Parking
Use the small car park beside Stoney Middleton Playing Fields and the football field, off the A623 near Calver Crossroads. The route starts on the track beside the fields.
Overview
About Coombs Dale Miles without Stiles
Why go
- Surfaced lower route with benches
- Limestone valley, wildflowers and butterflies
Heads up
- Springs can leave the track wet after heavy rain
- Rougher extensions are easy to mistake for this short route
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Peak District map
Full mapElevation140–243 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
5 active Peak District alerts
- ClosureA54 Cat and Fiddle road closureThe A54 Macclesfield Main Road (Cat and Fiddle) is fully closed to all traffic from 27 July through 30 October 2026 during phase 1 improvement works.Official details
- ClosureHooks Carr (Stanage Popular) car park closureHooks Carr (Stanage Popular) car park will be partially or fully closed from 6 October for four weeks.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Peak District Tour Guide
Your drive to Coombs Dale Miles without Stiles, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Peak District National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Coombs Dale from Stoney Middleton0:00 / 0:24
“You're approaching the Coombs Dale walk from Stoney Middleton Playing Fields. The surfaced lower track starts under ash trees, then opens beneath steep limestone grassland where orchids and butterflies live.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Peak District Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Boots Behind the Quarries
- Stoney Middleton Purple Walk
- The Mill That Played a Castle
- Eyam Village and Museum
- 298 audio storiesacross Peak District’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Red Deer, Red Fox, Eurasian Otter, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 88 trails, 76 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Coombs Dale Miles without Stiles
A short, easy-access dale walkThis is a 2.0-mile out-and-back (1.
This is a 2.0-mile out-and-back (1.6 km each way) from Stoney Middleton Playing Fields into Coombs Dale. It follows a surfaced lower bridleway, with a short climb to seating where the dale opens out. Allow about an hour to 90 minutes with stops. It is a good choice if you want limestone scenery without committing to a full hill day.
What the route is likeThe track leaves the playing fields under ash trees, sometimes beside a stream, then opens…
The track leaves the playing fields under ash trees, sometimes beside a stream, then opens toward steep-sided limestone grassland. The dale is an SSSI with orchids, limestone fern, woolly thistle and butterflies including dark green fritillaries. Springs can run after winter or heavy rain, so the otherwise smooth route may be wet.
Make it workPark at the small car park beside Stoney Middleton Playing Fields, off the A623 near Calver…
Park at the small car park beside Stoney Middleton Playing Fields, off the A623 near Calver Crossroads. Stoney Middleton and Calver are the nearest places for facilities and refreshments. This record is for the short official route: beyond the seating, Coombs Dale continues onto rougher, sometimes loose surfaces and longer circular walks. Do not treat those extensions as part of the easy-access return walk.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Peak District
248 sightingsRed DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
36 sightingsRed FoxMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
15 sightingsEurasian OtterMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
51 sightingsPeregrine FalconMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
47 sightingsEuropean Fallow DeerMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
54 sightingsWestern Roe DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Peak District. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
