Fernilee to Castle Naze
A wonderful, challenging 12 miles route, with different type of terrain and views.
I was impressed by the beautiful Goyt Valley and it’s story. The region has a great historical value and reading the article on The Goyt Valley website brought me back in time when where there were farmers on that land.
The route starts close to Fernilee reservoir from a car park on the side of the road. This car park is free but there are just few spaces. If you struggle to park there, there is a car park near the reservoir.
The weather was starting to get warmer but you could still feel the cold air.
We said hello to some mandarin ducks on Fernilee Reservoir and few fessants. We walked by the reservoir to Hillbridge Wood, one of the largest oakwoods in the area with an abundance of bird species and rich with the scent of bluebells in the spring. If you look closer, the bluebells start to come out from winter and grow through the leaves.
When the sun decide to come out of the clouds, we decide to stop for a cup of coffee on the bench near a farm. It is a nice way to start your day with a cuppa and fresh air.
After few minutes we continued our walk to Taxal, a picturesque village in Peak District. We have passed by Taxal Church, a beautiful old church rebuilt in 1825. After just few miles we have reached to Combs village and then Combs reservoir.
The path so far was a combination of tarmac and path through forest but once we got to Combs it was boggy and very muddy in some places. If it’s raining it could get very slippery so wear proper shoes.
Near Combs Village, a raft of wild goose were having their Sunday morning meeting. I have never seen so many of them in one place, it must be something special about this place.
From Fernilee Reservoir to Combs the route is quite flat but there is a little bit of ascent to Castle Naze.
Situated atop a steep gritstone escarpment at 427m, this fort occupies a triangular area of c. 2.5 acres. It is dated probably late Iron Age as per Guide to Prehistoric England, Nicholas Thomas, 1960.
The views from there are spectacular and it offers a great panoramic view to Combs Reservoir and towards Goyt Valley.
From Castle Naze, the rest of the route was boggy along the ridge of the hill and if you catch bad weather keep going around 2 miles and you will find a small shelter where you can take some rest and have a tea.
From this house there are only around 3 miles left but watch your step when it’s wet and enjoy the views.
This route is the longest from Goyt Valley and it covers a wide region. It is challenging and difficult so prepare yourself with food and water. The last part when you descent to the car park it’s quite steep so be careful as it can be slippery.
When we’ve finished the route back to the car park, I felt really good and happy to explore and discover this great area full of nature beautiful scenes and wildlife.
