Long Dale

Pikehall is a small village in the Derbyshire Dales consisting of a few dozen households and a handful of farms. The population of the village is included in the civil parish of Hartington Nether Quarter. The A5012 road runs through the middle, dividing the village in half. The village is home to the annual Y Not Festival.

The Gotham Curve was once the sharpest curve on any standard gauge railway line in the UK. The curve, which was situated in the sparsely populated, exposed limestone uplands in the Peak District of Derbyshire, England, was on the Cromford and High Peak Railway. The single-track main line was inherited by British Railways in 1948. It closed in 1967.

The High Peak Trail is a 17-mile (27 km) trail for walkers, cyclists and horse riders in the Peak District of England. Running from Dowlow (53.2059°N 1.8349°W / 53.2059; -1.8349 (High Peak Trail (Dowlow trailhead))), near Buxton, to High Peak Junction, Cromford (53.1004°N 1.5354°W / 53.1004; -1.5354 (High Peak Trail (High Peak Junction trailhead))), it follows the trackbed of the former Cromford and High Peak Railway, which was completed in 1831 to carry minerals and goods between the Cromford Canal wharf at High Peak Junction and the Peak Forest Canal at Whaley Bridge.Closure of the line occurred during the Beeching era, with the first section of the line closing in 1963 (i.e. the Middleton Incline) followed by full closure in 1967. In 1971 the Peak Park Planning Board and Derbyshire County Council bought the largest part of the trackbed and, in partnership with the Countryside Commission, adapted it for its current leisure use. The trail has a crushed limestone surface which makes it ideal for all users, including wheelchair use, assisted by level access onto the trail at various points along its route. The High Peak Trail is now a national route of the National Cycle Network. The elevated nature of the trail (the highest part of the line is at Ladmanlow, at a height of 1,266 ft or 386 m) affords many splendid views across the countryside. However, these higher sections can also be very exposed in poor weather. The original railway incorporated a number of inclines at its northern and southern ends, and whilst much of the trail is fairly level, these sections are naturally steeper. At Parsley Hay, about 5 miles (8 km) southwest of Bakewell, the High Peak Trail is joined by the 13-mile (21 km) Tissington Trail, another route of the National Cycle Network, which was formerly the railway branch line to Ashbourne. The High Peak Trail crosses the Limestone Way near Harboro' Rocks.The High Peak Trail (and part of the Tissington Trail) are also designated part of the Pennine Bridleway, a 130-mile (210 km) leisure route which starts at Middleton Top, near Cromford, and includes 73 miles (117 km) through Derbyshire to the South Pennines. The Trail also forms part of the Midshires Way, a long-distance footpath and bridleway which runs for 225 miles (362 km) through the Midlands from Bledlow to Stockport. The High Peak Trail forms part of the White Peak Loop Trail, a 60-mile (97 km) route for walking, cycling and horse riding in the Peak District. It links the High Peak Trail with the Monsal Trail, with linking sections through the towns of Buxton, Bakewell and Matlock. The White Peak Loop is being developed by Derbyshire County Council and as of 2020 some sections are not yet complete.

Middleton and Smerrill is a civil parish within the Derbyshire Dales district, in the county of Derbyshire, England. Largely rural except for the village of Middleton-by-Youlgreave and isolated farms, Middleton and Smerrill's population is 137 residents in 2011. It is 130 miles (210 km) north west of London, 20 miles (32 km) north west of the county city of Derby, and 4+1⁄2 miles (7.2 km) south west of the nearest market town of Bakewell. Middleton and Smerrill is wholly within the Peak District national park, in the southern part of the area. It is one of the largest parishes but among the smallest by way of residents, and shares a border with the parishes of Gratton, Hartington Middle Quarter, Hartington Nether Quarter, Hartington Town Quarter, Monyash and Youlgreave. There are 31 listed structures in Middleton and Smerrill.

Friden Goods Yard was a goods station located on the Cromford and High Peak Railway near the villages of Friden in Derbyshire. Mostly for moving mineral and quarry traffic. It closed in 1967 along with the rest of the line. And today, nothing remains of the goods yard. The trackbed now forms part of the High Peak Trail.

Gratton is a civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of central Derbyshire, half a mile west of the neighbouring village, Elton.

Friden is a hamlet in the civil parish of Hartington Nether Quarter, Derbyshire, England. It is 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Buxton, just off the Newhaven to Cromford Via Gellia road, and lies within the Peak District National Park. The name "Friden" is derived from the goddess Frig, the wife of Woden. It is on the route of the former Cromford and High Peak Railway, which now forms the High Peak Trail. Friden Grange is a Grade II listed building. It is notable for the manufacture of refractory products at Friden brickworks.

Middleton, often known as Middleton-by-Youlgreave or Middleton-by-Youlgrave to distinguish it from nearby Middleton-by-Wirksworth, is a village in the Peak District, Derbyshire, England. The appropriate civil parish is called Middleton and Smerrill. The population of this parish was 137 at the 2011 Census. It lies south west of Youlgreave, above the River Bradford. Its main industries are farming and tourism.

Newhaven is a hamlet in the county of Derbyshire, England, east of Hartington and west of Cromford.The principal employer in the area is DSF Refractories & Minerals Ltd. The hamlet is located within the Peak District National Park.

Dale End is a hamlet in Derbyshire, England to the west of Elton.

