The Estate is riddled with evidence of earlier transport systems. Perhaps the most spectacular example is the 'Hollowgate' (marked as such on early Ordnance Survey maps), leading down from near the Surprise View car park to the modern footbridge over Burbage Brook.

Holloways ('gate' is a Scandinavian word for 'way') can be found all over the country and are simply sunken trackways that have been eroded through use over hundreds of years.

Once across Burbage Brook the holloway divides in different directions and these not so obvious routes are most easily seen from a distance. There are several other holloways on the Estate, although the visitor has to stray from the main footpaths to find most of them.

There is also the remains of a paved packhorse trail, or 'causey' leading up from the path opposite Grindleford Station.

The Wooden Pole
The imaginatively named Wooden Pole, which served as a guide for travellers over the moors, also marks the boundary between the townships of Hathersage and Holmesfield. A stone at the base of the pole is carved 'T 1778' and is believed to mark the riding of the bounds of the parish of Totley at that date. The Holmsefield Turnpike Road, which was authorised in 1781, also passes this point but was adopted by the Duke of Rutland as a private road for the estate, and the road (now the B6055) moved to its present course in 1836.

The date of the first Wooden Pole is unknown, but nearby Stanage Pole which served the same purpose (and today even marks the boundary of a European Constituency) has been in existence since at least 1550.

Guidestoops
Other interesting features are two guidestoops, one near the Entrance Lodge dated 1737 and the other about 100 yards from two gateposts on the middle drive, dated 1709. (We have another Scandinavian connection here - 'stoop' means 'stone'.)

During the medieval period the monasteries had done much to maintain transport links by repairing roads and bridges and erecting crosses, possibly as boundary markers, as way markers, or as places where travelling preachers could address the local populace. Whatever their original purpose, there is no doubt that they served as useful landmarks for travellers.

Following the dissolution of the monasteries many roads fell into disrepair and travelling became increasingly difficult. In 1697 an Act of Parliament was passed in an attempt to improve the conditions of the roads, and JPs in moorland areas were instructed to erect guidestones to help travellers find their way. Although the Act was passed in 1687, it was not until 1709 that the Derbyshire JPs decided to enact the legislation, with further bursts of activity periodically thereafter.

The carving on most of the stoops is fairly crude, and the spelling interesting, to say the least - the stoop near the Entrance Lodge reads 'Sheifeild' and 'Dronfield'. The 1709 stoop has the spelling 'Shafild'. The guidestoop near the Entrance Lodge had been used as a feature in the gardens of the Lodge and was replaced as near as possible to what is thought to be its original position by wardens in 1968.

This milestone in Longshaw Pastures dates from 1758 when the Sheffield to Buxton Turnpike was built. The inscription on one side can be easily read:

Tidfwell - 8
Buxton - 15

The other side is less clear, but the word 'Sheffild' (yet another spelling of the word) can just about be recognised.

The turnpike ran on down to Grindleford in one direction and up past the front of the present Entrance Lodge, to Fox House, and from there in a more or less straight line in front of Parsons House (now the outdoor pursuits centre) and over Houndkirk Moor to Ringinglow. The section from Fox House to Ringinglow was still marked as the main road on the map attached to the 1927 sale catalogue.

The present B6521 from Fox House to Grindleford was moved to its current position during the 1830s at the behest of the then Duke of Rutland.

Sources

• The Guidestoops of Derbyshire by Howard Smith 1996
• Turnpike Trail- Gleadless to Calver, Sheffield to Baslow by Howard Smith 1997
• Packmen, Carriers and Packhorse Roads by David Hey
• Peakland Roads and Trackways by A E & E M Dodd 2000 Landmark Publishing Ltd
• Sheffield Clarion Ramblers Handbook Twenty-eighth year FC 'Bridle Roads'
• 1927 Estate sale catalogue