Waymarking and access
Route 1 Ashopton loop via Derwent Reservoir
Route 1a Ladybower west and Thornhill extensions
Route 2 Rail Trails loop from Friden
Route 3 Chesterfield loop via Transpennine Trail
Route 4 Carsington Reservoir loop
Route 5 Middlewood loop via Lyme Park
Route 6 Ashbourne loop via Hognaston
Route 7 Chesterfield loop via Holymoorside and Leash Fen
Route 8 Tissington loop via Elton
Route 9 Wirksworth loop via Hartington
Route 10 Bakewell loop via Hartington
Route 11 Buxton loop via Bakewell (White Peak loop)
Route 12 Waterhouses loop via Morridge and Longnor
Route 13 Penistone loop via Holmfirth
Route 14 Tideswell loop via Peak Forest
Route 15 Leek loop via the Roaches
Route 16 Grindleford loop via Edale
Route 17 Tideswell loop via Mam Tor
Route 18 Middlewood loop via Pym Chair
Route 19 Marsden loop via Saddleworth Moor
Route 20 Macclesfield loop via the Roaches
Day 1 Matlock to Dungworth
Day 2 Dungworth to Marsden
Day 3 Marsden to New Mills (main route)
Day 3a Marsden to Whaley Bridge (road route)
Day 4 New Mills (or Whaley Bridge) to Blackshaw Moor
Day 5 Blackshaw Moor to Matlock
Appendix A Route summary table and distance chart
Appendix B TdPD facilities table
Appendix C Accommodation on the TdPD
Appendix D Cycle maintenance
PREFACE TO THE 2ND EDITION
A surprising number of changes have taken place since the first edition of this guidebook. In the light of this, several of the routes have undergone a number of changes. Often these are just tweaks – little bits of road or trail that just work better than the original – but some are more significant, due to changes in what is rideable or changes to rules and regulations.
For example, towpaths under the Canal and River Trust have become legally available for cyclists to use – without any need for that awkward permit you were supposed to get under British Waterways. This has opened up quite a few possibilities, altering the Tour de Peak District route for the better in the northwest and west. New linking sections have been built, but some future links that were expected in the first edition haven’t been… Sadly, the tightening-up of rules on non-rail users parking at railway car parks – particularly those in rural areas with no other nearby parking – has also forced a few unintended changes.
The other change I was hoping to make was to create a road-only version of the Tour de Peak District multi-day route (TdPD). Although I’ve included a tarmac plus rail trails route for those with skinny tyres, the reality is sadly that any TdPD road version requires significant experience, confidence and competence in riding on main/very urban roads – particularly on the west side (Day 3) – which isn’t ideal. So the main route remains best done on a gravel bike, with a few sections that are ‘proper’ but fairly short-lived MTB terrain.
When researching the first edition, I used a mountain bike with slick tyres. Slick tyres are faster on quiet country lanes, and as I wouldn’t ever class myself as awesome on the technical stuff, I didn’t feel there was any real need for knobblies as I’d bottle out first! Things change: I soon realised knobblies are useful – especially in mud!
As well as being reluctant to walk any distance with the bike over technical bits, I also have a strong aversion to riding on the A-roads so beloved of club road cyclists. Their tarmac may be smooth and the hills usually gentle, but they’re just not fun to ride, especially with heavy or fast traffic.
The ideal ride, in my opinion, has always been a mix of the best of the two. Quiet lanes, lovely downhills, and not overly technical off-road bridleways, trails and tracks. At the same time the guidebook market appeared to have a glaring hole for this type of riding – even though it seems to be what the average ‘non-club’ rider enjoys.
Recently, a new sort of bike has come onto the market, and is gaining market-share very rapidly. It’s called a gravel bike, and seems to combine the advantages of both road and mountain bikes – with a similar ability to lap up the miles on tarmac as a road bike, while still being very capable off-road. In re-riding the routes for this second edition with a gravel bike, I’ve come to realise that while a gravel bike isn’t essential to enjoy these routes, they are a perfect match for such a bike!
Cycling through the cutting near Parsley Hay on the Tissington Trail (Route 8)
INTRODUCTION
Cycling around a bend on a narrow moorland lane above Hathersage, I stopped briefly at a wider space on the lane to write up some notes from the route I was recceing. I’d only written a few words when the friend I was cycling with whispered, ‘Chiz, look over there – there’s a curlew on the ground!’ I dropped my pen and paper and shuffled over to a drystone wall, hoping that any movement I made would be hidden by the wall. Peeking over, there was not only one curlew but three, and they seemed to
