Parking
Use Wetton Car Park on Carr Lane, Wetton, DE6 2AF. It is a small public car park with toilets; do not obstruct village roads, driveways or passing places.
Overview
About Manifold Valley and Thor's Cave Circular Walk
Why go
- Thor's Cave and the river valley in one compact loop
- Wetton Mill gives you a midway tea-room stop
Heads up
- Slippery cave entrance and steep field return
- Several stiles and muddy paths
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Peak District map
Full mapElevation190–329 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 Manifold Valley and Thor's Cave Circular Walk, 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
Thor's Cave and the Manifold Valley0:00 / 0:26
“You're approaching the access for Thor's Cave, high above the Manifold Valley.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Peak District Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Wetton Mill and the Packhorse Bridge
- The Manifold's Missing Miles
- What Thor's Cave Kept
- The Traffic That Made Alstonefield
- 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 Manifold Valley and Thor's Cave Circular Walk
A cave-and-valley loopManifold Valley and Thor's Cave Circular Walk is a 4.
Manifold Valley and Thor's Cave Circular Walk is a 4.8-mile loop from Wetton Car Park, climbing to Thor's Cave before dropping to the River Manifold, Wetton Mill and field paths over Wetton Hill. Allow about three hours. It is the short way to combine the cave's huge limestone arch with the valley rather than walking only the easy track.
What the walk feels likeFrom the car park, stiles and a lane lead to the concession path for Thor's Cave.
From the car park, stiles and a lane lead to the concession path for Thor's Cave. The approach is steep, and the cave entrance is the payoff: look back through the arch for the Manifold valley below. Getting inside is a slippery scramble on polished rock, with unguarded drops, so treat the cave as an optional look rather than a place to climb around. Return to the path, descend by steps and cross the river before following the surfaced valley track towards Wetton Mill.
Make it workWetton Mill Tea Rooms and toilets make a useful stop on the route.
Wetton Mill Tea Rooms and toilets make a useful stop on the route. The return leaves the valley through farm tracks and fields, with a steep climb and several more stiles before lanes bring you back to Wetton. Paths can be muddy, especially around the cave and field sections. Dogs are welcome on leads; livestock and ground-nesting birds are present. Frame the valley and the path below from the cave mouth for the walk's signature view.
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.
