Pic Tor and High Tor, Matlock

For a short walk, this has a lot of diversity: a river walk, a woodland walk, a war memorial, gripping drops and views in all directions, including downwards into the depths of the rocks.

It had been a hot day, only one of many, many hots days over previous weeks. I can barely remember when it last rained before then, though as sod’s law would have it, as I write this there has just been a massive, but much welcome deluge. However, this was Monday and it was the end of the day and I needed some air. On the Isle of Man, this would have been one of my regular walks to the beaches of Port Erin and Port St. Mary. As yet, I haven’t found staple routes to walk when I am in need of air. I took the car to Matlock, walked through Hall Leys Park beside the river, crossed the river at Knowleston Gardens and walked along the river bank until taking a left fork uphill to Pic Tor. You can see how low the river is here, but as yet we don’t have a hosepipe ban in Matlock.

There is a fairly short, steep-ish climb through the woodland up to Pic Tor, where the war memorial stands majestically on the top of the hill, overlooking the church at Matlock Green and keeping an eye on the whole of the Darley Dale and Bentley Brook valleys. There is not a lot of choice as to the way down and then up to High Tor. I took the path that goes through the churchyard and up through what was originally old Matlock leading to Starkholmes, then took the track originally designed for carriages along the Grand Walk to High Tor. This is not a very inspiring footpath, that is, until one reaches the very top. There is a flat topped rock at this point, but care does need to be taken as one step in the wrong direction and you will take an unplanned dip in the river 300ft below! The views from here are terrific.

Returning off the mound, there are gulleys, caverns and footpaths that lead into the very rocks themselves. I didn’t investigate. These are mostly the result of a form of open mining in the limestone seams for lead, barite and fluorspar, that has possibly been going on since Roman times. These mine workings with their original tool marks are a scheduled ancient monument, and some exposed caverns can be as much as 20 metres deep – undisturbed local history. Indeed, there is evidence of one shaft arising at High Tor and finishing underneath the river 120 metres below. If you or your children are walking off track in these parts, you must be especially careful, as there are many hidden mine shafts just waiting for their victims.

Incidentally, choose the western footpath off High Tor and you can take your chances around Giddy Edge, which again needs care and is dramatic, but it is not too daunting. It does have a rail you can hold on to, but I would probably advise against this path in strong winds! Since my hospitalization 6 weeks ago, I suffer with hypotension (must sort the drugs out), so this was not an option today. The walk off the hill is very attractive whichever path you take, continuing downhill through the trees and eventually coming out at the point where the Gulliver’s Kingdom cable car takes off. There is a bridge over the beautiful river, and you can go left into Matlock Bath with its cafes, restaurants, museums and entertainments – and lots of fish and chip shops, or you can turn right to walk alongside the river for about a mile back into Matlock.

Total distance: approx 4 miles; 500ft total ascent, 500ft total descent