Parking
Start at Minninglow Car Park off Mouldridge Lane (DE4 2PN; grid reference SK 19459 58157). The loop returns to this access.
Overview
About Minninglow Circular
Why go
- Beech-ringed Neolithic tombs on Minninglow Hill
- A 1830s railway embankment and quarry remains
Heads up
- One short, steep climb over rough limestone slabs
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Peak District map
Full mapElevation298–370 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 Minninglow Circular, 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
Minninglow Hill and Its Ancient Tombs0:00 / 0:26
“You're approaching Minninglow Car Park, the start of a three-mile loop that follows an old railway embankment and climbs to ancient tombs beneath two rings of beech trees.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Peak District Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- What the Field Barns Were For
- The Older Fields at Roystone Grange
- The Chuckling Winter Flock
- The Ponds That Shouldn’t Hold Water
- 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 Minninglow Circular
A 3-mile loop to Minninglow HillMinninglow Circular is a 2.
Minninglow Circular is a 2.94-mile loop from Minninglow Car Park, following the High Peak Trail to Minninglow Hill and farm lanes back. Neolithic chambered tombs sit under two rings of beech trees. Allow 1–2 hours. Most of the route is easy, but the short climb to the hill is steep and rough. A separate 2.4-mile loop leaves the hill as an optional detour.
Along the old railwayFollow the 1830s Cromford and High Peak Railway embankment into a deep cutting, past an old…
Follow the 1830s Cromford and High Peak Railway embankment into a deep cutting, past an old quarry crane. A signed concessionary path climbs Minninglow on rough limestone slabs. Gates lead into beech woodland around the Neolithic tombs and a later Bronze Age mound. Leave through the far-side gate, cross fields to a green lane, then continue over the High Peak Trail on Minninglow Lane. Pass a farm and fishing ponds before the quiet road back to the car park. Look back along the lane for the double ring of beeches around the summit.
Access and effortThe walk uses a broad gravel trail, field paths, farm lanes and a quiet road.
The walk uses a broad gravel trail, field paths, farm lanes and a quiet road. There are several gates and, according to the route directions, no stiles. Start at Minninglow Car Park off Mouldridge Lane (DE4 2PN; grid reference SK 19459 58157).
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.
