Derbyshire Portway facts for kids
The Derbyshire Portway is a very old path that stretches for more than 40 miles across the beautiful Peak District in England. Imagine people walking this same route thousands of years ago! It's like an ancient highway, but for people and animals, not cars.
History of the Portway
This famous path goes from Mam Tor in northern Derbyshire, through the Peak District, past places like Wirksworth, all the way to the Hemlock Stone near Nottingham. People believe this path has been used since the Bronze Age. That's a really long time ago, from about 3,300 BC to 1,200 BC!
The Portway was used regularly for many centuries. But by the Middle Ages (around 500 AD to 1500 AD), it wasn't used as much. Some clues suggest the path might have been even longer. It could have reached all the way to Manchester in the north and further into the Midlands towards Nottingham.
This ancient route connects many interesting historical spots. Some of these include:
The Derbyshire Portway was even featured on TV! It was part of a 2017 episode of the Channel 4 show Britain's Ancient Tracks with Tony Robinson. This shows how important and interesting this old path still is today.
