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Sheldon – Deepdale
Sheldon - Deepdale
Distance: Approximately 4 ½ miles
Details: A short, very enjoyable walk of about 5 miles with a couple of quite steep sections - a reasonable level of fitness is therefore required. Care must be taken with children and dogs. Allow about 2.5 hours.
Sart the walk in the former lead mining hamlet of Sheldon Park your car near the only pub, the Cock and Pullet, ith the pub on your right walk down the road until you reach a cottage on a sharp left hand bend. A few yards beyond this is a stile/gate in the wall on your left go through this. Continue in a straight line across the field and out onto a grass walkway with extensive views and the upper reaches of Great Shacklow wood on your left.
Begin your descent keeping the wood to your left until the edge of the wood is reached and you can see an open expanse of land. With the half derelict dry stone wall to your left continue on until you have to turn quite suddenly to your left and walk down, steeply in parts - ignore the footpath sign, to the river Wye below.
At the river turn sharp left onto the clearly defined, well trodden footpath which you should follow until you reach a few stone out-buildings by a bridge. Turn left taking the footpath that passes behind the barn-like building ahead and continue climbing through the now re-joined wood. This section climbs ever higher through the ood (ignore any signposts and continue ahead towards White Lodge) – with a very steep drop down at its highest point, through the trees, to the A6 road below. Take extra care here, please!
A few minutes further and a gate signals the edge of the wood beyond which you should proceed forwards descending the stoney path, slippy when wet. At the bottom of this path continue ahead (signed Deepdale) and veer left and round the corner, rising slightly. You’re now into Deepdale and probably accompanied by a tiny stream trickling by on your right as you continue up the steep-sided Dale. After 20 minutes or so you have no option but to use the stile/gate on your right. 50 yards beyond this is a stone wall stile on your left, over which you should climb whilst relishing the prospect of the very steep, but thankfully short, field path that now looms menacingly before you!
At the top of this rise continue ahead through a series of gates/stiles and fields, keeping the dry stone wall to your left noticing the disused Magpie lead mine almost straight ahead in the distance. After a few minutes, a copse over to your left becomes visible, and stone steps in the wall need to be clambered by a telegraph pole, immediately followed by another stile. Cross the field ahead to another stile in the wall, over which (turn left) is the lane that leads back into Sheldon .
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