This magnificent two-mile circular ramble around Stanton Moor is filled with interest, the Nine Ladies its highlight.
Views extend over the Lower Derwent Valley, the sprawling housing and industry of Darley Dale a far cry from this windblown moor, where Bronze-age man celebrated the circular nature of life.
There’s a small amount of parking opposite The Druid on the bend of The Mires road and more on-street parking in the village.
Cross the road opposite The Druid and follow the green public footpath onto the ridge above the village.
Continue through hilltop woodlands to Barton Hills Quarry Car Park. Turn left onto Birchover Road and walk along the road until you come to a path on your right with several signs, one informing that Stanton Moor is privately owned but on access land for everyone to enjoy.
Before heading up the track, look left to an expanse of field with a large central stone. This is Andle Stone, sometimes called Oundle Stone, Anvil Stone or the Twopenny loaf. I like the latter. It’s said to be covered in cup and ring marks.
South and west of it, hidden in small woodland, is the prehistoric Doll Tor Stone Circle, sadly not open to the public.
READ MORE: The history of Derbyshire’s mysterious stone circles
Follow the Stanton Moor path uphill. Go through the wooden gate. An information board tells us the moor has been utilised for thousands of years for burning wood and extracting stone.
For Bronze Age man, Stanton Moor was a spiritual place; it’s covered in burial mounds and ceremonial monuments. The top of the rise is punctuated by Cork Stone, another striking sandstone outcrop.
Turn left, just before the stone, and follow the wide path along the edge of disused quarries, marked by deep troughs in the ground and vertical cliffs. You’ll see the trig-point on your right, an easy walk through the heather to reach the highest point on Stanton Moor.
Returning to the path, continue across the moorland. Soon you’ll see the Nine Ladies ahead in the clearing. Turn right to reach this stone circle.
Story goes the nine ladies were frozen on the spot for dancing on the Sabbath, the King Stone set apart from the circle, their fiddler. I’s thought ritual ceremonies celebrated the circular nature of life at this prehistoric site: birth, coupling, childbirth and death.
From the information board at the eastern end of the circle, take the wide path dropping down below it.
At a junction of paths, keep left to continue downhill. The path veers right. Soon you will reach the Earl Grey Tower, erected in 1832 by the Thornhill family of Stanton in Peak.
It commemorates one of the most important bills in British history, extending voting rights to the wider public, not just the landed gentry, although women were still not included.
The entrance is boarded up (due to vandalism) but it’s a magnificent stone tower, standing sentry on the hillside.
Continue through the woods, emerging onto open moorland again. At a crossroad of paths, continue straight, keeping the height. The path leads back to Cork Stone. Retrace your steps to Birchover Road, this time dropping through the linear village.
The Red Lion and The Druid are both options for a meal, but the Red Lion is only open lunchtimes on weekends (The Druid every day).
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