The riverbank footpath between the water mill and Ashford-in-the-Water.
Click for a pdf with stage-by-stage details of the route including photos and a map, as well as links to car parks and public transport. A walking app GPX file is also available.
Length: 5.5mls | Av. time: 2h 30m | Ascent: 604ft
Start: White Lodge car park | Google Map
Walk description, map & GPX | Download
A 5.5-mile circular walk from White Lodge car park on the A6, which has picnic benches and toilets. It follows the River Wye for over half the route – through Deep Dale and Great Shacklow Wood to Ashford-in-the-Water – returning via the Trail and Monsal Dale.
White Lodge is pay and display, with a bus stop close by – see getting there. Alternatives are the small car park in Ashford, or Monsal Head, dropping down to Headstone Viaduct to join the route at point 15 on the pdf map.
The entrance to Deep Dale (point 3) can get waterlogged in winter, and the climb from there to Great Shacklow Wood is a bit of a slope – but well worth the effort.
The route enters Ashford over its ancient Sheepwash Bridge. There are two popular pubs, the Bulls Head and the Ashford Arms, and a tearoom beside the medieval church – all with gardens.
Above: The route passes a partially restored water mill as it nears Ashford.
There were many water mills along the Wye, but this one is more recent and in far better condition than most. Built around 1870, it was partially restored by the Arkwright Society in 1979.
It seems to have served two purposes – first grinding animal bones to make fertiliser, and later as a timber mill. Some reports say it made wooden bobbins for local cotton mills, including Litton and Cressbrook, but there’s no firm evidence for this.
Back through Monsal Dale
From Ashford, field paths lead to the Monsal Trail, which the route follows through Headstone Tunnel before dropping down just beyond Headstone Viaduct.
The return follows the river through Monsal Dale, past a weir and a popular spot for picnics and paddling. Parts of the path can get very muddy in winter and after rain.
Take care crossing the A6 back to the car park – traffic can come along here at speed.
Click for a pdf with stage-by-stage details of the route including photos and a map, as well as links to car parks and public transport. A walking app GPX file is also available.
Route photos
Stages 1-6 of the route. Click any to enlarge and scroll through.
Relive video
Click to play and use the expand option to view in full-screen. More Monsal Trail Relives.