Parking
Wetton Mill car park (DE6 2AG) is at the start and finish; a café and toilets are there.
Overview
About Packhorses and Iron Horses
Why go
- The old bridge and tunnel give this short loop a clear story.
- Mostly surfaced, with a café and toilets at Wetton Mill.
Heads up
- One bumpy stretch and shared sections on minor roads.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Peak District map
Full mapElevation194–222 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 Packhorses and Iron Horses, 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
Wetton Mill and the Packhorse Bridge0:00 / 0:27
“You're approaching Wetton Mill, where a gentle valley loop begins beside the old packhorse bridge. Teams of up to eighteen horses once hauled copper ore from Ecton along this track.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Peak District Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Manifold's Missing Miles
- The Tail That Gives It Away
- The Silk Dyer at Swainsley Hall
- Thor's Cave and the Manifold Valley
- 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 Packhorses and Iron Horses
A short loop through the Manifold ValleyThis 2.
This 2.7-mile loop starts and finishes at Wetton Mill car park, crossing the old packhorse bridge and following the River Manifold past Dale Farm before crossing at Ecton Bridge and reaching Swainsley Tunnel. Allow about 1½ hours. It’s a gentle outing: the track starts level, then climbs gradually, with one bumpy section. The 1807 bridge and track by Dale Farm were built to move copper ore from nearby Ecton, hauled by teams of up to 18 horses.
Follow the river to the tunnelCross the old bridge, turn left toward Dale Farm, and pass the campsite.
Cross the old bridge, turn left toward Dale Farm, and pass the campsite. Before the farmyard, turn left through a wooden gate. The track climbs gradually, with the river below and places to stop for a picnic. Go through two metal gates before checkpoint 3; pass its third gate to join a minor road. Turn left and cross the river at Ecton Bridge, then take the road on your right through Swainsley Tunnel. Continue along the minor road back to Wetton Mill.
Footing, dogs and facilitiesThe route is surfaced throughout, with one bumpy stretch; the park guide lists it as suitable…
The route is surfaced throughout, with one bumpy stretch; the park guide lists it as suitable for buggies and mobility scooters. Sheep graze in the fields, so keep dogs on leads. Parts of the loop use minor roads, including the single-track, well-lit tunnel. The café and toilets are at Wetton Mill, at the start and finish.
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.
