3: Valley Views

Length: 1.2mls | Av. time: 35mins | Ascent: 230ft
Start: Errwood Hall car park | Google Map
Walk description, map & GPX | Download

A 1.2-mile circular walk from Errwood Hall car park – one of the easiest in the valley, though it can get a bit muddy after rain. It took me a while to discover, but it offers some tremendous views across the valley.

From the car park, the path climbs a grassy slope and winds along the valley side, past a curious rock alcove with small carved niches. Before the pine trees were planted, it may well have been a viewing platform.

The best views come between points 6 and 7 on the pdf map, where you can usually spot the ruins of Errwood Hall on the other side of the valley – particularly when the trees are bare.

The vanished cottages

Down at Shooter’s Clough are the ruins of Shooter’s Clough Cottage, once home to the manager of Castedge coal mine. A small waterfall just beyond the ruins makes a lovely spot for a picnic.

A little further on is all that remains of Castedge Farmhouse. Both were demolished, along with Errwood Hall, in the early 1930s. To visit the Grimshawe graves on the hilltop above, see walk 2.

The route returns through the imposing stone pillars of the hall’s old rear entrance. One of the clues on the Joe Brown’s Numbers South orienteering course is very close by – see if you can spot it.

The path then passes the atmospheric ruins of Errwood Hall, before a clear track leads back to the car park.

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.