Matlock Skyline

bootsandbanter
2 days ago
6 min read

Plus three side quests

Date: 21 June 2026

📍Route: Matlock > Limestone Way > Greenhills Farm > Masson Lees Farm > Bonsall > Upper Town > Bonsall Moor > Winster > Birchover > Stanton Moor (ethel + trig) > Stanton in Peak > Peak Tor > Rowsley > Tinkersley > Bumper Castle trig > Darley Forest Grange > Farley Moor forest (and trig) > Lumsdale > Tansley > Riber Castle > Matlock

📏Distance: 39 - 41 km (varied calculations from the Garmin watch and the GPS device)

⬆️Ascent: 1152 -1212 m

⌛Time: 9 hours 15 minutes

Weather: Sunny, very humid and warm

Mood: curious, new challenge

The full Matlock Skyline challenge is 35 km circular route starting and finishing in Matlock and taking in the surrounding high ground of Matlock and Darley Dale. I have extended the walk to cover even more ground and reached 1 ethel and 3 trigs. The original route was specifically planned for the first time in 2024 to raise funds for Derby Mountain Rescue Team and since then it is held annually.

Original Route & My Modification

I came across this challenge recently from a post on social media. It seems Skyline challenges find me these days rather than me looking for them. 🤣

The event was being held on 5th July in support of MRT Derby. As soon as I saw it, I found the GPX and immediately started modifying it. The original route didn't quite go where I wanted it to go. Shocking, I know.

A few custom waypoints later, and less than two weeks after discovering it, I was standing in the Olde Englishe car park at 8:30am ready to execute the plan.

It's summer solstice day and the forecast promised a very hot day too. Shorts and a vest, with no backup jacket, is a rarity for me as anyone who follows my adventures will know.

The Yo-Yo Route

The route wasted no time. Straight up the first hill.

There would be 6 major ascents and descents in total, and the elevation profile looked like a yo-yo. Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down. I joined the Limestone Way and headed off into the morning sunshine.

Cow Encounters

View towards Matlock from Salters Way road

The first farm was Greenhills Farm. I was very pleased to discover a fence between me and a sizeable herd of cows. Excellent. My joy lasted approximately 5 minutes.

At Masson Lees Farm there were even more cows, except this time they were standing directly on the path. There was a hedge on either side, so avoiding them wasn't really an option.

I turned around and searched for an alternative route. I found one. Phew.

I carried on along Salters Way, enjoying some lovely views across the valley before re-joining the Limestone Way. Then my luck with cows struck again. Another group. Again, directly on the path. Again, blocking the entire route.

At this point I decided to bypass them through the open field below, hoping I could somehow re-join the path further down. Nope. That didn't work. So, I climbed back up and tried again. By some miracle, during the 15 minutes I'd spent wandering around the field, the cows had moved off the path and into the adjacent field. I seized the opportunity and marched through.

Bloody cows. At this stage I genuinely wondered whether the entire route was going to consist of me trying to avoid cattle.

Familiar Ground

From there I passed through Bonsall and Upper Town before following the Limestone Way towards Winster.

This was familiar territory. No navigation issues. No cows, just heat, a lot of heat.

Bilberry Jackpot

Ripe bilberries in June on Stanton Moor. Powerful natural anti-oxidants.

The third climb of the day took me onto Stanton Moor. I was both surprised and delighted to discover that the bilberries were fully ripe. In June! I immediately helped myself to a handful. They were sweet, juicy, delicious and highly effective at staining fingers.

I assumed I would find plenty more throughout the day. I didn't. Still, I now have high hopes for future Peak District outings and vitamin-infused trail snacks.

I visited the Stanton Moor trig point and Ethel (been here before), tapped the summit, took the obligatory photo and moved on.

Stanton Moor Festival Surprise

The standing Cork Stone boulder on Stanton Moor. 5 metre tall mushroom-shaped gritstone.

From that point onwards I could hear a loud bass thumping somewhere ahead.

At first, I had no idea where it was coming from. Then I reached the area around the Nine Ladies and discovered the answer.

Humans. Hundreds of them. The moor seemed completely covered with tents, massive speakers and all the various accessories humans insist on bringing into the countryside.

I have to be honest, I wasn't a fan. People were lying unconscious on the grass, music was booming across the landscape and the air carried a very distinctive weed smell.

I suspect it was connected to the Summer Solstice celebrations. Either way, I didn't linger. I moved through as quickly as possible.

The funniest part came a little further along when I spotted a large red sign declaring:

No camping. No BBQs. No this. No that. Offenders will be prosecuted. The sign itself had been covered in graffiti. That seemed fitting somehow.

Side Quest Number One: Peak Tor

View from Peak Tor with path in the distance below

Continuing towards Rowsley, I spotted a lump of a hill. If you've walked there before, you'll know the one.

Peak Tor - it isn't an Ethel. It doesn't have a trig. It wasn't part of the route. I just can't help myself sometimes, so I abandoned the route and climbed it. I also suspected that very few people doing the challenge would make the diversion. It was a nice climb and added a bit more ascent to the day, which is never a bad thing.

Side Quest Number Two: Bumper Castle

The next diversion was entirely the fault of a trig point. While plotting the route I'd noticed one sitting on Bumper Castle and immediately knew I was going there.

There isn't a mapped path to it on the OS map, but once I arrived it was obvious plenty of people had made the same decision before me. A clear narrow path led straight to the trig. I really liked this one. In fact, I liked it so much I stopped there for lunch, standing beside the trig with a sandwich while taking in the views.

It's a shame it's just outside the boundary for the Peak District. A great spot and could have been a great replacement for the destroyed by the farmer one at Chinley Churn.

Overgrown Paths and Solitude

The route continued towards Sydnope Brook. Some of the paths through the plantations were questionable. Overgrown, narrow, occasionally appearing more theoretical than actual. By this point I hadn't seen another person since Stanton Moor, which suited me perfectly.

Side Quest Number Three: Farley Wood Trig

My final diversion took me into the woods of Farley Moor for another trig point. This turned out to be one of my favourite sections of the day. The woodland shade was very welcome in the heat.

A quick photo, another trig bagged, and I was back on my way. 3 trig points and one Ethel for the day. Not a bad return at all.

The Final Push

The final section involved more overgrown fields and a route past Riber Castle.

By now my water supplies were running low. Actually, they'd run out. The full 2.5 litres had been carefully rationed and consumed. I needed more, another litre would have been golden in that heat. Lesson learned.

Fortunately, I knew the finish wasn't far away. That knowledge always makes the final few kilometres easier. Eventually the car park appeared and another challenge was complete.

Moving Goalposts

One thing struck me as I finished. Recently I've completed a lot of hikes over 30 kilometres.

I think I'm starting to normalise them in the same way I normalised 20 km hikes last year in the Lake District.

Last year I completed 3 hikes over 30 km. This year, so far, I've completed 8. Every single one of them has included more than 1,000 metres of ascent.

🔍 Final Thoughts

It's strange how the goalposts shift. A distance that once felt huge gradually becomes normal. Not easy, just normal. I still enjoy these longer days immensely. The fresh air, the views, the unexpected stories, the side quests, the small moments you never see coming.

A day spent moving through the landscape is good for both body and mind, and despite the cows' best efforts, this one delivered plenty of both.

Over the years I've learned something useful on these longer days. Discomfort isn't an emergency. Tired legs, aching feet and the occasional wobble in motivation are often just part of the journey.