This four-mile loop walk along the River Wye in the Peak District takes you through deep gorges and lush forests.<\/p>\n
![\""Fireweed\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2018\/09\/GettyImages-593308934-41cba39.jpg?quality=90&resize=551%2C413"\" "\\"\"Fireweed\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>This walk commences at an abandoned railway junction, studded to the valleyside beside mellowing girder bridges leaping across the Wye. As the year matures, the railway fringes are generously dressed with clumps of fireweed, bedstraw, ramsons, rockrose, orchids and carpets of wild thyme and marjoram, an assault on the senses that will linger in the memory. Peer into the arboreal canyon of the Wye, a tantalising foretaste of what is to come. The return leg of this stunning ramble is a fairytale-like riverside ravine walk via stepping stones, crags, rapids, languid pools and gushing springs.<\/p>\n Related articles<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> 4.2 miles\/6.8km | 3 hours | moderate<\/em><\/p>\n 1. Makin\u2019\u00a0tracks<\/strong><\/p>\n Leave Miller\u2019s Dale old station car park and head right along the multi-purpose Monsal Trail for Wye Dale. The way soon crosses the first of a series of viaducts before plunging into Chee Tor Tunnel.<\/p>\n 2. Tunnel through<\/strong><\/p>\n Reopened with several others in 2011, the tunnel provides a superb route chiselled along the cliffs of the Wye\u2019s gorge.<\/p>\n In 1.5 miles there is a sign pointing right for Wyedale car park and Pennine Bridleway. Drop into Wye Dale at the cycle hire base for a spot of tiffin.<\/p>\n 3. Into the dale<\/strong><\/p>\n Bear right to use the long footbridge across to the terrace of cottages. Turn right before these on the footpath for Chee Dale, heading downstream beside the lively River Wye. It\u2019s a riot of colour throughout the summer, with fragrant meadowsweet, vetches, willowherb, knapweed, scabious and blue cranesbill shining bright as the path meanders beside the water. At the fork keep right, leaving the Pennine Bridleway in favour of the waterside path.<\/p>\n At the viaduct, drop left (ignoring the footbridge)\u00a0down steps and continue downstream. The way now encounters the first stretch of stepping stones, leapfrogging the path through the shallows. If these are even slightly underwater, then don\u2019t continue, as the next section will be impassable. Instead, turn back to the viaduct\u00a0and use the path up to the \u00a0Monsal Trail, returning\u00a0on this to\u00a0Miller\u2019s Dale.<\/p>\n Advance downstream on the clear path, changing to the right-hand bank via a footbridge for a short section before re-crossing to the left \u2013 the river should always be to your right except for this deviation.<\/p>\n Further lengthy stepping stones hug\u00a0the base of buttresses and cliffs, liberally dressed by luxuriant vegetation.\u00a0The tops almost close over you\u00a0on this truly memorable walk deep within the chasm.\u00a0Don\u2019t be alarmed to hear\u00a0disembodied voices floating in the ether; some vertical pitches are\u00a0the playground\u00a0of intrepid climbers testing their mettle.<\/p>\n 4. Spring in your step<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s an extraordinary section that follows in the tranquil, parallel world of deepest Chee Dale. High above, the Monsal Trail disappears into a tunnel while the riverside path squeezes around a series of curves at the heart of Chee Dale nature reserve. The path, thin at times, clings to the water\u2019s edge, climbs over tree roots, scurries over outcrops of rock and pads across tongues of pebbles and sand. Limpid pools are shaded by the vast leaves of butterbur, and strands of white-flowered water crowfoot drift in the current. Some very large trout may be spotted lazily flying the flow. One bird you\u2019re almost guaranteed to spot is the dipper. These intriguing birds are akin to diving blackbirds and are a delight to watch\u00a0at length. As summer progresses, the vegetation is increasingly pervasive. The sun may be shuttered out by hanging creepers, ferns and glowing emerald cliffs of lime, ash and hazel. It is an almost tropical, shadow-dancing aspect viewed against occasional glimpses of the summer sky high above.<\/p>\n 5. Limestone ledges<\/strong><\/p>\n The riverside path stops for\u00a0a short while at a series of natural limestone steps and ledges. It\u2019s a sprightly climb \u2013 watch your step as the rock may be slick even in dry conditions. The woodland\u00a0path scurries along the lip of low cliffs, curling round to cross the plank bridge at the head of the memorable Wormhill Springs. This huge upwelling issues from myriad vents across a crumpled gradient of lumpy tufa rock, perhaps brightened by marsh marigold\u2019s yellow blooms. These springs are among the strongest and most consistent in the Peak District. Beyond here the river is soon rejoined, a stretch particularly well-vegetated with forests of meadowsweet and willowherb towering above head-height. After a series of low weirs,\u00a0you will reach a footbridge.<\/p>\n 6. Out in the\u00a0open<\/strong><\/p>\n Stay on the nearside path before climbing a stepped\u00a0link path up to the Mensal\u00a0Trail. Turn left to find Miller\u2019s Dale station. Have a bite to\u00a0eat at the quirky old Citroen van snack-bar.<\/p>\n![\""Walkers\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2019\/01\/Group-of-walkers-in-woodland-9c6c290.jpg?quality=45&resize=556,556"\" "\\"\"Group-of-walkers-in-woodland\"\\"\/")
<\/div><\/div> <\/div> <\/section>Chee Dale, Miller\u2019s Dale and Wye Dale walk<\/h2>\n
![\""Cheedale"\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2018\/09\/Cheedale201-9e1d099.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C409"\" "\\"\"Cheedale\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\""Knapweed\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2018\/09\/GettyImages-839983232-d33a49d.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413"\" "\\"\"Knapweed\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\""Overhanging\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2018\/09\/GY734G-9e6f652.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C411"\" "\\"\"Overhanging\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Chee Dale, Miller\u2019s Dale and Wye Dale map<\/h2>\n
![\""Miller's\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2017\/05\/Screen-Shot-2018-12-06-at-16.14.54-0e6e1f1.png?quality=90&resize=431%2C413"\" "\\"\"Miller's\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div><\/a><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n