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About Gradbach | About Luds church
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If you have seen some of our previous walks, you will know we spend a lot of time around Luds Church so are always looking for ways to view it from a different route. This time we decided to follow the River Dane from Gradbach and then head off towards the Chasm. We parked at the Luds Chruch car park and followed the road up towards the scout camp before then heading into “the mill”, on the way through we passed by a new café on site by the river before heading into a field and then down a path towards a more open expanse by the river.
A few routes meet at this point, and we took the most right-hand path which follows the river Dane along it’s winding path. Most of this section is woodland while you look down to the river on your right, it was quite quiet and easy going and very easy to follow. Eventually after following this route for a bit you move out away from the woodland and past a couple of farms, you do get some nice views out at this point towards the peak district before then heading back down towards another woodland again. This section had a couple of fields that were in full bloom with blue bells and it was absolutely stunning to see, they felt like endless fields of water.
Upon leaving the fields, we headed out towards Danebridge but just before entering the village, headed up some steps to the left. These take you past a little brook and up through the woodland once again. As you near the top and leave the woodland, an open meadow greets you and once you head through this you come across a track.
The track takes you up towards a small path off that can be used by cyclists as well, and it’s here that it feels very much like the roaches, rocky outcrops and heather line the sides of the slopes. Heading up towards the top we came to a second route on the right, this is the route we chose but you can continue straight and head down to Luds church here. Following the path right takes you all the way to the roaches, and although you can quite easily continue over once you get to the road, we chose to move left and down back into the woodland.
Following the route through the forest is simple enough, and the few muddy areas have wooden platforms down so you have access in all but the worst weather. It’s a straight path to Luds Church and once you enter through the stone steps the entire Chasm opens up to extraordinary views. It’s the most serine place I've found and when nobody is around it’s just a wonderful place to be.
Upon leaving, we headed out following the main path, and once in the opening, moved to a sharp left which heads back towards the bottom and Gradbach. This tree lined path heads right the way down to the river Dane again, and we crossed back to our original route. Eventually we got back to the mill and popped into the coffee shop (recommended if you are in the area, it was fantastic). After this, a short wander back to the car finished the walk.
This is probably my favorite route we have done in the area, covering a river walk, woodland, open moorland and the beautiful Luds church.
