Lonbig two

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Lonbig here.

Every so often I visit Biggin in December, and this time I decided to catch the bus from Buxton to Longnor, then walk to Biggin. There is a pub and a couple of cafes in Longnor. I took it slowly because the ground was wet and muddy and I didn't want to squirt jets of mud all over my trousers! (I would probably give it five stars in the summer.) Leaving Longnor, 'FOOT PATH' has been daubed big and bold in a farmyard to get you into the first field. After that, you need to keep an eye on your map and line up a succession of narrow stone squeeze stiles and tiny gates. The route runs roughly parallel to the River Manifold, then pulls away from it and passes a couple of farms. After later passing two bends on the River Manifold, the path reaches a road junction. While it's tempting to cross the road and follow a path signposted for Sheen, the path you should actually follow is a little further down a road. Use this to climb past a road bend, reaching a fine house at Brund, then go up through a large gate. Cross a grassy hill and line up little gates to reach Sheen, then follow a path across a valley by lining up more little gates and stiles. The brow of a hill is reached and Hartington can be seen ahead, but you need to find a path down through bushes, before crossing a track at the bottom. A big muddy puddle stood in the way of me reaching a footbridge, then an easy path led to the village. While only a small place, there are plenty of options for food and drink, but with daylight fading I kept walking. After passing the youth hostel, which is in Hartington Hall, the broad and obvious Highfield Lane and a minor road led me straight to Biggin, where I arrived just as the street lights were going on. The Waterloo Inn and Biggin Hall offer food and drink, while the High Peak bus runs that runs from Buxton to Longnor continues from Biggin to Ashbourne.

I walked Biggin to Longnor during a long dry spell. Cattle, stiles and hills but some good scenery. Hartington would have made a better hub lots of services there but only there. Bus service links Biggin, Hartington and Longnor plus Buxton and Ashbourne.

Highfield Lane offers a direct traffic free track to Hartington where it enters passing the Youth Hostel. Hartington has all the services you may need and others you don't need but may want. Exit Passing the old Stilton dairy site now a housing estate.

Crossing the infant River Dove by means of an insignificant bridge we enter Staffordshire and start a long climb across pasture and along a farm track to Sheen. Another Hostel here but little else. Because I follows and rejected Lonbig-1 I can't comment on the short section of footpath but when I met it from the disused bridleway there was good evidence on the ground of it being well used.

At Brund both routes meet the Manifold Trail and also on 6th August, the Dovedale Big Dipper a marathon run or walk. It was easy for to to locate the path I just headed for the stream of athletes approaching me. This was totally off road across fields along the east side of the River Manifold, with cattle and mostly Peak Park gates but some stiles.

Longnor has limited services a cafe or cafes and the three inns one was shut, another closed and the open one looked to be on its way out, I hope I'm wrong.

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