Monsal Trail & Ashford-in-the-Water from Lees Bottom
A circular Peak District Walk that inclues a number of the highlights of the area to the west of Bakewell. The route includes sections along the River Wye, visits Monsal Head, uses a section of the Monsal Trail and Great Shacklow Wood. The walk does have a sting in the tail as there is a lengthy ascent towards the end of the walk.
Technical sheet No. 293048
Calculated time: 4h45 ? 
Distance : 14.30 km
Vertical gain : 234 m
Vertical drop : 226 m
Highest point : 259 m
Lowest point : 131 m 
Difficulty : Moderate
Back to starting point : Yes
Walking
Area :
Peak District
Location : Taddington
Starting point : N 53.23216° / W 1.74631° 
Today's forecast :
Description
(D) Exit the carpark at Lees Bottom onto the A6 main road. Cross over to the signed path, descend the awkward stile and follow into the woodland. Where the path splits keep right and continue down to the River Wye. Follow this pleasant path upstream through Monsal Dale. Just before the old railway viaduct turn left and climb up to the old railway track. Turn right and cross the viaduct. Then take the path on the left that climbs up to Monsal Head with its wonderful views across the dale and railway viaduct.
(1) From the road junction at Monsal Head take the lane towards Little Longstone. Continue through Little Longstone, passing the pub on the left and telephone box on the right. After The Hollow B&B/Tea Room take the next footpath on the right signed to Monsal Trail. Follow this path through the field to Monsal Trail. There follows a section of easy walking going past Thornbridge Hall on your right to cross the A6020. About three hundred metres further on ascend to the walled lane and walk south (grid ref. SK213707).
(2) Continue on this bridleway across Cracknowl to reach the River Wye. Cross the river and walk up to the A6. Turn right along the A6 passing Lumford Mill on your right. At grid ref. SK209690) take the footpath on your right. This path loops along beside the River Wye before returning to the A6. Turn right along the A6, cross the old bridge over the River Wye and walk into the centre of Ashford-in-the-Water. Turn left down Greaves Lane, left again into Church Street, continuing to cross the bridge on your left over the River Wye to the A6.
(3) Turn right along the A6, taking the lane on your left (signed to Sheldon). Where the road bends to the left, go straight ahead onto the signed footpath at grid ref. SK189694. This path leads alongside the River Wye. Ignore paths off to your left and continue straight ahead. You will enter Great Shacklow Wood. Initially the path stays by the river but eventually climbs steadily through the wood. Reaching a steep open field at the end of the wood, turn right and descend back to the start.(A)
Waypoints :
D/A : km 0 - alt. 173 m - Lees Bottom car park
1 : km 2.89 - alt. 229 m - Turn left along lane
2 : km 6.39 - alt. 173 m - Descend to lane and walk south
3 : km 10.94 - alt. 144 m - Turn right along A6
D/A : km 14.3 - alt. 178 m - Lees Bottom car park
Useful Information
For the most part this walk follows well used paths and trails. Do remember that there is a lengthy ascent towards the end of the route through Great Shacklow Wood. The start is the pay and display car park at Lees Bottom (grid ref. SK170706) where there are also public toilets. Refreshments can be obtained at Monsal Head and in the village of Ashford-in-the-Water.
Please note that in poor weather, Monsal Dale can be muddy from where the route joins all the way to the viaduct.
Visorando and this author cannot be held responsible in the case of accidents or problems occuring on this walk.
Opinions and comments
Average
Global average : 4.15/5
Number of opinions : 9
Clarity of route description : 4/5
Clarity of route map : 4/5
Walk interest : 4.44/5
Walker
Global average : 5 / 5
Date of walk
: 01/05/21
Clarity of route description
: ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map
: N/A
Walk interest
: ★★★★★ Very good
Plotted the route on an OS map so had no problems with direction. Lovely scenery especially along the river. Well planned out route.
