Longshaw Estate Burbage Brook walk
Hidden history and wildlife are waiting to be discovered on this gentle walk alongside a tumbling stream and through wildlife-rich meadows and ancient woodland. This trail is waymarked from outside the tea-room. Pick up a Longshaw Leaflet and simply follow the pink arrows.
Map
Start:
Longshaw Visitor Centre, grid ref: SK264798
1
From the cafe, cross the drive and turn left along the path by the fence. Go through a small gate. Turn right and head downhill.
Longshaw shop and cafe
The stone carving below the cafe lawn is a map of the Peak District National Park. The millstone under the yew trees through the small gate recognises the huge contribution given to Longshaw by volunteers.
2
Follow the path downhill, through a corridor of rhododendron bushes, to Longshaw pond.
Longshaw Pond and Lodge
Longshaw Pond was created around 1827 and once had a boathouse and pier. Our wardens carefully remove the marsh plants each year to stop them from choking up the open water. The lodge was built about the same time as the pond, as a shooting retreat for the Duke of Rutland and his guests, including George V and the Duke of Wellington. Later, the lodge became a military hospital and after the wars let to the Holiday Fellowship as a guest house. In 1969 it was converted into private flats. (The lodge is not open to the public.)
3
Follow the path round the pond, then downhill through Granby Wood, named after The Marquis of Granby, the Duke of Rutlands son. It was replanted with Scots pine in 1990.
4
Stop at Granby Barn to learn about the history and wildlife of the estate, then go down the path to a small gate, cross the road and go through another gate a little way down the road.
The view
Across the meadow are the flat-topped hills of Carl Wark, which is a Bronze Age hill fort about 3,000 years old, and the gritstone outcrop of Higger Tor.
5
Cross the bridge over Burbage Brook. The sunken track leading away and up from the bridge is Hollowgate. It was once a busy route for packhorses, carrying goods across the Peak District.In summer it's filled with the scent of heather. To the left of the bridge is Padley Gorge; why not take a detour and explore this fantastic ancient oak woodland?
Padley Wood
To the left of the bridge is Padley Gorge.This ancient woodland is one of the best examples of the old oak-birch woodland which once covered much of the Peak District. It's rich in wildlife and is carefully managed by the rangers.
6
Walk upstream along the side of the brook.
Burbage Brook moorland
The moorland above the brook is called Lawrence Field. Part of the National Trust's work is to protect important wildlife habitats such as this.
7
Continue up to the next bridge and cross over it to the path on the other side. This path was repaired by our rangers using an old technique known as stone pitching, which is embedding small stones into the ground like cobblestones.
8
Walk up the path, looking out for Toad's Mouth Rock on the roadside to the left. At the junction, near a small stream, turn right to a gate. Continue through the wood to a white gate.
Redstart
Look out for redstarts between April and September.
9
Cross the road to the entrance lodge of Longshaw and return to the cafe along the drive.
End:
Longshaw Visitor Centre, grid ref: SK264798
