A dramatic short walk in the Peak District National Park
Slumbering at the head of the peaceful Dove Valley, on the Derbyshire / Staffordshire border, lies a pair of legendary hills with a surprisingly colourful past.
Dovedale is one of the most famous and iconic tourist stops in the Peak District. Just a little higher up the course of its river, however, is a quite remarkable landscape; one that is, strangely, little visited.
Perhaps there is an instinctive fear of a feature known among walkers as the Dragon’s Back.
This trail sets off fearlessly along the spine of the monster, in an attempt to unpick the mystery of its origins…
Starting at The Quiet Woman, Earl Sterndale, walk across the front of the pub, following the public footpath signs, passing behind a house and garden, through a couple of small wooden gates, to emerge into a large open field. The path takes a diagonal to the crest of the ridge on Hitter Hill.
This trail was originally developed by Simon Corble for the Royal Geographical Society’s Discovering Britain.
Simon Corble is a theatre director, playwright and actor based in Derbyshire’s Peak District, is passionate about the countryside and discovering the hidden secrets of the natural world.