B5056 - Birchover - Winster - Elton - Harthill Moor - Robin Hoods Stride - Cratcliffe Tor

After a disappointing visit to Longdendale in the far north of Derbyshire earlier in the day where the clouds were very low and it was raining I decided to travel south to the Bakewell area. Here it was dry and sunny. My walk started from a layby on the B5056 near Robin Hoods Stride. The path to Birchover is uphill to start with but is easy to follow. As one enters Birchover you pass Rowtor Rocks. Then it is south across fields to Winster (again it is an easy path to follow). Winster is famous for its ancient Market Hall (National Trust). The walk then follows paths to the village of Elton with its one main street. At the church in the centre of the village my walk then went along Well Street and then across fields and across a road towards Harthill Moor. Eventually I arrived at Robin Hoods Stride. This is a gritstone outcrop and acts as an important landmark down the ages. It can be no coincidence that the Old Port Way (ancient road) passes by so closely. One cannot really say if it is true that once upon a time the outlaw of Loxley once stood here. Looking at Robin Hoods Stride from Harthill Moor the highest points are called Weasel Pinnacle on the left and Innaccessible Pinnacle on the right. Robin Hoods Stride is also called the Mock Beggars' Hall. Cratcliffe Tor (or Rocks) is opposite Robin Hoods Stride over Old Port Way. These rocks are used regularly by rock climbers. There is a Hermitage Cave under the rocks but I did not visit them on this occassion.

Reference Books Used