This page was originally written by, and is dedicated to Jos Kingston, who campaigned tirelessly for sustainable access to the Peak District before her death in February 2007. Also dedicated to the memory of Rob Brock, who died in March 2009
This is based on a meeting with Sheffield Pedal Pushers (now CycleSheffield) – April 15th 2005.
The meeting was held in Hathersage to focus specifically on the issue of cycle access to the Peak District. In addition to Pedal Pushers members, the meeting was attended by Alix Otten from Manchester CTC, and Rob Brock, Sustainable Transport Officer for the YHA.
Much cycling provision in the Peak District focuses on mountain bikers and racing cyclists rather then routes which are suitable for families and touring cyclists, offering a reasonably level surface whilst carrying minimal or no motor traffic. The “Rail Trails” – High Peak, Tissington, Sett Valley – are great but are cut off from the rest of the cycle network.
Access to the Peak District for recreational cycling should not be dependent on travelling out by car; and the network of “joined-up” cycle routes, most especially in the parts of the Peak District closest to Sheffield, should be extended. It is evident from Derbyshire County Council’s “Cycle Derbyshire” map that these are distinctly lacking in the part of the Peak District closest to Sheffield.
With the opening of the Monsal Trail tunnels and the tremendous potential for additional sustainable tourist traffic that this represents, establishment of safe routes from Sheffield & Chesterfield to the trail, probably joining at Bakewell or the Country Bookstore, should be a priority.
Suggested routes
Main routes suggested in this area are (from north to south):
1. Loxley – Dungworth – Ughill – Strines – Moscar (using quiet roads and improved rights of way)
2. Stannington – Hollow Meadows – Moscar; with branch Rails – Rivelin Rocks – Townfield Head (using quiet roads and improved rights of way)
3. Peak Park Anniversary Route.
This signed route into the Peak District from Sheffield is a big success but high speeds on Ringinglow Rd are a disincentive to new cyclists. There is no reason for traffic to travel at higher speeds on this road – most usage is for leisure purposes, the A6187/A625 being the main business route between the Hope Valley and Sheffield. One option would be to return this road to single track by fencing off one carriageway and making the other side available to walkers, cyclists and horse riders only.
This is linked in with our aspirations for a new Sheffield – Manchester route (NCN6) combining the Peak Park anniversary route with back lanes in the Peak Park. (full route description here)
The establishment of a cycle route of this kind can be a driver for slower speeds and other road safety measures.
4. The Sheaf Valley route is also slowly taking place and will need to be linked in to other routes as they become available.
5. Ringinglow – Burbage Rocks – Fox House. Improvements are needed on Ringinglow Rd. Follow track from Burbage Rocks to Fox House (The track has been converted to permissive brldleway status so can be used by Mountain Bikes with care.
6. Ringinglow – Houndkirk Moor – Parson House (track)
7. Access to designated tracks over Longshaw Estate: e.g. Fox House – Grouse Inn
2 trails through Longshaw are now open – House to Grouse and House to Wooden Pole.
8. Greenwood Farm (Hathersage Booths) – Grindleford Station. Rights to cycle along this track are also high on the wish list of cyclists living in Hathersage/Grindleford, but there is resistance from residents who are also the owners of the unadopted road from Grindleford Station.
10. Totley – west of rifle range (existing track) – B6054
11. B6054 – Barbrook Resr – Big Moor – Ramsley Lodge
A small section of this route is a track where rights of way would need negotiating.
12. Tracks through Chatsworth
The same principles which apply to Longshaw apply equally to Chatsworth estate – tremendous potential for promotion of cycling. In particular the legitimisation of the route from Park Lodge past the house would remove a major barrier to cycling, and mitigate part of the effect of the enormous amount of motor traffic that Chatsworth attracts.
Access to the park via the main gates would remove a lengthy detour on a bus road – some cyclists resort to getting their bikes thtough the revolving gate at Baslow.
There is an aspiration for a Derwent Valley Cycleway which would link various of these schemes,
Comments accompanying these suggestions
1. All the above suggestions would benefit from greater detail, particularly where they involve redefining rights of way to permit cycling; or use of tracks where rights of way don’t currently exist. Best presentation would require larger-scale maps linking to smaller-scale maps with more detail.
