Date: June 2021
Distance: 6.6 miles
Family Friendly: Possibly, if your children are older or used to hiking up hills
Pushchair/ wheelchair access: No
Facilities: No
Parking: 2 medium sized carparks, parking is free for National Trust members, but I could not see any instructions on what or how to pay for a non-National Trust member
Facilities: None
This walk was very busy, I went on a normal Tuesday morning, and there were a lot of people. I imagine the weekends would be busier and parking might be a little more challenging.
The walk to the top of Mam Tor is just outside up from the car park. It is signposted so there is nothing to worry about! It is not like some of the walks I have done where you have to find your own way.
There are paths and steps all the way up to the top, and managed paths all the way. Some are large stones and others are sand and small stones. These are easy to follow, but due to the stones and steps I would say this is not suitable to anyone with mobility issues or for pushchairs.
There are a number of paths, so plenty of areas to explore and you can make the walk as long or short as you wish.
The scenery is just gorgeous and well worth spending some time just unwinding as you look at
Species Identified
Skylark – Alauda arvensis
This is a beautiful bird and it sounds amazing! The skylark will fly up in the air and sing from high up, so if you cannot see the Skylark, look up!
It is a small bird, it was light brown feathers to the head and back, with a white to off white belly. There are some darker feathers on the chest too. The tail is quite long, with white feathers to the edge and brown feathers in the middle. It has a lovely white eye strip and brown cheeks.
Meadow Buttercup – Ranunculus acris
There are so many different types of buttercup, so it can be hard to tell them all apart. This is a meadow buttercup, the flower has 5 yellow petals, with many yellow stamen. The stems are tall and delicate looking, with toothed, palmate leaves. The ridges are deep and visible. Further up the stem where the stem splits, the leaves are long and thin and arranged in opposite pairs.
Violet Clicking Beetle – Limoniscus violaceus
Now this one I am not 100% certain of. This little guy certainly looks like a violet clicking beetle, but it is very rare and only lives in 3 locations in the UK, Derbyshire not being one of them. But, it looks very much like one and matches the description. This is a black/ purple beetle, with long hairy antennae. The purple colour is prominent in the sun light.
Germander Speedwell – Veronica chamaedrys
This is a gorgeous member of the plantain family. It has tiny purple or blue flowers, it is zygomorphic with veins visible on the petals. It has 4 petals, one large petal on the top, and 3 smaller petals below. There are 2 clear stamen protruding. The stem has downy hairs. The leaves look almost nettle like, arranged in opposite pairs of light green toothed leaves with clear ridges.
Rose Campion – Lychnis coronaria
This is another member of the campion family. The pink is a hybrid variety and appears to be more common, the main difference is the white downy hairs visible on the stem and calyx of the flower. The calyx is long and toothed, with the pink petals protruding and fanning out. There are 5 deeply divided pink petals. The leaves are opposite pairs, are rounded with a pointed tip. The ridges are deep.
Ribwort Plantain – Plantago lanceolata
A member of the plantain family. This has a brown corolla on top of a long downy stem. The downy hair is white. And there are visible white stamens protruding from the corolla. The leaves are deeply ridged ovulates which are at the base of the long stem.
If you’re interested, you can watch my vlog below
Here are some more images of this stunning walk
