How to get there

• Click here for Ordnance Survey Map
• OS maps: Landranger sheet 119 and Outdoor Leisure Map Peak District - White Peak (OL24).
• Park at the roadside at the entrance to the Burbage Brook area on the B6521which runs from the A625 near The Fox House down to Grindleford (SK258800).  The spot is on the right-hand side at the point where the Longshaw Estate fields(on the left) finish and the woodland begins. (site map)
• Public transport: buses from Sheffield and Bakewell stop at the above point, which is also often marked by an ice-cream van.

Overview

This is an excellent area for a Spring walk, from mid-April to mid-May and preferably 8 - 10 a.m..  Besides the normal woodland birds the target birds are Redstart, Tree Pipit, Wood Warbler and of course Pied Flycatcher.  Rarities are also possible; a Hoopoe was recorded here on 8th May 1977.  The walk usually takes about an hour and a half from point A  on the map to Point F and back to the start.

Facilities

Apart from the ice-cream van, there are no facilities during the walk, though public toilets can be found outside the Fox House.

Walk details

1. Having gone through the gate, walk down to the area marked B on the map, which holds a number of mature beeches.  This area is usually good for Redstart and with luck you should get good views of one or two moles in the area!
2. Retrace your steps to the footbridge over the stream or use the stepping stones if the stream is low enough.  The part of the stream just before the gate into Padley Gorge itself is often good for Dipper, and Grey Wagtail can often be seen here.
3. Just before the gate into Padley Gorge itself is an old pathway which winds up towards the ridge and an old quarry at Point C.  This is a good stretch to walk, offering nice views over the wood and in particular the fenced-off area which monitors what our area would be like if it was not overgrazed by sheep!  If you have not had Redstart at Point B, you should hear or see one here, and if lucky, your first Pied Flycatcher.  This spot can also give good views of Great Spotted and Green Woodpeckers (the latter particularly vocal in Padley) so a few minutes should be spent looking and listening.
4. Retrace your steps a short way before climbing up onto the ridge above Padley and following the sheep fence as it runs above the wood.  This area, at Point D, is probably the best for Wheatear and, if you're lucky, Whinchat, although the latter do not really arrive until early May and seem to be declining.  The area is also good for Green Hairstreak butterflies at this time of year.
5. Continue to follow the fence until it turns sharp left.  The path then turns across the heathland towards a small stand of birches at Point E.  This is the best place on the walk to see and hear Tree Pipits making songflights from the isolated birches, and Cuckoo, another bird which seems to be less numerous than a few years ago.
6. The area of woodland on the left at this point is probably the best to see, or more likely hear, Wood Warbler.  In recent years, however, Wood Warbler numbers in the valley have also declined.  You are probably better advised to drive down the cafe at Grindleford Station and explore the area immediately above the entrance to Totley Tunnel (Point G) for this species.
7. Look out for a gate in the wall on your left leading you down into Padley Gorge and, once through, you will find yourself on an old packhorse track, and below you on the left is the best area for Pied Flycatcher (Point F). A little further down, the path bends sharply left but if you continue for another 100 metres or so, you will enter another area which is particularly good for thid species, and you should also see Chiffchaff and Nuthatch here.
8. Retrace your steps, following the rough track until it meets the main track down the gorge.  Turn left and walk back up the valley, keeping an eye on the stream itself for Dipper and Grey Wagtail.  Spend a little time in the area where an old stone wall meets the path from the left, again again formerly a good area for Wood Warbler and still more attractive for birds than most areas by the main path.
9. Continue through the gate, out of the gorge and to your car, possibly for that well-earned ice-cream!

Click here for recent site records

Nearby sites

The Longshaw Estate can be explored from the same parking place: simply go through the steep gate on the other side of the road to try to find any target species not found in Padley.

Ron Blagden