Just over an hour's drive from home, we parked up at Grindleford train station (which is actually in Upper Padley) and followed the trail up the west side of the gorge.
The trail starts with quite a steep ascent along an old path, which is very uneven in places, but it becomes easier after that and gives you great views down into the gorge, with Burbage Brook running along the bottom.
There are a couple of Wishing Trees to keep an eye out for (the boys were fascinated with them) but, unfortunately, we had no change with which to make a wish.
Upon reaching the top of the gorge, it opens out to wider, rocky ground that seems to be very popular; there were lots of families having a paddle in the brook. We stopped to have our small picnic and made the decision that we would definitely be returning in the future with towels...ready to paddle ourselves!
After lunch we made the short walk over to Owler Tor, giving us some lovely views, and the boys had loads of fun climbing on the rocks.
At that point the boys were all feeling a little tired (especially our 6yo) so we decided it was time to head back, following the same route down the gorge that we had used on our way up, much easier on the way down!
As we reached the end of our walk we asked the boys what they thought and, although tired, they exclaimed that it had been a great day. Can't ask for more than that! A successful first trip out and we will definitely be returning to Padley Gorge.
