Above: I found the path closure notices thrown in the undergrowth when taking these photos.
But if you miss them and continue along Deep Dale, there’s no way through when you reach the fencing around the quarry.
There are walks on this website that pass along the boundary of Topley Pike Quarry, which lies opposite Wyedale carpark and close to the Buxton end of the Monsal Trail.
The quarry has reached the end of its working life and plans to remove waste and return it to its natural state led to the closure of the footpath from Deep Dale in 2017, forcing walkers to take a wide detour.
The work was supposed to complete in 2025, but the quarry owners are blaming planning regulations for delays and saying they can no longer give a firm date for the reopening.
Above: Drag the green slider to compare today’s satelite view of the quarry with the plans for the nature reserve. (Click here for a pdf of the plans.)
The blue dotted line on the ‘Now’ version of the fade show the original right of way through Deep Dale. The yellow dotted lines show today’s diverted routes which descend some fairly steep slopes outside the quarry’s fenced border.
Deep Dale is a protected nature reserve and designated as a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest). So it’s a great shame the planned rewilding seems to have got stuck in a beurocratic quagmire, preventing walkers from enjoying this special landscape.
A page on Wikipedia explains why it’s such an important natural site:
The reserve contains whitebeam, yew, ash and hazel trees and limestone fern on the lower scree slopes, with bilberry, cowberry and wild flowers on the steep upper slopes, including bloody crane’s bill, clustered bellflower, rock rose and Nottingham catchfly. Without sheep grazing, the native grasses of meadow oat and carnation sedge flourish. The limestone cliffs are an attractive habitat for kestrels and jackdaws.
Above: A faded and weather-beaten poster along the diverted footpath explains what the plans are for Topley Pike Quarry (click to enlarge).
Above: Two sides of a leaflet published by the quarry owners (click either to enlarge).