Minninglow (or Minning Low) is a hill in the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire, located within the White Peak area at grid reference SK209573. Within the clump of trees crowning the hill are a Neolithic chambered tomb and two Bronze Age bowl barrows. The chambered tomb (Derbyshire's largest) and barrows are a Scheduled Monument. The chambered tomb comprises an oval cairn of 45 by 38 metres (148 by 125 ft) surviving to a height of 2.4 metres (7 ft 10 in) and containing two complete chambers made of limestone slabs, and at least three other incomplete chambers. The tomb was excavated by Thomas Bateman in 1843 and 1851 and was described by Nikolaus Pevsner as "one of the most impressive of Derbyshire's surviving prehistoric burials". The barrow is considered to be a multi-period site, the oldest chamber dating from the Early Neolithic period but with other finds indicating use in the Late Neolithic or early Bronze Age, and also the Roman period. The two bowl barrows, also excavated by Bateman, date from the Bronze Age and also show signs of Roman disturbance.Although it is within 200 metres (660 ft) of the High Peak Trail between Parwich and Longcliffe, there is no public right of way to the site. Since 31 January 2007, however, concessionary access has been granted by the landowner, allowing the public to walk to and explore the site. The concessionary path from the High Peak Trail is signposted with a wooden sign similar to a public footpath sign and there are wooden markers on the route to the barrow. About one kilometre northwest of Minninglow hill is the massive Minninglow Embankment on the former Cromford and High Peak Railway, the trackbed of which now forms the High Peak Trail. This Grade-II-listed structure, constructed from local limestone and earth in the 1820s, is a pre-Victorian example of civil engineering on the grand scale. There is access from the car park and picnic site about 200 metres (660 ft) further along the High Peak Trail at grid reference SK194581.

Harthill Moor is a small upland area in the Derbyshire Peak District of central and northern England, lying between Matlock and Bakewell near the villages of Birchover and Elton. The moor is within the southern portion of Harthill civil parish. Its highest point is 272 metres (892 ft) above sea level. The River Bradford flows along the northern edge of the moor past Youlgreave and into the River Lathkill at Alport. Harthill Moor is a rich prehistoric landscape with several protected Scheduled Ancient Monuments.The rock of Harthill Moor and nearby Stanton Moor is known as Ashover Grit, an outlier of Millstone Grit. This is a coarse-grained sandstone which weathers to produce coarse sub-soils, rich in sand, and the soils themselves are typically podzols. The Ashover Grit sandstone layer lies on top of shale, which in turn lie upon Carboniferous limestone.Robin Hood's Stride (also called Mock Beggar Hall) is a prominent natural rock formation with distinctive pinnacle towers. Prehistoric rock art has been found on and close to the gritstone outcrop. It is a popular location for bouldering and limited short climbing is possible on Weasel pinnacle and Inaccessible pinnacle. Nearby Cratcliffe Tor provides more challenging rock climbing, with over 200 graded routes. Cratcliff Rocks is an extensive rock outcrop on the edge of Harthill Moor in the eastern gritstone moors of Derbyshire. Cratcliff Rocks defended settlement is an ancient enclosure in the field to the north east of Robin Hood's Stride. The monument lies on the western edge of the Cratcliff Rocks outcrop and is in the form of a round enclosure about 100m wide with a 5m wide ditch cut into the rock. Several building platforms have been identified inside the enclosure. Whilst the site has not been excavated, it is considered to be linked to the other Bronze Age features of Harthill Moor. Cratcliff Rocks hermitage is a medieval hermit's cave. The rock shelter has a number of recesses cut into the walls for candles and sacred objects. A bas-relief crucifix carved in the cave has been dated to the 13th or 14th century. On the rock face outside the shelter, chiselled grooves and sockets for timber beams indicate where the roof structure was of a building adjoining the cave. Nine Stones Close is a Bronze Age stone circle about 30m across, with four remaining upright stones about 2m high. Several original stones were removed in the 18th and 19th centuries, one of which stands in a field wall 70m to the south where it was taken to be used as a gatepost. Partial excavations of the circle were conducted by Thomas Bateman in 1847, Jewitt and Greenwell in 1877 and J P Heathcote in 1939. Many Bronze Age flints and pot-sherds were discovered. Doll Tor stone circle lies about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) east of Nine Stones Close. A further 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) north east is Nine Ladies stone circle on Stanton Moor.The Castle Ring defended settlement (immediately north of Harthill Moor Farm) now consists of an oval earthwork ditch (about 5m wide and 100m across) with inner and outer banks, up to 2m high. It hasn't been excavated but it is considered to be an integral part of the Bronze Age landscape of Harthill Moor. Harthill Moor bowl barrow is a Bronze Age burial mound about 150m SE of Harthill Moor Farm. It is 20m long and 11m wide. It was partially excavated in 1877 by Jewitt and Greenwell. A limestone cist was found with the remains from two cremations.The Derbyshire Portway prehistoric road runs across Harthill Moor in a north-south direction. It passes between Robin Hood's Stride and Cratcliff Rocks and past Nine Stones Close. It was an ancient route between Mam Tor in the Peak District to the Hemlock Stone near Nottingham. The Limestone Way long distance footpath follows the Derbyshire Portway route across Harthill Moor but then heads around the Castle Ring earthwork towards Youlgreave.Harthill Hall, on the northern edge of the moor near Alport, is the manor of a great 13th-century estate. The 16th-century manor house, farm house and 14th-century chapel still stand. Harthill was recorded as Hortel and Hortil in the Domesday Book, as part of the lands of the Norman knights Henry de Ferrers and Ralph FitzHubert.