Rowsley Peak District > Rowsley Village > Rowsley Walks > ROWSLEY – CALTON LEES – BEELEY – FALLINGE – ROWSLEY
ROWSLEY – CALTON LEES – BEELEY – FALLINGE – ROWSLEY
ROWSLEY – CALTON LEES – BEELEY – FALLINGE – ROWSLEY
DISTANCE: Approximately 6 miles
Start your walk in front of the Peacock Hotel and walk up Church Lane heading away from the A6, passing the car park at the rear of the hotel. Notice the date stone 1652 and the carved peacock high above the front entrance. John Stephenson was the first resident of these premises. He was the confidential secretary of Lady Manners, founder of the school at Bakewell which was established in 1636. The peacock is the crest of the Manners family and this old building was also for a time the Dower House of Haddon Hall. However, when the old posting houses in the square known as the Nags Head and Red Lion closed around 1828, the Peacock Inn was formed.
At one time there was a fabulous pottery peacock in the reception area (now sold) which was thought to be one of only five made by the Minton factory in Stoke-on-Trent around 1850. It had a fascinating life story having been shipwrecked aboard the ‘Loch Ard’ in 1878 just 14 miles from Moonlights Head, Victoria, Australia. It was later salvaged and eventually found its way back to England.
The Peacock Inn has been graced with the company of rich, famous and interesting guests in its time, having been host to Landseer and Longfellow, not to mention Maximillian who was at one time the Emperor of Mexico. He unfortunately spent his last night of sleep here before embarking from England on a fateful voyage.
Walk up Church Lane to St Katherine’s church and enter the churchyard by the attractive lych gate. A giant elm once graced the churchyard, its branches said to be like a huge canopy. Within the church which was built in 1855 is a fragment of cross thought to be a 9th century preaching cross. It is carved with braidwork and was found on the bed of the River Wye by two boys bathing in the 1900’s. In the chapel is the tomb of Catherine, wife of Lord John Manners, who became the 7th Duke of Rutland. Had she lived a little longer she would have been the Duchess, but sadly she died at the age of only 23 in 1859 and her effigy shows her as in a peaceful sleep with her baby at her side. There is also a stained glass window in her memory. Also said to be within the church is the old bell from the chapel at Haddon Hall.
On leaving the church drop back down the hill and follow a footpath on your left which takes you under the old railway line and along a riverside path to Calton Lees. The path is prone to being muddy in parts but is relatively easy to follow.
The banks of the River Derwent were once the haunt of George Butcher, known as the Walton of the Peak. He is buried at Curbar. It is said that he knew every inch of the river and his vast knowledge on fly fishing helped many a novice. He could often be found in the lounge at The Peacock Inn talking to fellow anglers and became so famous that the Yorkshire poet John Hall wrote of him:
“Old Butcher is young though he’s night fourscore
He can tramp twelve miles across the moor
He can fish all day and wade upstream
And at night as fresh as the morning seem
Old Butcher is young, he can made a fly
With as steady a hand and as calm an eye
As though he were still in manhood’s prime
And never had known the ravage of time
He can spin a yarn, or a sermon preach
Or on special occasions spout a speech
He can fast or feast like a monk of old
Though he likes the latter much best I’m told
He knows each pool of the stream about
And every stone that conceals a trout
Some say that he knows the fish as well
Both where they were born and where they dwell
To those who have wandered in Baslow Vale
Through Chatsworth’s meadows and Darley Dale
Or skirted the banks of the silvery Wye
Where Haddon’s grey towers rise steep and high
His form and garb will familiar seem
As the guardian deity of the stream
With his oval face and his grizzly locks
And his smile like that of a sly old fox”
When old Butcher died in 1875 it was said that there was sorrow in many a fisherman’s heart.
Calton Lees is a picturesque hamlet with estate houses and cottages occupied by tenants who work for Chatsworth. Follow the road around past the garden centre and large car park and then turn right and walk down to the bridge controlled by traffic lights.
Immediately after crossing over the humpback bridge turn right and follow a footpath which crosses a riverside meadow. Notice under the bridge the metal deer guard which stops animals escaping from the estate.
Follow the path to Beeley, taking care when crossing over the main road. Head up between the church and the old vicarage and follow the lane around to the right to arrive at Beeley’s tiny village green. This main street was at one time the route of the main road from Matlock to Chatsworth before the by-pass was constructed on the other side of the churchyard.
Do not follow the main street down to the Devonshire Inn, but go straight ahead. On your left is Beeley Hall which dates from the 17th century. It has a variety of mullioned and transomed windows, whilst opposite is the possibly earlier Norman House with the remains of stocks in front of it.
Drop down to the brook and cross over a stone footbridge. Now go over a stile and follow the path up to the road. Go through another stile and straight ahead to the next gate then head directly up the wall side and follow the path through stiles towards Smeltingmill Woods.
On entering the woods ignore a path going up to the left and go straight ahead. Ignore another path leading down to the right and continue. You should then join up with a path leading up from the right and head to the remains of Burntwood Quarry. This must have been quite an industrial site from the names given to the area. However, the scars are now hidden by trees and foliage. At one point you will come to a pair of high stone pillars which appear not unlike the entrance to an Inca or Aztec temple. They were in fact the supports to a small light railway which carried carts to and from the quarry face.
If you continue along the path you should arrive at a beautiful stream which cascades and tumbles down the hillside over rocks and stones. Follow this up until a footbridge just before the top of the wood. Cross the high-sided bridge and walk down to the drive which leads up to Fallinge Farm. Turn right and descend the driveway through the woods until you reach a footpath on the right which takes you onto a grassy track leading down into Rowsley.
On reaching the road at the bottom of the track turn left and walk to the junction. On your right is Peak Village which is a retail outlet containing a variety of shops. However, this used to be the old goods yard with station buildings designed by Paxton, and the terminus of the Midland Railway line which boasted a substantial railway marshalling yard.
The lines progress to Buxton was held up for 14 years from 1849-63 by the Dukes of Rutland and Devonshire who opposed the unsightly line running through their estates. The 6th Duke of Devonshire was persuaded by his good friend Paxton to allow it to run undercover through Chatsworth, and the station was constructed (it can still be found in the middle of the modern buildings). Plans were drawn up but the Duke died before work on the line began and his successor would have nothing to do with it. After further lengthy negotiations the Duke of Rutland gave permission for the line as we know it now, although disused, on condition that a tunnel was built for it to run behind Haddon Hall so as not to spoil the view or require the felling of trees. This was extremely difficult as the depth of covering was only 8 feet in parts. Five men died in its construction and since the lines closure in 1968 further falls have resulted in the tunnel being sealed. The line finally reached Manchester in 1867 so it was in existence for almost 100 years.
Walk to the main junction with the A6 and turn right. On your left once stood the later passenger station designed by Edward Walters and built in 1860 when the line was rerouted, recently demolished the site is now occupied by modern commercial units. A little further on is the Grouse and Claret pub on your right which was originally the Midland Hotel.
Cross the 15th century Bridge which was widened in 1925 to cater for modern traffic, taking you back to The Peacock. Notice that on one side of the bridge are the original five pointed arches whilst on the other are new rounded arches.
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