Chinley Churn and South Head

Stand on the Hayfield to Chapel-en-le-Frith road at Chinley Head and you'll see two fine hills, South Head and Chinley Churn. Both are as green as the little combe of Otter Brook that separates them, and the field boundary walls that are emblazoned on their slopes like spider's webs only accentuate their graceful contours.

The best base for exploring both hills is Chinley. Two sweeping curved viaducts that span the valley high above the town's rooftops are a reminder that this was once an important railway town; a junction for Sheffield, Manchester and Derby trains. The Reverend Henry Thorald called the viaducts one of the greatest monuments to Victorian industrial England. At one time over 150 trains a day would have raced through the valley. At its height Chinley station had a café, a bookstall and busy waiting rooms on every platform.

On leaving Chinley you are immediately confronted by the rust coloured crags, known as Cracken Edge. They form the upper of two distinct tiers. When you get closer the crags turn out to be the remains of an old slate quarry. Exploration reveals the cave entrances of shafts dug to extract the best of the stone; also part of the winding engine that conveyed the slate down to the valley below. Today the scene is of degeneration; the gear to rust: the spoil heaps to grass.

When you reach the brow of the hill you're rewarded with a panorama of the second part of the walk. In it Kinder Scout peeps over the grassy peaks of Mount Famine and South Head. A pleasant grass track takes the route down from the edge back to the fields of Otter Brook's upper combe. At Chinley Head you come to a stark stone-built house with a strange name. Facing eastwards, the house catches the first of the morning sunshine that glints over the hilltops. That's why it's called Peep-O-Day. Note the small circular window built to catch those early rays

The second part of the walk is spent on the eastern side of the combe of the Otter Brook. Another substantial old quarry track takes the route across the lower slopes of Mount Famine to a windswept little pass beneath South Head. From here the Sett Valley and the attractive field patterns surrounding South End farm are hidden by the gritstone rim of Mount Famine and the woods of Kinder Bank. The highland plateau of Kinder Scout has disappeared behind the spur of Kinderlow End. But it's only a matter of a short climb to the summit of South Head at 1,620ft (494m) to bring it all back in to view, and much more, before ending the day with an easy descent back into the valley below using farm tracks and field paths.

Where to eat and drink

The Navigation Inn at Whaley Bridge is a cosy little pub with seafaring memorabilia and historical photos on the walls. Its menu consists mainly of traditional, home-cooked meals. ...

While you're there

Have a look around Buxworth, a village a mile or so west of Chinley. This was once a busy inland port and a terminus for the Peak Forest Tramway and the Peak Forest Canal. These pre-railway industrial transport routes were built in 1806 to link the Peak with the River Mersey.