A lovely walk with the mine buildings to explore and the beautiful Lathkill Dale.
Distance – 14.7 km
Highest Point– Magpie Mine
Food – great places to eat in Monyash! There’s the Old Smithy Tea rooms for breakfasts, lunches, meals, drinks, they do fab breakfasts and really good cake too! There’s also the excellent Bulls Head pub which does good food, has a great beer garden and is right next to a play area- perfect!
Toilets – public toilets in Over Haddon car park
Parking – There is street parking in Monyash, which is a great place to end at the cafe for ice creams or pub for a drink!
Note- make sure you have maps (this route is not a replacement for a map/gps), suitable clothing, food, water and first aid kit. Always be prepared for changes in the weather and circumstances.
The Route
Head out of Monyash up Chapel Street with the playground to your right. Turn right at the next junction onto Horse Lane and head up the road. Keep following the road until you get to a signpost on the left just before the brow of the hill.
Follow the path over some fields, which were a lovely meadow of long grass when we passed through. The path them cuts through some trees before more field and coming to a road.
Turn right down the road and at the lowest point in the road there is a track off to the left which looks to be in the direction of the mine buildings.
Follow the path to the mine buildings and enjoy exploring the old buildings, a great place if you enjoy photography too!
To carry on the route if you stand with the largest mine building and chimney to your back, head to the top right corner past an old shed on your left, and climb a stile to join a path along a field edge.
Follow this path as it goes through fields and down a walled lane to come out on a road.
Cross the road and head straight up hill and between the trees, this was a cow field when we passed through. Through the tress turn right and over the stile (Bole Hill is to the right) and follow the path left down the hill to the another stile alongside the right wall line. Carry on until you reach a road.
Go straight across the road following the path which takes you all the way down to Over Haddon. When you reach the road turn left and follow it until a road junction where you take the right turn. As you pass the car park there are public toilets.
Continue down the road until a right hand bend there is a footpath sign to the left follow this down the hill until you meet the road again (or follow the road if you prefer!) this brings you out near some buildings and a stepping stone bridge. Nice spot for a picnic, though in our last visit the river was completely dried up here!
Just above the river there is a gated and well marked path that takes you into Lathkill Dale. Keep following this track all the way through the Dale, watching out for birds, fish, tadpoles and other nature along the way.
You will eventually come to a bridge to the left as the valleys opens up.
Keep heading onwards across some large rocks as the landscape of the dale changes again.
The valley opens up further, there were gorgeous meadow grasses with loads of butterflies and bugs to look out for when we last walked this route.
This then brings you to a road, turn left and you are back in the village of Monyash and ready for well earned refreshment!
Just A Normal Mum 