Padley Gorge is a deep but narrow valley in the

Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

between the village of Grindleford and the

A6187 road The A6187 is a secondary route in the Peak District, Derbyshire and South Yorkshire, England. It starts in Castleton,_Derbyshire, Castleton, runs in an easterly direction past Fox House, South Yorkshire, Fox House Inn where it joins the A625 ...

. The gorge is wooded with a stream, the Burbage Brook. This stream used to form the boundary between Derbyshire and

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, but the boundary now follows the Hathersage Road, the A6187, formerly the A625. It is one of the furthest inland examples of

temperate rainforest Temperate rainforests are rainforests with coniferous or Broad-leaved tree, broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. Temperate rainforests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate ...

in the UK. The gorge begins near Grindleford Station at a stile where a post has been installed. Although the valley continues up towards Hathersage Road and Burbage, the gorge finishes at the edge of the woodland. Padley Gorge forms the backbone of several walks in the area and the railway station approach road forms a convenient car park for walkers. A short distance from the upper section of the gorge is the Fox House, a pub and hotel on the road to

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

. Longshaw Estate is equally close and its lands include the gorge. The lands to the north and east of the gorge are moorland with relics of stone circles, for example the Stoke Flatt stone circle on Froggatt Edge and

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

field system at Swine Sty. The valley is part of the Yarncliff Wood, Padley

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

(SSSI), designated in 1972 as "the best example of the remnant oak-birch woodland that once covered much of the edges of the gritstone uplands of the Peak District". The citation mentions three species of '' Umbilicaria'' lichen said to be very rare in the Midlands, and describes the site as a breeding site for pied flycatcher,

wood warbler The wood warbler (''Phylloscopus sibilatrix'') is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe, and just into the extreme west of Asian Russia in the southern Ural Mountains. This warbler is stro ...

and

hawfinch The hawfinch (''Coccothraustes coccothraustes'') is a passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is the only extant species placed in the genus ''Coccothraustes''. Its closest living relatives are the genus '' Eophona'' of East Asia, a ...

. Padley Gorge is a popular tourist spot, and has a five-star rating on

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References

Valleys of the Peak District Canyons and gorges of England Landforms of Derbyshire Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Derbyshire {{Coord, 53.3055, -1.6248, display=title, format=dms