Alport to Youlgreave walk along the River Bradford (3km)

Alport to Youlgreave walk map

On all Peak District family walks it’s a good idea to have an Ordnance Survey paper map with you, even if you have your phone on you. For this walk you need the OS Explorer Active Map OL 24 (White Peak). It’s also a good opportunity to show young kids the map features and get them started with map reading.

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	The Peak District: White Peak Area Map | Weatherproof | Peak…	£13.99	Buy on Amazon

This walk follows the below map in a clockwise direction.

1. Starting from the little off-road parking area in Alport, with the parking area on your left, walk down the road toward the red phone box (which is now a defibrillator station).

2. Follow the lane on the right, through the white gate, and then through a squeeze stile to the right of another gate. Continue along this flat gravel footpath with the River Bradford on your right.

3. The footpath soon joins a track from the left. Continue straight ahead, then shortly after this the footpath forks with a grassy path to the right. It doesn’t matter which footpath you take as they lead to the same place; a packhorse bridge. There are big humps in-between the paths that kids will have fun running up and down.

4. Don’t cross right over the packhorse bridge. Instead, continue straight ahead along the gravel path and then round to the right to meet a road.

5. Cross the road and walk straight ahead to meet a little stone footbridge, which leads left across the river.

6. Walk over the footbridge and then take the footpath immediately on the right, leading uphill. Continue along this footpath through another wooden gate.

7. In the next field, follow the footpath ahead and then bear right to go through this gate in the photo below.

8. Just after this gate, on the left is a small cave area to play in. Follow the zigzag path back down to the river to cross the stone bridge. This section of the walk intersects our Middleton to Youlgreave walk (step 9), which turns left, upstream along the River Bradford. If you wanted to extend this walk, you can combine the two walks to make a longer 6km walk.

9. Take the footpath on the right (either through the squeeze stile or gate) to walk back along the other side of the River Bradford, walking downstream. A little way along here is the Youlgreave swimming area if you fancy a dip! Also, if you want to detour into Youlgreave here, take the footpath on the left just past the swimming area that leads up the hill. Otherwise, continue along the footpath with the River Bradford to your right, until you reach the next gate. This meets the point where you crossed a small stone footbridge earlier in the walk.

10. Don’t take the immediate left up the lane. Instead walk straight ahead a further 20 metres to walk up the next road on the left. Do be wary of cars (and tractors!). It’s also quite steep.

11. After 120 metres, there is a sign on your right marking two footpaths. Take the higher footpath on the left. The views looking back along the dale here are very pretty.

12. Keep following the waymarked footpath through the gates. This will lead you back to the road. When you reach the road, you should be able to see your car on the right.