Walks from Marple

Spectacular. Canal towpath with residential roads and riverside paths. Scenic canal walk through Peak District foothills along the Peak Forest Canal. Extensive woodland.

Warnings: Muddy sections on towpath.

Walk details: Walk Midlands (tips, photos and local insights).

Reverse direction: Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

Far-reaching views in both directions. Climbs directly from Marple up to Brown Low with far-reaching views, then descends easily through fields of sheep, passing through a farm, before reaching the suburbs of Glossop on easy pavement. Surfaces include road verge, dirt track and loose rocks and pasture; Gird Lane is rocky and quite steep with water running down it. Charlesworth is a good intermediate stop with a general store. Recommended for those able to walk uphill on uneven ground and cross fields with farm animals.

Lunch: A general store and a pub at Charlesworth mid-route.

Warnings: Until roughly Mill Brow the route is mostly on narrow lanes with frequent cars and no pavement; Gird Lane is rocky, steep and can run with water (caution in wet or icy weather); many stiles, a kissing gate, and horses and sheep in fields.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

An almost entirely off-road, foot-only route using Torkington Park, the Middlewood Way (an old railway line) and the Macclesfield and Peak Forest canal towpaths, with two golf-course crossings and a horse tunnel near Marple locks. Surfaces are largely gravel/packed earth and paved, but with difficult stiles and muddy and narrow stretches in places. Uses the Middlewood Way (NCN 55) and the Macclesfield and Peak Forest canal towpaths. Extensive woodland.

1 end-of-walk reward: the Ring O'Bells

Warnings: Several difficult or wobbly stiles (one with no step) and narrow, muddy stretches make it foot-only. Two golf-course crossings — watch for golf balls (well signposted). A muddy, cambered drop near Marple golf course. Nettles can be high in summer.

Walk details: Slow Ways.