The Monsal Head Walk is one of the most popular routes in the Peak District. In this guide, I share the details of this beautiful circular walk to Monsal Head, as well as all the essential information you’ll need before visiting.

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This Monsal Head Walk at a Glance
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Monsal Head Circular Walk FAQs
How to Get There
This Monsal Head walking route starts and finishes at the Monsal Head Hotel. If you’re travelling by car, a pay and display car park is directly next door. Click Here for the Google Maps location.
If you would prefer a longer, more challenging route, you might look at walking from Bakewell or Buxton, which are both accessible via the Monsal Trail.
Best Time to Visit
As mentioned above, this is a popular walk and viewpoint. It gets busiest during weekends and school holidays.
Sunset is an excellent time to schedule your walk around. The golden hour lighting over the valley is truly magical and only enhances the already spectacular views.
Monsal Head Circular Walk Map
Monsal Head Walk Difficulty
As I say, there are many ways you can extend this walk to make it more challenging; however, the Monsal Head circular route that I cover here is relatively easy.
There are sections of steep stairs and a reasonably challenging ascent. But so long as you aren’t afraid of a little leg burn, it’s nothing to be intimated by.
Monsal Head Facilities
- Pay & Display Car Park
- Public Toilets (Optional Donation)
- Hotel, Bar, & Restaurant
- Cafe & Ice Cream Parlour
- Picnic and Seating Areas
Other Things Worth Knowing
Dogs: This Monsal Head Circular Walk is dog-friendly.
Kids: This walking route is also child-friendly.
Pushchair/Wheelchair Access: This route is not accessible with a pushchair or wheelchair.
My Experience on the Circular Walk to Monsal Head
The pay & display car park at Monsal Head is a popular starting place for hikers, with the Monsal Trail and other popular walking routes accessible from here.
From the car park, I walked to the Monsal Head Viewpoint, which is impossible to miss. There are plenty of benches at the viewpoint where you can sit and take in the magnificent views.
An information board detailing the history of Monsal Head & Trail also sits at the viewpoint. The Monsal Trail was once a railway line connecting London to Manchester. The remaining Headstone Viaduct seen amongst the landscape is one of the most impressive in Britain.
After a short time marvelling at the view, I made my way to the trail and followed the signs for Ashford and Monsal Dale. You could go in the opposite direction if you prefer. Either way, you’ll end up back in the same spot.
The trail descends gradually through a woodland area before reaching the banks of the River Wye. With the soothing sounds of the river as my soundtrack, I relaxed into the tranquillity of the trail.
Before long, we reached the Monsal Dale Waterfall, which I wasn’t expecting, so it was a nice surprise. This was the first time I saw anybody else on the trail, with a fair few groups huddled around marvelling the falls.
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I took a few photos and continued on. Not long after the waterfall, a bridge connects to the other side of the river. You’ll want to cross over here and head east toward the viaduct.
From this perspective, you really get to appreciate the mammoth structure. It’s quite the view and worthy of a photo or two. From there, we followed the trail beneath the viaduct and continued alongside the river.
The next part of the trail was the ascent back up to Monsal Head. I took a short detour to check out the view from the top of the viaduct, which I recommend if you have the time/energy.
We pushed on for the final stretch and reached the viewpoint where we started. I grabbed a beer from the hotel bar and sat enjoying the view. It was too early to wait for sunset, but I could see that it would have been quite the treat if we had.
Enjoy this Circular Walk to Monsal Head
I hope you enjoy this Monsal Head Walk as much as we did. If you’re visiting the area soon, you might find some of our Peak District articles helpful.
If you have any questions, please ask. Otherwise, I wish you happy and safe travels.
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