Walking between the towering gorge walls of Lud’s Church feels like you’ve strayed onto the set of Jurassic Park. The walls of the chasm are dripping in moss and there are many narrow passages to explore. You’ll also be struck by the silence, which only adds to the mysterious atmosphere. It’s easily one of the most magical places to explore in the Peak District.
It’s an easy all weather walk, which takes less than 30 minutes if you opt for the quickest route.
Here’s everything you need to know about visiting Lud’s Church.
The Lud’s Church Walk
The stats
Distance: 2.4 miles (3.8km) return
Elevation gain: 140m
Difficulty: Easy
There are a few different routes you can take to Lud’s Church, including a popular circuit from The Roaches. We opted to take the shortest possible route, which took us less than 25 minutes.
There are a few short inclines on the walk to Lud’s Church, but the trail is never very steep. The terrain is generally very good, but sections do become muddy. This is most notable inside Lud’s Church itself.
Happily, there are wooden planks and logs to get you over the worst of it, but I wouldn’t come with shoes you want to keep pristine!
For us, visiting during a long dry spell, this was the only place on the walk we encountered mud, but it could be more widespread if you’re not so lucky with conditions.
Starting the trail
From the parking area (details below) the walk heads right, up the road in the direction of Gradbach Mill. You’ll pass the mill after 250m and then continue heading very gently uphill.
Roughly 400m into the road walk, you’ll reach the scout camp. Head into the camp and you’ll come to some steps after 150m.
You’ll see a small handmade sign on the wall opposite which points you left towards Lud’s Church. Pass through the gate and into the farmland. There are some lovely views to the rolling green hills beyond.
The next 250m are a gentle descent on a vehicle track through the farmland and out the gate on the other side. You’ll now be walking in a picturesque stretch of woodland.
Through the woods
After 150m in the shady woodland, you’ll come to a stile on your left and climb over it. From here you take a right and quickly reach a footbridge over the stream.
Lud’s Church is signposted, and you’ll cross the bridge and continue straight, up the path which is covered in tree roots.
This is the only part of the walk which has significantly uneven terrain, but it lasts less than two minutes and is not slippery unless it’s become very muddy.
You’ll continue briefly uphill following the signposts before the trail will flatten. It’s now a narrow, but relatively smooth dirt track that winds its way up through the forest.
Once you’ve been walking for just over 1.5km you’ll see a pile of boulders on your right. They are easy to climb up using the stone steps, but there’s not much in the way of a view.
You’re now just 300m from the turn off for Lud’s Church and you’ll see signposts right up until the last turn when they inexplicably disappear!
You can’t miss the turning when you know roughly when to look for it though. You’ll see stone steps leading down into the start of the chasm.
Entering Lud’s Church
Once you’ve descended the short flight of stone steps, you’ll be inside the gorge. There’s a short section to the right to explore, but the main event is to the left.
There’s another staircase down and then you will hit the boardwalk. From here it’s like entering another world.
Regardless of how bright it might be outside, the towering cliff walls block out most of the light and create a mysterious reverent atmosphere.
It’s best experienced with no one else around, when the silence is striking, and you feel like you should only talk in hushed whispers.
It seems fitting that it’s thought to have been a secret place of worship in the 1400’s.
Walking through the gorge is magical, the main part of the chasm is not that far in distance, but it definitely inspires you to take it slowly as you stare up at the moss covered walls.
It was so green that it almost looked like a picture where someone had turned the saturation right up.
It is extremely muddy even after dry weather, but the planks of wood, logs and rocks made it easy to pass through. Just watch for the rogue plank - it’s just after the boardwalk - that has a tendency to flip upwards!
There’s roughly 100-150m of gorge to explore, depending on how many of the passages you try out. The mud disappeared after we left the main part of the chasm.
Although you could walk through Lud’s Church in around five minutes or so, we spent over an hour exploring all the little nooks and crannies.
There are so many little slots and cracks to squeeze through, which all added to the adventure. I’d always assumed it was just one main section, so it was exciting to find there is much more to see.
If you do explore further, the terrain varies between stone steps and little dirt tracks. It’s generally very easy, with just the odd short rough section, or bit that might require turning sideways.
After you’ve experienced the gorge, the quickest way back is to retrace your steps. The walk is even quicker on the return because it’s all either flat, or downhill.
Parking for Lud’s Church
The parking for Lud’s Church via the quickest route is at “The Roaches Gradbach” car park, postcode SK17 0SU. The car park is free and your time is unlimited. It’s not especially big though, so if visiting on a weekend or during the school holidays you might want to come early or late. We arrived around 4.30pm in August on a sunny day and there was plenty of space then.
The car park is 35 minutes from Bakewell, under 20 minutes from Buxton, 40 minutes from Ashbourne and 1 hour 15 from Sheffield.
There are no facilities at the car park, including toilets, so please plan accordingly and carry all rubbish out with you.
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