Category: August 2022

Tissington to Biggin on the Tissington Trail, Derbyshire – August 2022

This is a continuation from the last post where I walked from Ashbourne to Tissington.

It was an early start at 6.15am from Tissington, mainly to avoid holiday crowds. It’s actually quite dark as the station is in a cutting.

Once you get out of the cutting you get the full benefit of the morning sun. It was 10 minutes after sunrise so the landscape looked spectacular.

This stretch of the Tissington Trail is a mixture of cuttings and raised up areas, so in one area you get lots more trees, foliage and insects and in the other, the landscape is sparser but the views are beautiful. It can get very windy in the winter, so take care when you walk on more exposed sections of the trail.

The wind is cool and helps on a sunny day as this (luckily) was:

The views here are lovely, particularly if you like blue sky and cloud. There were a lot of trails from aeroplanes passing overhead…

Then it’s onwards as the trail gently begins to rise, in and out of the cuttings:

This is my favourite picture of the walk:

Then you arrive at Alsop. There isn’t much there apart from a shelter and several benches to stop and have a break. It’s worth having a rest as the next section does get a little more steeper and there’s nowhere to stop after Alsop (apart from one bench) until you get to Hartington, 5 miles north.

The views do get more interesting if you like landscapes…

The useful bench:

Flies can be bothersome here although they are more interested in flowers that you or I.

I left the Tissington Trail at Biggin:

Biggin itself isn’t exciting but the church of St. Thomas is worth a look. Sadly it’s locked (as churches have to be) so you can’t go inside.

The bus stop to head north to Buxton is outside the church and the bus south to Ashbourne is opposite. Buses run roughly hourly in the morning until midday(ish) and hourly from 3pm. Check the timetable before you think of using bus services around here!

I took the bus back to Tissington and hobbled back to the Tissington trail but walked through Tisington church on the way:

Ashbourne to Tissington on the Tissington Trail, Derbyshire – August 2022

It’s not the most exciting of walks but it is peaceful and rural. I started early, around 6.30am, to avoid the school holiday crowds.

The sun was strong from the east as I headed north, up the Tissington Trail to Tissington and a quick wander around Tissington village and Tissington Hall. Needless to say, I wasn’t invited in for tea…

It was much busier with people on the way back, around 10.30am, so if you don’t like crowds, start early.

The matriarch was on guard for ‘her’ herd, while the rest of the cows got on with eating:

It was a great day for clouds:

And sheep…

I love the bridges that cross the trail as it begins to rise up:

Dew on the grass. Despite the dry weather, there’s still plenty of moisture here as it’s shaded.

Eventually arriving at Tissington for a well-deserved sit down! There’s well-kept toilets and also an accessible toilet. The cafe opens at 10am.

Then a quick wander around Tissington village. Most of the shops don’t open until 10am and I arrived too early. Tissington Hall is impressive, dating from 1605.

Who can resist taking pictures of budleia?

Then is was back down south to Ashbourne. It wasn’t madly busy but there were enough people about to make it less enjoyable than the outward walk.

It’s about 8 to 8.5 miles. Recommended. I plan to walk the next section of the Tissington Trail from Tissington to Alsop, where the trail rises up into the Peak District properly. There’s less trees and the views are fantastic.