Biggin, Wolfscote & Beresford Dales from Hartington

This Peak District walk explores three dales in the White Peak starting from the village of Hartington. The walk is generally easy underfoot and provides a good introduction to this area.

Technical sheet

293016
A Hartington Town Quarter CP walk posted on 04/07/16 by Walking Britain. Last update : 20/11/20
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.84 km
  • ◔
    Calculated time: 2h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Return to departure point: Yes
  • ↗
    Vertical gain: + 116 m
  • ↘
    Vertical drop: - 116 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 283 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 209 m
Stopping to Admire the view
River Dove close to the junction of Biggin Dale with Wolfscote Dale

Description

(E)To start the walk, follow the B5054 east from the village centre. Turn first right up Hall Bank. Follow the road as it climbs up to Hartington Hall (on your left). Almost opposite the Hall is walled track (grid ref. SK131603) which runs due south. Turn into this lane and follow it to its end (grid ref SK133598) continuing on a signed footpath down to Reynards Lane (grid ref SK135595).

(1)Bear left following the lane and track down into the upper reaches of Biggin Dale. Reaching the bottom of the Dale turn right. In a short distance you reach an open area where you bear right to start the walk down Biggin Dale with its steep valley sides. Continue down Biggin Dale until you reach Wolfscote Dale and the River Dove. The path is easy to follow although in some sections it is quite rough underfoot.

(2)On reaching the River Dove turn right up Wolfscote Dale. This is easy walking and you will make good progress north. Continue to the footbridge at the end of Beresford Lane (grid ref SK128586) where you cross to the west bank of the River Dove and also enter Beresford Dale. The steep sided valley of Wolfscote Dale is now replaced by a shallower wooded valley.

(3)The path crosses another footbridge and after a further section through woodland emerges into open fields for the remainder of the walk back to Hartington. Reaching the main road (public toilets here!), turn right and the centre of the village is a short walk away.(E)

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 232 m - Hartington village
  2. 1 : km 1.28 - alt. 277 m - Bear left along lane
  3. 2 : km 4.52 - alt. 209 m - Turn right up Wolfscote Dale
  4. 3 : km 7.2 - alt. 246 m - Cross footbridge
  5. S/E : km 8.84 - alt. 233 m - Hartington village

Useful Information

This walk explores three limestone dales to the south of the village of Hartington. The village has a range of places to eat and usually has ample parking around the duck pond. On busy days you may have to use the pay and display car park on the B5054 a short way from the centre in the direction of Hulme End. The route crosses typical Limestone country found in the 'White Peak' and also follows a section of the well-known River Dove.

Always stay careful and alert while following a route. Visorando and the author of this walk cannot be held responsible in the event of an accident during this route.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 8 reviews

Clarity of route description
5 / 5
Clarity of route map
4.3 / 5
Walk interest
4.9 / 5
The Jessops
The Jessops

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : 22/04/21
Clarity of route description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Walk interest : ★★★★★ Very good

We did this walk in beautiful, dry sunny weather. It was easy to follow and mainly on good tracks. The dales have their own unique beauty which we thoroughly enjoyed. Starting and finishing in Hartington meant we were able to make the most of facilities in the village.
Don’t cross the large wooden footbridge, stay with the river on your left!

wjl1709
wjl1709

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : 13/09/19
Clarity of route description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Walk interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A lovely walk with a nice varied landscape. However at the point where it says cross the footbridge there are 3! Don't cross the large wooden one - you need to cross the small stone one and not cross the river!

BekMayFid
BekMayFid

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : 13/09/19
Clarity of route description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Walk interest : ★★★★☆ Good

I arrived in Hartington at 6.30am and did this walk nice and early. Didn’t see another soul for the first hour and a half. Extremely peaceful & pretty. Loved every part of it. Lots of varied scenery. Is slightly confusing near the footbridge as I thought I had to go over but apparently didn’t - however clear when I looked at the map where I had gone wrong and didn’t go too far out of my way. Thanks for sharing. Will upload a photo.

hickyfh
hickyfh

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : 01/09/19
Clarity of route description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Walk interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very enjoyable walk despite the heavy showers. Very easy, nice views. Very nice picnic spot as walk reaches the river section. Would certainly do the walk again and would recommend to others. Only downside is parking in Hartington as it’s expensive in pay & display car park, but if you’re patient you will find a spot on the street.

AnnCT
AnnCT

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of walk : 02/04/19
Clarity of route description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Walk interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Really lovely walk through a great variety of landscape.Clear directions and map. Found the instruction to go over first footbridge a little confusing and initially went on cycle path but realised you have to cross a small stream using rocks and walk away from the river.

rikernst
rikernst

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : 10/09/18
Clarity of route description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Walk interest : ★★★★★ Very good

If you want a good impression of the variety of landscapes in the Peak District, this is certainly a very good walk.
On top of that: even on a relative busy Sunday with, to our impression, rather large numbers of walkers, the variation in terrain “distributed” the walkers very well.

wrandall
wrandall

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : 03/11/17
Clarity of route description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Walk interest : ★★★★★ Very good

We did this walk from Biggin walking down Biggin Dale to Wolfscote and Beresford Dales. Stopped in Hartington for a beer and then continued up past the youth hostel and back to Biggin. We stayed at the campsite at the Waterloo inn. Very well recommended with good food and cheerful staff. The rain had stopped and the autumn colours and wonderful views of this area were uplifting. A good extension of this walk is to take in Alstonfield which adds another couple of miles.

Ian Vardy
Ian Vardy

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : 11/10/16
Clarity of route description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Walk interest : ★★★★★ Very good

I had walked a variation of this walk over thirty years ago. This time I walked it with my wife on a beautiful autumn day. The walk has dramatic limestone scenery and is a perfect length and gradient for me (having had spinal surgery and now walking with a drop foot which causes easy loss of balance and likelihood of tripping). We both loved it and ended the walk in a super place for a light meal http://www.hartingtonvillage.com/city/ha...

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine.

The GPS track and description are the property of the author.

Loading…