🌳Darley Dale 9 miles🌸Ladygrove🌼 Halldale Woods🌸Two Dales🌼Darley Hillside🌳

This walk promises enchanting woodland with brooks and waterfalls, hillsides with scenic views, as well as riverside paths and pretty villages.

Our scenic walk starts from the Village of Darley Dale.
Darley Dale is made up of a number of settlements,Two Dales, South Darley, Churchtown and Northwood.
The village is recorded in the Domesday Book as 'Derelie', Darley Dale was known as Darley for 800 years until 'Dale’ was added later in the nineteenth century.

The Parish church of St. Helen in Churchtown, is the oldest building in the entire parish. Its square 14th century battlemented west tower rises above the churchyard trees.
The church was founded around 900 AD and almost entirely rebuilt after the Norman Conquest. Parts of the 12th century fabric remain, along with some earlier Celtic and Saxon Stonework, Norman Masonry, and a selection of Ancient Stone Coffins in and around the porch.
Directly opposite the main porch entrance stands the famous Darley Yew, a tree reputed to be two thousand years old with a girth of 33 feet around its ancient trunk. A plaque on the tree, tells of the Saxon Settlers who built their huts just a few yards to the west of the church.

Our route heads over pastures crossing the A6 up to Two Dales.
The name 'Two Dales' derives from 'Toad Holes', meaning 'Fox Earths'.
Two Dales is surrounded by beautiful countryside, the village is home to a number of historic buildings, including the 12th-century St. Michael's Church, which is a Grade II listed building.
Despite being a small village, Two Dales has a number of local amenities, including a post office, a village hall, and a school, as well as several pubs.

Leaving Two Dales, our route soon enters the enchanting Ladygrove woods, as soon as we enter the woodland, water twinkling through the trees comes into view, this is Nancy Dam.
There are a series of 3 dams along the valley, Nancy Dam, Fancy Dam and Potter Dam.
The area around Ladygrove is beautiful, with Sydnope Brook, trickling through Sydnope Dale and a series of old mill ponds cascading into waterfalls full of wildlife.
At the bottom of the dale was a converted stone mill, the area was historically linked to the Dakeyne family in the 1700s, they established a mill powered by water from the local reservoirs and brook, initially producing flax and later lace.

Leaving this enchanting woodland, our route takes us into Halldale Woods.
Halldale Woods is set atop the steeply sloping sides of the valley by Halldale Brook. The trees are mainly oak birch ash and yew, with various ground flora and woodland birds.
Hall Dale is a peaceful place owned by The Woodlands Trust.

Coming out of Halldale, our path enters Hallmoor woods with steep banks of large rock boulders from the many quarries in the area.

Our route emerges from the woodland and follows a lane with pretty cottages and beautiful views of the hillside opposite us.
Darley Hillside is a small village situated on a hillside overlooking the River Derwent surrounded by beautiful countryside.

The last leg of our journey takes us through Northwood steeply down to Rowsley South Station.
We follow the river through pastures back to our carpark where we started our lovely walk..

During the walk, we make sure everyone is ok with catching up points and breaks along the way
Enjoyment is first and foremost, as well as respecting slower walkers..

An undulating walk with some woodland ascents and descents along the way

Bring a picnic lunch plenty of snacks and water for the walk, breaks along the way as always

Walking boots are essential, as always, check the weather and dress accordingly

All doggies are welcome on DW walks 👩‍🦯🐕‍🦺🐕🐕‍🦺🧑‍🦯🚶🚶‍♀️