2. A top priority is linking routes to form a network.
3. Surfaces – signing which indicated suitability of surfaces for cycling would be beneficial. There are enormous differences between bridleway surfaces.
4. Additional routes: The Thornhill Trail, along the old railway line from Bamford – Ladybowe,r has been integrated with the tracks and roads with restricted vehicle access round Ladybower/Derwent, and provides an excellent route for cyclists, waymarked as NCN6 .
5. Another route which would lend itself to waymarking and special designation is New Mills – Hayfield – Chapel-en-le-Frith.
6. Although there are cycle lanes along parts of the main road through the Hope Valley, this is not pleasant cycling. Parents in the Hope Valley are concerned about the lack of safe cycleways for children attending Hope Valley College and are discussing plans in relation to this. A shared use pavement has been installed between Bamford and Hathersage and this should be extended to Castleton with segregated lanes.
7. We are strongly against motorised vehicles in off-road contexts. This is counter to peaceful enjoyment of countryside and there are safety issues; environmental effects; rutting of surfaces etc. “Volunteer” resurfacing of routes by off-roaders might initially provide an improvement for cyclists, but this is likely to be short-lived where motorised off-road usage continues to expand.
Cycles and public transport into the Peak District
1. Hope Valley line – This is the main conduit for cyclists from Sheffield/Manchester but in theory only 2 bikes are permitted per train. THis makes use of public transport for family or group cycle outings in the Peak District problematic. For individual cyclists too, uncertainty as to whether one will or won’t be able to board a train with a bike on a line where trains are mainly run on an hourly service, obviously isn’t satisfactory. Restrictions could easily be lessened, at any rate outside peak hours.
Is there a possibility of cyclists trains – Scotalnd has Active Travel Units.
3. Steps at stations – need to carry bikes across can be a deterrent to cyclists who are less agile/family groups. Hope and Chinley are examples.
4. Availability of bike buses on routes where this would be especially likely to prove popular. 218 Sheffield – Bakewell buses could carry bikes and link with Monsal Trail. 272 to Castleton would also seem to be suitable. The best approach would be the American solution of bike racks fitted to the front of buses.
The Peak Cycle Shuttle Bus carries cycles on board, so it is quite limited in terms of numbers. It is owned and operated by Bakewell & Eyam Community Transport and it can be booked directly through them. (Jan 2021 – Not sure whether this is still running)
Staffordshire Moorlands have a demand responsive service that carries bikes.
On Road
For cyclists preferring to remain on the road, a key issue is speed of motor traffic. Policy with regards to speed limits has been inconsistent, with little or no ‘joined-up thinking’ between Derbyshire and Sheffield. We understand that this is changing. Derbyshire has consistently been bringing speeds down on its major roads.
Roads where we would like to see lower limits are:-
A625 Baslow Rd
Ringinglow Rd
A57 Hollow Meadows
A623 Sheffield Rd Chinley – Rushup Edge.
Motorised off-roading
The off-road lobby have been exploiting the law to claim they have a legitimate case for using bridleways where they were once used by carts. This is clearly a cause for concern and something we need to keep an eye on.
The Peak District Green Lanes Alliance has campaigned against motorised access to Green Lanes and byways and they seem to have had some success – see http://pdgla.org.uk/. (Site not updated since 2011)
Burbage to Fox House (The old carriage road – 5. above) This track was originally so that Queen Victoria could see the Peak District from the comfort of her carriage when she visited the North of England. However, she never used it. The track has been recently resurfaced and converted to permissive brldleway status so can be used by most cyclists with care.
Page Updates
(Updated July 2005)
(Migrated to the Wiki, February 2007)
(Migrated to WordPress & updated, July 2010)
(Updated for Eastern moors partnership consultation, August 2010)
(Further updates August 2011)
(July 2014 – Longshaw Cycle Route is now open)
(July 2014 – Eastern Moors route is open)
(December 2014 CycleSheffield Peak District Framework is Launched)
20th March 2016, Page migrated to sheffieldcycleroutes.org
11th Jan 2021, General updates.
Jan 2025, updating and reformatting. Consultation on Active Travel