1: White Lodge carpark lies beside the A6 between Bakewell and Buxton and is ‘Pay & Display’. There’s also a bus stop close by, as well as public toilets. 

2: Go up the narrow path behind the carpark, following the footpath sign to Deep Dale and Ashford. Keep on this track for some distance, heading for the trees and ignoring another footpath sign on the right.

3: The path eventually reaches a small stream, just before a wooden stile. In summer months it’s usually easy to step over stones to get across. But in winter – or after a lot of rain – the water level can rise, and you may need to climb around the stream over rocks on the right.

4: Cross over the wooden stile to enter Deep Dale and follow the obvious path as it winds up the slope towards a footpath sign in the distance. Turn left at the sign towards Ashford (Deep Dale is to the right), to enter Great Shacklow Wood.

5: Follow this attractive path for some distance through the trees and along the edge of the wood, eventually dropping down beside the River Wye.

6:  You eventually reach a couple of derelict water mills on the left of the path, complete with rusting water wheels. They date to around 1870 and were partly restored in 1979. Some reports say they were used to make wooden bobbins for local cotton spinning mills. Others that they crushed animal bones to make fertiliser.

7: Keep on the picturesque path running beside the river until you exit through a gate onto a minor road.

8: Turn left along the road. There’s no pavement on this short section to reach the main A6 Buxton to Bakewell road so some care is needed.

9: Turn right when you reach the main road, keeping to the pavement on your right until you can safely cross over to the other side as you approach Ashford’s much-photographed Sheepwash Bridge. (Sheep were once herded across the river to clean their wool before being sheered.)

10: There are benches to rest awhile beside the bridge, and also a tearoom by the church, as well as two popular pubs – the Bulls Head and the recently reopened Ashford Arms. Both have good pub gardens. From the bridge, head up the slope, past the small carpark and along Vicarage Lane.

11: Look out for a well-hidden footpath sign on the right, shortly after exiting the village. Follow it to the end and then cross the road slightly left to drop down a stoney track to reach an open field.

12: Follow the obvious path up the slope, keeping in the same direction to reach a minor road through a stone stile. Go through another stile opposite, and follow this path for some distance as it crosses a number of large fields.

13: The path eventually slopes up to the right to reach a tall stile in the far wall leading onto the Monsal Trail. Turn left, following the sign towards Wye Dale.

14: After some distance you reach Headstone Tunnel – the longest of six on the Trail which were only reopened in 2011. A footpath on the right as you exit the tunnel will take you up to Monsal Head where there’s a cafe and pub. Continue along the Trail over Headstone Viaduct with its wonderful views down to Monsal Dale from both sides.

15: Just past the viaduct, go through a gate on the left and head down the rocky slope to reach the wide meadows beside the River Wye. There are a few paths that will take you to the same point – some less steep than others.

16: Go to the right – keeping the river on your left – across the meadow, and then through a gate to reach the footpath, passing a weir on your left. The riverbank just beyond a small footbridge (which will take you up to Monsal Head) is a popular spot for families to picnic and children to paddle in the shallow waters.

17: Stay on the obvious path through the trees and beside the river for some distance. (Parts of the track can get very muddy during winter months and after a lot of rain.)

18: Exit the trees over a few stepping stones across a small stream, passing through a small gate and heading up the slope.

19: Climb the stile to reach the main A6 road, taking care when crossing over to return back to White Lodge carpark on the opposite side. (Traffic can come along here at some speed.)