The Peak District: a Short (ish) Chee Dale and Monsal Trail Walk.
dogs: off lead for most | time of walk: 1.5-2 hrs | parking: millers daleThe ever present sound of rushing water accompanied along the route from Millers Dale to Chee Dale, only adding to the magic of this incredible, lesser known gorge. Being deep in the dale is utterly enchanting and you would never know it was there driving through the area and makes you feel like you have stumbled upon a special secret that surprises you around every corner.
I’d arrived in the Peak District for a second time the day before, planning on a few days exploring before joining an organised walk up Mam Tor. It seemed these plans were not to be as my clutch hit the floor as I drove uptown Curbar Edge to catch sunset. Cue a long wait for a midnight RAC rescue who managed to put the equivalent of a plaster over it but it wasn't safe to be tackling the deepest peaks and dales for a few days so after a few hours sleep I blinked into the morning light and resolved myself for heading to Leicester where my sister has a garage and could get this fixed for me. But, disappointed that my trip had been caught short I really wanted to squeeze in something special before hitting the M1.
Just by chance Chee Dale had come up on Maps as I was searching around for something else and it caught my eye. I didn't want to make a day of it but was struggling to find a walk to Chee Dale that was pithy. In the end I hashed together information from various blog posts and worked out a shorter route. The result was a beautiful walk in the Spring light that delighted and nourished.
It’s worth noting that this walk, while absolutely doable if you have the ability to scramble over rocks and good pair of boots, is challenging. Not challenging in climbing a mountain kind of way but challenging in that you have to watch your step as in parts the path round the side of the river gets very craggy - there are rocks to climb up and down and at points there’s picking around some tree roots. Also, I was lucky to have tried this on a good day when the river was low and the rocks were dry but wouldn't fancy it on a wet day or when the river is higher.
Starting Point.
We’re starting at Millers Dale car park, where there were plenty of spaces on a sunny Spring day and contactless pay machines. Millers Dale was once the busiest station on the old Midland Railway line, a highly controversial project at the time as the tranquil dale was changed forever because of it. But it also has stories to tell - like how framers from all over the peak came her to catch the ‘milk train’ which took over 2000 gallons of milk from the Peak to bottling plants in Sheffield and Manchester.
From the car park head out towards the old track and turn right with the track infront of you and away from the old station/cafe. Look out for a signpost on the left that points left down some steps to Wye Dale. Take the steps down and at the bottom turn right to pick up the the path along the river.
Foraging opportunities.
On this first stretch of the river walk wild garlic was growing abundantly and I also saw a lot of garlic mustard - a kidney shaped leaf with scalloped edges. Enjoy this first, easy bit of the walk. The path was tidily maintained and provides an easy passage along the rushing river. Soon enough you come to walk under a bridge where you may see some people abseiling and this is where the path starts to narrow and becomes more winding up and down the banks of the river.
Chee Dale.
You come to a clearing where there is a wooden bridge that gives you the option of taking a footpath into fields or you can ignore the bridge and go straight ahead where a sign warns you of the walk ahead. You’ll look at the boardwalks ahead and shrug, thinking ‘ah well, worth a go, how hard can it be?’ if you’re anything like me. The boardwalks provide a lovely bit of walking for 5-10 minutes and then things get interesting. The river banks become more craggy and you’ll be picking around rocks and tree roots. Then the path starts rising and dropping meaning you’ll do a bit of craggy clambering.
Keep on, taking it very slow and you’ll come to a point where everything become very marshy and water trickles everywhere, here you veer off from the river slightly to the right and there’s a wooden bridge. Take the wooden bridge across and head back towards the river up over some rocks and then down a fairly steep rocky terrain. Pick along the river and the gorge becomes more dramatic with huge stone walls jutting into the sky. Scale under a large overhang and then you come to some stepping stones that deliver you safely past the overhang but don’t forget to look back and appreciate the walk you’ve just done.
Joining the Monsal Trail.
Once over the stepping stones you’ll come to a wooden bridge, cross over this and then under the larger stone bridge of the above Monsal Trail. Then take the path up to join the Monsal Trail that zig zags up from the left after crossing under the bridge. The Monsal Trail is the disused Midlands line that was built in 1863 and closed in 1968, it is now a well loved cycle, horse riding and walking route that travels over a number of viaducts and through well lit tunnels. I got completely disorientated here and heading the wrong way along the trail so to be clear you want to turn right into the longer tunnel (Chee Tor No.1). Follow the Monsal Trail back to Millers Dale (about 20 mins) and enjoy the variety of folk passing by you. Just before you get back to the car park you’ll see the old lime kiln and if like me you wonder what the white boxes are they are nesting boxes for swifts as the old lime kilns are now used for wildlife.
Once back at the car park there’s plenty of picnic tables to sit in the sun and enjoy a cuppa and a spot of lunch. As ever, I love to see you trying these walks so do tag me in when out in the wild ✨
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