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Wolfscote Dale and the Tissington Trail
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From the car park, head left along the track bed of the old railway, signposted
to Hartington.. This is the Tissington Trail, on the route of a railway, which
ran from Ashbourne to Buxton. It was closed at a time when the railways were
seen as a burden. Leave the track bed by a footpath on the left at a point where
the trail crosses a bridge, to gain access to Bradbury's Bank, a National Trust
property. Following the signposts, head diagonally right to a narrow gateway and
continue in the same general direction down the hill until the wall in the
valley floor is reached. Turn left and walk down the dale, following the wall
all the way to the river Dove. (If it is very wet on the day of your walk you
can leave the car park and cross over the busy road, follow the B road opposite
and reach the dale bottom at Viators Bridge, turn right and follow the following
instructions).
On reaching the river, turn right and pass through a stile by a gate to enter wooded Wolfscote Dale. Stay on the same side of the River ignoring Coldeaton Bridge, on an old packhorse route from Alstonfield. The packhorse route itself can be seen zigzagging down the steep opposite bank, (this bank is the one we climb up in the Alstonfield walk). Continue along the dale until the woodland is left behind. Shortly afterwards turn right into Biggin Dale at a point where the river widens significantly and the path crosses a little causeway. The rocks to your right are the Peasland Rocks. Walk through the stile and turn right. Biggin Dale climbs gradually and you'll leave any crowds behind at this point. Biggin Dale is dry most of the year but in wet winters it acquires a stream. The path through the dale is easy to follow, passing through a rather ruinous gate a one point. The upper reaches, accessed through a second gate, are a National Nature Reserve. This is important piece of limestone upland so please keep to the path alongside the wall. At the top of the dale, turn right (signposted Dalehead) and continue up out of the dale to eventually reach a minor road. Turn left along the road, and then take the next turning on the right, signposted Biggin. Walk along this road, entering the village. Leave the road at a point where it turns sharply left, continuing straight on along a rough track. Walk along the track, passing a house, until you come to a stile by a gate. Go through the stile and walk straight on, keeping the wall on your right. Ignore a finger corner, follow the direction pointed by an arrow on a post, crossing two fields diagonally to reach a gap in a dry-stone wall. Go through the gap and head right to where the Tissington Trail crosses a bridge. Climb the path along side the bridge to get onto the trail again, then turn right and follow the trail, quite a long distance, back to the car park. Take care on this part of the route as it is used by many cyclists, some of which are o.k. but you do get the occasional one.
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