Black Rock, High Peak Trail, Middleton

Date: 21 May 10
Area: Derbyshire Peak District, west south west of Cromford
Distance: 9.25 Miles 14.8K
Start Location: Black Rock car park between Cromford and Wirksworth
OS Sheet: Explorer OL24
Grid Ref: SK 2912 5572
Outline: Black Rock, High Peak Trail, Middleton


Route Description
From the Black Rock car park head west along the High Peak Trail for about 3.5 miles. After passing Harboro Rocks on the north side of the trail the Limestone Way crosses the trail at Grid 236 556; head north along the Limestone Way to the gate at Grid 243 567.

Take the broad quarry/farm track south eastwards through Griffe Grange until a gate across the track sends the footpath north eastwards and down to the road at Elms Trees Farm. Follow the road north for 200m and take the paved track leading up into Hopton Quarries follow the footpath all the way into Middleton.

At Grid 277 559 pick up the track running down to the back of the chapel and school and follow the footpath eastwards back to Black Rock.

Journey
Black Rock is a great spot to visit with much of interest for the casual visitor, its ideal for a stroll in the woodland or along the High Peak Trail, for rock-climbing on the rocks themselves or orienteering on the permanent course. There is a car park and small information centre with public toilets and a small cafe. It is also the ideal starting point for a range of longer walks or cycles.

This part of the Peak District is a fascinating area to walk through, for here perhaps more so than anywhere else in the Peaks, the long history of the industries that made this part of Derbyshire are so clearly visible in the landscape. The remains of centuries of mining, quarrying, railways and workshops, roads and canals can be seen alongside a patchwork of the ancient narrow strip fields, sheep pens and barns all built with local limestone. Here the modern industries with their slab sided structures, dusty haul roads, smoky towers and strident notices can be clearly seen, while the detritus and disturbance of the older industries seems to merge into the countryside

While walking up the inclines on High Peak Trail one can imagine what it was like here in its heyday, the noise, the dirt, the movement of men, railway wagons, machinery, horses, carts and of course the smells. Then later, walking through quiet woodland, over gentle undulating ground there comes the slow realisation that these tree and undergrowth covered humps and hollows were created from the excavations, spoil heaps or rubble of workings that may be even older. In other place the mind can run wild in attempting to determine what process natural or industrial created what lies in front or beneath you.

This was a worthwhile walk with much of interest, views, wildlife and history. Unfortunately much of the walk is on the hard surfaces of trail, tracks and roads which on a hot day certainly reduced our enjoyment of the walk. For us the most pleasant section was through the woodland, village and fields between Hopton Quarries and Black Rock.