Rowsley Woods and Water Walk (Derbyshire)

About 1 hour. Muddy footpaths through woods and, for a short time, beside the river Derwent. Makes a good alternative to the crowds of Chatsworth Park. Obviously not near Preston!

You can start and end this walk from the Peak Village car park in Rowsley. Walk back up to the main Chatsworth Road and, taking care, cross this busy road. Turn right along Chatsworth Road for a short way and go up a footpath between the Stone Masons and East Lodge. Keep going up this path along the side of fields until you reach the Chesterfield Road. Cross over and to your left you'll see a good track leading through the woods, clearly marked "Haddon Estate". Walk along the track for half a mile or so and then follow the signed footpath to the left. The path then makes its way through wonderful woodland scenary, up beside a woodland stream until you reach a wooden bridge with views of a small waterfall.

Once over the bridge, keep left and follow the path down the hill through the woods until you reach a walled path alongside fields. There are sheep around here, even in the woods, so keep dog on the lead! After a short while you'll see a metal gate (a garden type gate) on the left. Go through this and follow the path through fields and then through woods back to Chatsworth Road.

Cross Chatsworth Road and turn left until you reach another footpath leading down to the river Derwent. Follow this past allotments back to Peak Village. Be warned that this path can flood (2 boot fulls today!). Be prepared to walk round the flood and climb a 5 bar gate back to get back into Peak Village car park.

This walk was lovely today, with the trees heavy with frost. In clearer weather there are probably some nice views of the valley below.

Some off lead opportunities. I'd recommend it if you'd rather take the dog for a walk than follow your partner round the shopping outlets!

Click here for map

Doggy rating 6/10 (the dog says it's worth a 10/10 in comparison with Peak Village)