Torside to Woodhead Tunnels via the Longdendale Trail

The route

From the car park at Torside, join the Longdendale Trail, the surfaced route that runs along the bed of the old Woodhead railway. Head east on a dead-level line above the string of reservoirs - Torside, Rhodeswood and Woodhead - to reach the sealed portals of the Woodhead tunnels, once the longest railway tunnels in the world, before turning and running back the way you came. It is 10.2km there and back with just 51m of climbing, making it the easiest run on this site in the Peak.

The valley

Longdendale is a deep glacial trough carrying a chain of Victorian reservoirs beneath the high moors of Bleaklow and Black Hill. The trail, part of both the Trans Pennine Trail and a National Cycle route, gives fast, easy running with water on one side and moor rising steeply on the other. The Woodhead tunnels at the far end are a genuine piece of railway history worth the turn.

Why it works

This is the route for a recovery day, a first trail run, or a run with children or a buggy. The surface is good all year, navigation is nothing more than following the line, and you can turn round whenever you like. It is a gentle counterpoint to the hard moor routes that start from the same valley.

Good to know

This is the route for a recovery day, a first trail run, or a run with children or a buggy: the surface is good all year and the navigation is nothing more than following the line, so you can turn round whenever you like. The trail is shared with cyclists, so keep to one side and take care in the narrow cuttings on the tunnel approach. Torside car park has toilets, and Glossop a short drive west has cafes for afterwards. Wrap up in winter, though, since the valley funnels the wind and there is no shelter along the reservoirs.