This walk, which can stand alone or be incorporated into a longer route, gives a taste of one of Derbyshire’s oldest roads, and incorporates many features of historic (or even prehistoric) travel. Starting behind the Miners’ Standard pub above Winster (car parking generally possible opposite) , the track runs north between stone walls. Today the track is labelled as part of the Limestone Way, although Islington Lane, an older name, is a reminder of the miners’ settlement here in the boom days of lead mining. This old road was replaced by the Ashbourne turnpike, now the B5056, which zig zags down the slope to allow carriages an easier incline.

After about a mile you cross the Elton road and continue on Dudwood Lane, downhill on what is now a tarmac surface. On the right is the site of the Portaway lead mine, once a substantial producer, which provides clear evidence for the route of the old road. At the bottom of the hill you bypass the cattle grid and start climbing towards Cratcliffe Rocks, with the twin peaks of Robin Hood’s Stride on the left. These rock outcrops must have provided clear landmarks for medieval travellers, and the path runs between them. Evidence has been found at the top of the Rocks of prehistoric habitation, probably to provide shelter for travellers: the summit certainly provides excellent views of the route. Another feature is the medieval hermit’s cave, found in the woods below, which is discussed in a previous blog (Hermits and their Hermitages, 6th August).

Now the track runs beside Robin Hood’s Stride, one of the many Derbyshire features named after this hero. Its striking profile with the rocky pinnacles also gave it the name ‘Mock Beggar’s Hall’. However, the most interesting features of this area are found on the other side of the path, on Harthill Moor, where the stone circle suggests a Neolithic dating. Known as Nine Stone Close, there are actually only four uprights, and there is a suggestion that they may have been re-erected quite recently. Less obvious is an example of cup-and-ring marking on a boulder, a Bronze Age feature not fully understood by archaeologists, but possibly associated with long-distance trackways.

From here the walk can extended on the Limestone Way to Youlgreave, or even to Bakewell via Alport, but the simplest option is to head back towards the Miners’ Standard, where a good lunch and a decent pint can usually be found!