Longshaw Estate winter walk
Enjoy a gentle winter walk alongside a tumbling stream, through atmospheric meadows and winter woodland.
Map
Start:
Longshaw, near Sheffield, Derbyshire
1
From the visitor centre, cross the drive and turn left along the path by the fence. Go through a small gate. Turn right and go downhill to, and through, the next gate.
2
Follow path downhill, through a corridor of rhododendron bushes, to Longshaw pond. Longshaw meadow will be on your right as you walk.
Longshaw Sheepdog Trials are held in Longshaw meadow every first weekend in September. They were first held in 1898 and are the oldest sheepdog trials in the country. Across the meadow are the flat-topped hills of Carl Wark, a Bronze Age hill fort which is about 3,000 years old, and the gritstone outcrop of Higger Tor.
3
Follow 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.
Robin
There are many robins around the Longshaw estate at this time of year, along with birds which are harder to spot, such as the great spotted woodpecker and the nuthatch.
4
Go past the small barn and through a small gate before crossing the road, then go through another gate a little further down the road.
5
Cross the bridge over Burbage Brook. To the left is Padley Wood. The sunken track leading away from the bridge is Hollowgate. It was once a busy route for packhorses, carrying goods across the Peak District.
Padley Wood
The ancient woodland of Padley Wood is the most important on the estate. It is one of the best examples of the old oak-birch woodland which once covered much of the Peak District.
6
Walk upstream along the side of the brook.
Burbage Brook
Notice the alder trees on the bank sides of Burbage Brook. They need wet or damp ground to survive. 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 wardens 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 Toads 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.
9
Cross the road to the entrance of Longshaw Lodge and return to the visitor centre along the drive. Why not stop off for a hot drink and bite to eat in our cosy visitor centre tea-room?
Longshaw Lodge
The lodge was built around 1827 as a shooting retreat for the Duke of Rutland and his guests, amongst whom were King George V and The Duke of Wellington. In 1927 the Longshaw Estate was put up for sale and in 1931, after a fund-raising campaign to save the estate, it was handed to the National Trust. For a while the lodge was let to the Holiday Fellowship as a guest house, but in 1969 it was converted into private flats. (The lodge is not open to the public.)
End:
Longshaw Visitor Centre, grid ref: SK264798
