Earl Sterndale - Glutton Grange - Dowel Dale - Greensides - Hind Low - Earl Sterndale
DISTANCE: Approximately 6 ½ miles
DESCRIPTION: Sitting close to the border of the Peak District National Park at the point where a huge segment surrounding Buxton and its quarries have been excluded, one could be forgiven for thinking that Earl Sterndale must be an industrialized quarrying village – far from it! Here you will find lush green meadows, some of the most spectacular views in Derbyshire and for most of the walk there is not a quarry in sight. However on the second half of the walk you will be close to a quarry edge with views over various other quarries providing an insight into the work involved in extracting stone and lime from the Peak District hills.
Earl Sterndale is an old chapelry of Hartington. Nearby is Glutton Bridge, its name said to be derived from a vicious member of the weasel family similar to America’s wolverine which reputedly roamed these hills at one time. Around the end of August Earl Sterndale holds a beautiful flower festival in the local church.
1. Park your car on the main street in Earl Sterndale, possibly in the vicinity of the little village green where there are several parking spaces not designated to local residents. Make your way to the village pub ‘The Quiet Woman’ which it is said is named after a previous landlady who was known to the village as a ‘chattering charteris’. As the woman grew older her talking got worse, lasting well into the night. Eventually her incensed husband is said to have chopped off her head to silence her, hence the sign ‘soft words turneth away wrath’. Her gravestone is reputed to bear a warning to other wives so as not to emulate her fate!
2. Go in front of and to the right of the pub and follow the footpath signs which take you through their yard at the side. Pass over a stile and walk along a path leading away from Earl Sterndale before crossing a field diagonally to the left. You should see the Upper Dove Valley appear before you with its strange shaped hills formed from reef knolls. Directly in front is Parkhouse Hill with the jagged peaks of Chrome Hill behind it.
3. Follow the footpath down the hillside to a road which passes through the gorge of Glutton Dale. Up the dale to your right is Glutton Grange which has a date stone of 1675. Down the road to your left is Glutton Bridge, the garage building there having originally been used as a cheese factory.
4. Cross directly over the road and go over a stile on the opposite side. Head uphill and pass over to the left of Parkhouse Hill before dropping down onto the road. Follow this around and head up Dowel Dale, passing in-between Parkhouse and Chrome Hill. Standing majestically in its sheltered setting before you is Dowall Hall which is probably 17th century. Opposite the Hall is the entrance to Dowel Cave which when excavated was found to be the communal burial site of ten humans.
5. Continue up Dowel Dale which was formed by water erosion. However, when you get to Greensides at the top of the hill there are swallet holes down which the spring water now flows to reappear further down the hillside before merging with the river Dove.
6. Go to the left of the farm at Greensides and follow the outer wall side around the edge of the little wood and then at the corner head diagonally to the right to a stile in the corner of the field. Cross a stile and then shortly afterwards go over another stile back into the adjacent field before heading straight up the field following the wall side. Go through a further vast field and continue to follow the wall, and then at a corner keep going straight. The stile onto the road is about 25 yards to the right of the gate.
7. Turn right onto the narrow road and walk to the end of some high fencing and then go on the path through the rough area on your left and head up the field on your left at the side of the quarry. From this bridleway you will be able to look back to Buxton and Hillhead Quarry and see further quarries in the distance.
8. Using stiles and gates follow the bridlepath around the hillside of Hind Low. Notice to the south what must surely be the closest Derbyshire has to a pyramid. This is High Wheeldon Hill which reaches 1348 feet. On its summit is Fox Hole cave which is known to have been occupied in Upper Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic periods and has proved to be an interesting site for archaeologists. Head down the last field, aiming for the road.
9. Cross the road and head up the track opposite. Over to your left is the vast expanse of Hindlow quarry with the Dowlow works beyond. Follow this track for about a mile. Notice the funny little cement igloo constructions which are probably shelters for quarry workers when blasting. Look for the footpath sign heading right which crosses a field and then drops down a steep bankside before descending steps into a beautifully landscaped grass verge and garden extension.
10. Turn left and then follow the road down into Earl Sterndale, going past St. Michael’s and All Angels Church. The Norman chapel which originally stood on this site was replaced in 1828-9, the font probably being the only surviving Norman relic. On January 9th 1941 a stray incendiary bomb landed on Earl Sterndale Church. A stream of these devices had been dropped to light up the area, but it is thought that the target was actually DP Battery in Bakewell where submarine batteries were produced. They were way off the mark on this one! Earl Sterndale Church was locked at the time and before access could be gained, the roof timbers, pews and interior decoration were burnt and totally destroyed. It is said to be the only Derbyshire church to have been bombed during World War II. St Michael’s was rebuilt between September 4th 1950 and June 1st 1952 and consecrated on July 12th 1952
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