Above: A view looking south along Fernilee Reservoir from 8 on the map.
Click for a pdf with stage-by-stage details of the route including photos and a map, as well as links to car parks and public transport. A walking app GPX file is also available.
Length: 2.8mls | Av. time: 1.15hrs | Ascent: 292ft
Start: Bunsall Incline layby | Google Map
Walk description, map & GPX | Download
A 2.8-mile circuit of Fernilee Reservoir from the foot of the Bunsall Incline. The eastern shore, along the wide, solid track of the old railway, is probably the most popular walk in the valley – ideal for families with young children, or a gentle stroll with the dog.
If the layby is full, The Street car park, just across the lane between the twin reservoirs, usually has plenty of spaces. There are also a few places at the foot of The Valentine, at the northern end of the reservoir.
The track was part of the Cromford & High Peak Railway, one of the earliest in the world – this section closed in 1892. Beneath the water near the northern end lie the remains of a gunpowder factory that once employed over 100 men.
Through the woods
Most people walk the track both ways, but the full circuit crosses the dam and returns through ancient woodland on the western side, along the old route from the drowned hamlet of Goyt’s Bridge to the gunpowder mill.
Look out for a bench with a metal plaque bearing a Latin inscription – there’s a translation on the pdf. Several paths lead down to the shore, but they all end up at the same point.
Fernilee Reservoir was completed in 1937, after the death of the last of the Grimshawe family of Errwood Hall, who had owned the estate for just over a century.
Click for a pdf with stage-by-stage details of the route including photos and a map, as well as links to car parks and public transport. A walking app GPX file is also available.
Route photos
Stages 1-6 of the route. Click any to enlarge and scroll through.
Relive video
Click to play and use the expand option to view in full-screen. More Goyt Valley Relives.