Walker
Global average : 4.33 / 5
Date of walk
: 04/10/20
Clarity of route description
: ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map
: ★★★★☆ Good
Walk interest
: ★★★★★ Very good
Walked this route on 1st.October after a few wet days. Very enjoyable and not too muddy. I added a bit towards the end of the walk to include Deep dale and I will try to plot this later. The climb up to Monsal Head can be avoided by taking the Monsal Trail tunnel (closed for maintenance on weekdays this month) but this would be a shame as the view from the top of the rocky steps up to Monsal Head is spectacular, I took the opportunity to visit Thornbridge Brewery Taproom on Lumford Mill Industrial Estate which may have added another 1.0Km to the walk but worthwhile for adventurous beer drinkers (the covid precautions are good)
With regard to Kateandsam's comments I would think that the authors 14.3 Km is about correct as my extended route was about 17Km.
Walker
Global average : 4.33 / 5
Date of walk
: 20/07/20
Clarity of route description
: ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map
: ★★★★☆ Good
Walk interest
: ★★★★☆ Good
Lovely walk with a bit of everything...tough at the end though !
Admin walker
Many thanks ! We did the changes in the description 
Walker
Global average : 4 / 5
Date of walk
: 15/08/19
Clarity of route description
: ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map
: ★★★★☆ Good
Walk interest
: ★★★★☆ Good
Really enjoyed the walk. 2 minor errors on route description.
End of paragraph 1 should be 300 metres, not 3 metres.
Also end of paragraph 2 says after walking down church St, turn right over the Wye. This should be left.
That aside a lovely walk, passing 3 conveniently placed pubs.
Walker
Global average : 3.67 / 5
Date of walk
: 12/08/19
Clarity of route description
: ★★★☆☆ Average
Clarity of route map
: ★★★★☆ Good
Walk interest
: ★★★★☆ Good
Very good walk, however not for beginner walkers as the length of walk on this site isn’t realistic. We have GPS walkers and they said 25km by the end of the day.
Excellent views and fantastic walk though.
Walker
Global average : 5 / 5
Date of walk
: 07/06/19
Clarity of route description
: ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map
: ★★★★★ Very good
Walk interest
: ★★★★★ Very good
Fantastic walk and description.
Walker
Global average : 4.33 / 5
Date of walk
: 06/04/19
Clarity of route description
: ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map
: ★★★★☆ Good
Walk interest
: ★★★★★ Very good
A very pleasant walk with plenty to see. A steep descent for our start and a steep ascent to our finish. Nice to catch sight of the only wild rainbow trout in the county.
Walker
Global average : 3.67 / 5
Date of walk
: 21/06/18
Clarity of route description
: ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map
: ★★★☆☆ Average
Walk interest
: ★★★★☆ Good
Nice easy walk for average walker. On the day toilets at Monsal viaduct were closed but you can't have everything!
It has been quite a while since we waked some of this route and the link on the Monsal trail made it convenient and interesting.
Walker
Many thanks for your feedback on this walk. I've made the changes you mentioned to the walk description so that it is clearer for future hikers. If you have any photos of the walk, please feel free to post them 
Walker
Global average : 3.33 / 5
Date of walk
: 18/02/18
Clarity of route description
: ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Clarity of route map
: ★★★★☆ Good
Walk interest
: ★★★★☆ Good
Monsal Dale is extremely muddy from where the route joins all the way to the viaduct. After (1) the directions state "Take the first footpath on your right opposite the chapel (grid ref. SK187716). Continue along this path to turn left onto the Monsal Trail." This is incorrect. There is no access to the Monsal Trail from this path. The directions should state: "Continue through Little Longstone, passing the pub on the left and telephone box on the right. After The Hollow B&B/Tea Room take next footpath on the right signed to Monsal Trail. Follow this path through field to Monsal Trail."
After crossing the A6020, the description should read "About three hundred metres further on ascend (not descend) to walled lane and walk south (grid ref. SK213707)." This track climbs steadily and becomes extremely muddy all the way to the summit before descending again towards the River Wye.
Other walks in the area
For more walks, use our search engine.
The GPS track and description are the property of the author.