early and pack everything out with you. Do not be tempted to light a campfire. The heath here tends to be very dry in summer and there’s an extremely high risk of wildfire.