Stanton Moor from Winster

Took a run out to the recently discovered Stanton Moor, parking at the free car park by the school in Winster.  Have headed out of the village west before and worked my may around to Birchover, which would make for an excellent circular, but on this morning I headed off to Clough Wood and incorporated some out and back between it and the Moor.
 Forecast had it as a cloudy day, but I had been out the day before when the forecast said sunny spells and it had been miserable so who knew.
Driving over I had left the mist in the valley and had hit a gloriously sunny morning,

Watt's Engine House

Going down the road from the car park its only 100 or so metres before there is a stile on the left hand side and a path which takes you through several fields and works it way down to the brook and into the woods.  Pretty soggy along the woodland paths down at the bottom so be prepared for wet feet if down there out of the dry weather. Taking a sharp left as you leave the woods briefly, takes you past the remains of an old Pump house and then back into the trees.

Climbing up through the woods and taking the right fork at a meeting of the paths, will bring you out onto Clough Lane.  Taking a left and continuing to climb out of the valley for about 500m brings you to a cross roads of footpaths, with the path to the right being the one to take you up to Stanton Moor.

Taking the path up the field, seen in the picture on the left, and down the next brings you to Barn Farm where there is a campsite and, on a previous visit, quite a number of peacocks, but no sign of them on this occasion.  The footpath is clearly signed and brings you out onto the road.  Turning right here for a couple of hundred metres will bring you to a stile and a path leading up onto the Moor.

Earl Grey Tower

Stanton Moor has enough in it to warrant a visit on its own.  Plenty of different paths winding through sand stone quarries, Stone circles and even its own tower.  There are terrific views across the Derwent Valley and to Matlock, though not for me as the cloud has rolled in at this point and the best of the weather for the day is behind me.
I have taken an anti clock wise loop of the Moor, taking in the views to the East before meeting the Earl Grey tower, which I had not seen before, and then moving on to the 9 ladies stone circle and completing the loop in and out of the quarries and passing the Cork stone before retracing the path back the the road.

Looking back to the Nine Ladies from the King Stone

The Cork stone at the southernn end of the Moor

Tracing my route back through Barn Farm, along Clough Lane and back into the woods, I have taken a right at the fork in the path to take a different route through the woods, remaining high for some time before dropping down into the valley and back up to Winster to come out on the road just a 100m or so up from the car park.
I have read that the bluebells are particularly good in Clough wood so this certainly demands another visit in the spring.