From Dark to White

On the strangely conical Chrome Hill the landscape changes before you, from limestone to gritstone.

Distance 7.4 miles (12km)

Minimum time 4hrs 30min

Ascent/gradient 980ft (300m)

Level of difficulty Medium

Paths Good paths except for ones between Hollinsclough and Brand End, can be slippery after rain, lots of stiles

Landscape Gritstone moors and cloughs with limestone hills

Suggested map aqua3 OS Outdoor Leisure 24 White Peak

Start/finish SK 034697

Dog friendliness Farmland: dogs should be kept under close control

Parking Axe Edge car park

Public toilets None on route

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Directions
Background
Information

1 From the car park cross the main road and descend the lane opposite. At the first right-hand bend turn left to take the left of two farm tracks, descending to cross the Cistern's Clough bridge before raking across to Fairthorn Farm. Past the house swing left up to the road at Thirkelow Rocks.

2 Turn right along the road for 200yds (183m), then take the second track on the right, heading south past Thirkelow Farm. Take the right fork into the clough.

3 Where the track ends, veer slightly right to the waymarking posts highlighting a duckboard bridge and the continuing route towards Booth Farm.

4 Keep to the left of the farm and go over some steps in the wall ahead. After crossing a small field, turn left along the farm road, then fork right for Stoop Farm. Turn left along a waymarked field path, bypassing the farmhouse and climbing to a footpath intersection at the top wall. Take the path signposted to Chrome Hill. It follows the wall before descending right to the foot of the hill.

5 Go over the stile and follow a wallside path that eventually climbs left to the crest before continuing over the summit and descending to the lane beneath the conical shape of Parkhouse Hill.

6 Turn right along the lane, then right again to follow a farm track. Take the left fork to reach the surfaced road, just short of Hollinsclough. Walk through the village, then go over a stile on the right to follow a field path. Take the higher left fork traversing Hollinsclough Rake.

7 On reaching the green zig-zag track at Moor Side, descend right to pass a ruin and continue up a narrow valley. Cross the stream and go over the stile to reach an old packhorse bridge. Across the bridge take a stony track climbing towards the farm buildings at Leycote. Beyond a sharp right-hand bend go left through a gate and follow a narrow path heading north west into a wooded clough.

8 The clough divides below Howe Green. Follow the path across the simple slab bridge and climb up through the bracken towards Brand End. The path becomes a more obvious track, passing Brand End Cottage before eventually descending to the ruins of Brand End Farm.

9 Turn left up the bank by a wall here, passing to the left of another farm. Turn left along a farm track to Brand Top. Here the road leads you back to Axe Edge and the car park at the start.

When you stand on Axe Edge, you're standing on the Pennine watershed. Just to prove it, five rivers, the Goyt, the Dane, the Dove, the Wye and the Manifold, go their separate ways towards the Irish and North Seas from near here. You're 1,660ft (506m) above sea level on one of the wildest gritstone moors of the Dark Peak, but when you look east you're looking across to the White Peak valley of the Dove. It's a fascinating view with several rocky hills vying for attention. One angular one stands out from all the rest - that's Chrome Hill, and it's the highpoint of the day.

A narrow lane takes the walk down into the valley, and soon you're following an old green road beneath Leap Edge. If you can hear buzzing noises it's not your ears: it's either that of racing cars on the nearby High Edge Raceway or model aeroplanes soaring on the thermals of the hillside.

Chrome Hill hides behind Hollins Hill for a while, but once you've climbed round the limestone knoll of Tor Rock you see it again rearing up into the sky. It's hard to believe, but Chrome Hill and its neighbours are the remains of coral reefs formed over 320 million years ago, when Derbyshire lay under a warm tropical sea near the equator. Arches and caves, spires and fissures, have been carved out of the coral, creating this fascinating peak. You can see why it's sometimes known as the Dragon's Back.

There's a steep downhill section to do before the climb, then the footpath seems to take a timid line along the west side. Just as you think you've missed the summit path, the one you're on turns left and climbs for the sky. The path doesn't always keep to the crest, but avoids mild scrambles by plotting a devious course round the top rocks. Experienced walkers with a head for heights may well prefer to 'ride the dragon's back'.

From the top, Parkhouse Hill captures your attention. It's not unlike Chrome Hill, but it hasn't got a path yet. So our route descends to the little road at its foot, and takes a good look before following a pleasant farm track into Hollinsclough. On Sundays they serve tea and cakes in the village hall - a nice break before heading back across Hollinsclough Rake. The path comes to this shady corner between three hills and by the confluence of two brooks. There's a fine old packhorse bridge to cross, and the cobbled Leycote track takes you uphill to the next field path. The paths round here are not well used, but they're pretty ones, through woodland and across fields of wildflowers. Farm tracks and a narrow country lane make the last bit of this fine journey an easy one.

While you're there

Nearby East Sterndale is a charming village, huddled round a small green. The 19th-century St Michael's Church was bombed in the Second World War, the only church in Derbyshire to suffer such a fate. It was restored in 1952, and still has its original Saxon font intact.

Where to eat and drink

There's usually a mobile snack bar at the Axe Edge car park serving huge mugs of tea, bacon sandwiches, biscuits and the usual snack bar goodies. On summer Sundays Hollinsclough's village hall serves tea and cakes. The nearest pub is the 400 year-old Quiet Woman at East Sterndale.

What to look for

The elements have carved out arches and caves in the Carboniferous limestone, making Chrome Hill a fascinating place for geologists. You may spot fossils in the stones of the limestone walls. Limestone loving plants such as field scabious and harebells will be a common sight, as will the skylark, lapwing and wheatear.