Welcome to my Old Roads of Derbyshire website and blog!

You can sample my book on the history of roads, travel and travellers in Derbyshire, then browse through over a hundred posts on these and related subjects. There are posts on everything from prehistoric burial sites beside ancient routes, to the twentieth-century ramblers who helped preserve ancient footpaths. Enjoy exploring my website and the paths of Derbyshire!

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The Old Roads of Derbyshire

Derbyshire has a wealth of old roads, lanes, tracks, hollow ways and paths, some dating back thousands of years. It is a network which links a fascinating variety of sometimes enigmatic monuments, from fortified hilltops and stone circles to ruined abbeys and hermitages, ancient churches and tumuli.

The Old Roads of Derbyshire traces the development of these roads, from prehistoric ridgeways, Roman ‘streets’ and medieval pilgrimage routes to the growth of the turnpikes, and finally to leisure use by cyclists and hikers. Travellers of all kind are included: ‘jaggers’ with their packhorse trains, pilgrims, drovers, pedlars and tramps, and passengers in stage coaches and wagons, as well as the essential infrastructure of bridges and inns.

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Latest blog post

• Lonely Youlgrave?May 9, 2026

  

  Today Youlgrave is a popular village in the Peak District – especially busy at weekends with visitors and second-home owners. It is built on the ridge between the steep valleys of the Lathkill to the north and the Bradford to the south; the two rivers joining less than a mile away, before Alport. But Youlgrave was isolated from the main routes: the old Portway ran north/south through Alport (hence the name), while the Bakewell-Newhaven turnpike of 1759 ran to the northwest. The modern Ordance Survey map marks Conksbury as the site of a deserted medieval village, but Burdett’s map shows that some buildings survived into the eighteenth century. With its steep climbs and tight bends the road through Conksbury seems an improbable main route, but Burdett shows no road at all eastward in the valley of the Bradford.

  

  Youlgrave church (All Saints) is easily the oldest building in the village, as well as the tallest, with an splendid tower that can be seen for miles. Pevsner says that it is ‘one of the most impressive churches of Derbyshire’, and parts of the south arcade may date from the twelfth century. But the site could have been a sacred spot for longer; its position near the junction of two rivers having special significance, similar to Matlock’s St Giles or Duffield’s St Alkmund’s. Of particular interest is a small carved figure on the north wall, described by Pevsner as ‘a man in a long frock’ but almost certainly a pilgrim with his or her characteristic staff (for self-defence) and wallet (for food reserves). It seems quite likely that this was a pilgrimage church, high above and nearly surrounded by water, perhaps holding a holy relic.

  

  There are lovely walks around the area, especially in the twin dales of the Bradford and Lathkill. One of the best starts at the church: you cross the road to the George Hotel and continue along Conksbury Lane for 200 metres before taking a narrow lane to the right. This runs downhill towards the Lathkill, but before reaching it you take a signposted path to the left which leads to the bridge (pictured above). Cross the bridge and then take the very clear path upstream along the river, reputed to be one of the cleanest in England. After about a mile you reach a lane running up the steep bank to Over Haddon. Cross the river here by the footbridge and then take the winding track to the top of the slope. Here you are in sight of Meadow Place Grange, and the path goes through the impressive farmyard. From here you can either take the farm road back to Conksbury bridge or climb up onto the pastures by a variety of paths, which will return you to Youlgrave.