Thor’s Cave – A Peak district Hike

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The Peak District is an absolutely beautiful area of England, which we’ve visited a few times over the years. The walking there is great, so there’s always a new trail to follow and adventure to be had. On this visit, we went to the very south of the National Park and followed one of the most famous walks in the area, to Thor’s Cave and the Manifold Valley.

Walking up to the cave


Location: We parked in Wetton – there is a free car park there but arrive early as it gets full quickly. If not, there is another car park (a field) just up the road, costing £3 a day. There is no-one monitoring though, just an honesty box sellotaped to the gate so please take cash. When we left there were about 60 cars in the field, but only about £5 in the box!

Hike distance and time: The hike distance is around 6 miles, and took us 3 hours to complete (with lots of photo stops!)

Terrain: The walk is a mix of downhill, steep inclines, and to enter the cave you will need to be comfortable scrambling and with an element of climbing.


The route that we followed can be found on the website HERE.

From Wetton, Thor’s cave is well signposted. Follow the road running parallel to the field car park, following the arrows pointing to Thor’s cave. This will then leave the roads and enter on to a track with some beautiful views out over the hills. Follow the track round and up, until you can see the cave in front of you. You can climb on top of the cave, but you then need to take the path sloping downwards to get to the entrance of the cave at the front.

The path leading to the cave

In the rain, the track to the cave can be very muddy and you need to be in hiking boots. To get in to the cave requires you to pull yourself up on to rocks and scramble up slippy stones. I saw 3 people fall over and hurt themselves, so please be careful and don’t underestimate it. This cave has existed for centuries, and it’s estimated to have contained the burial sites of at least seven people. Digs have also found evidence of habitation since the Palaeolithic period (about 50,000 years ago, including bear remains!!!!)


Follow the steps from the entrance to the cave downwards. After a few hundred metres the path splits, take the left-hand path which is a steeper descent but takes you down to the river bed through the trees. Cross the bridge and turn right along the wide footpath.

Follow the path as it runs parallel to the river until a second bridge. Cross over and turn right through a wooden gate into the valley (do not continue along the road you have emerged on to), signposted Wetton Hills. This will lead in to an open area, home to lots of sheep!

Lambing season

Walk for 500 metres, as the path bends to the right look for a Public Bridleway signpost which is almost hidden in the trees, then turn left and head up the path on an ascent. Go through the gate, and then walk through the open space until you reach another sign post which you can follow right to a second cave, situated above Wetton Mill.

Outside the second cave


After enjoying the caves, head back down towards Wetton Mill and stop for a break if you need a drink or an icecream. Then exit on the road and turn right, past a campsite on your left, until you arrive at Dale Farm. Walk through the farm yard area with the house on your right, and then through a gate in to a field.

Arriving at Dale Farm (do not go through this gate; keep walking through the farm!!)

Walk through the open field, until you come to a stone path which ascends upwards. Follow the path upwards until you reach a wooden stile, then turn right to go through a stone stile. Bear left and then continue down the path with the hedges on the right. 

The open field after the farm

Go through a gate, keep walking to a second gate then turn right onto the road for about 500 metres. The road bends sharply round to the left then arrives at a house. This is the only point where we got lost against the instructions. At this house, do not walk past it – turn sharp right at the top of the drive following the footpath signs (when we visited there was a jam box there, pictured below).

Do not walk past this house – turn right at the top of this driveway

Follow this footpath to a gate which you walk through in to a wide open field. Walk directly across the middle of the field to the gate at the boundary, cross over a stream and you will find yourself in the field below Wetton Hill.

The open field you enter (walk straight down and through the gate at the bottom)


Unfortunately it’s time to walk uphill again. Follow the path roughly through the middle of the hill, seeing a wall on your right hand side. Head towards the wall, bearing slightly right until you reach a wooden stile. Go over the wooden stile and head south across the field, away from the boundary wall towards a second wooden stile across the field.

Walking up Wetton Hill (looking backwards down the hill not to confuse you, the path you can see across the hill where the two people are and then up the boundary wall to the stile is the one you’ve just walked!)

Then follow this field straight across (no need to climb any further), until you reach a wooden gate out on to the road. Walk straight down the road, past the Royal Oak pub and then turn right and walk down the road back to the car park. Although I definitely recommend stopping for a drink – you deserve it after all that walking!

View from the top of the hill


What do you think of this lovely walk? We really enjoyed it and it was a perfect way to spend a day in the Peak District, getting a good mix of views, hills, woodland, villages and caves. I hope you enjoyed following along!

39 responses to “Thor’s Cave – A Peak district Hike”

  1. Looks like an absolutely amazing walk and a pint is always a great way to end a hike.

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    1. Always the best way, especially on a hot day having walked 10km!

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Great photos. Looks like a nice walk.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks Melodie, it was a really lovely walk in the nice weather 🙂

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  3. Looks an interesting walk Hannah and something to include on a nice day when we return to the Peak District.

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    1. Definitely one worth doing, although the cave itself was very steep and slippy to get in to, but it was worth it 🙂

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  4. Beautiful post on a very nice walk !

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you so much for reading.

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  5. Adding this to the every growing list of hikes I want to do in England! Your pictures are just so incredible. Nothing better than a hike that includes beautiful views, caves to explore, and fields to walk through 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Aw you’re too kind Meg – so glad you like the pictures 🙂 I totally agree, the views were beautiful and it was a perfect way to spend a sunny Easter weekend.

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  6. Looks like a nice hike and even better it includes an ancient cave! How exciting.Maggie

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    1. Thanks Maggie, it was definitely a good way to spend the day. Thanks for reading 🙂

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  7. A fabulous day out under blue skies. Half your luck. Mel

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    1. Definitely, the weather makes all the difference on walks like this!

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  8. A lovely, bucolic hike, but I would be absolutely lost– I have limited sense of direction, haha! Your instructions are clear, though, and by keeping an eye out for the signs and landmarks to turn, it should be doable. 🙂 Another lovely little jaunt in the countryside!

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    1. I am terrible with directions as well, and got lost a couple of times on this walk. Glad you enjoyed the post though, thanks for reading 🙂

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  9. The hike to Thor’s cave sounds adventurous. Good thing you had fabulous weather and didn’t have to deal with the mud or slippery rocks.

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    1. Oh I totally agree – even in the good weather the cave was a nightmare to climb in to and I had to roll out of it on my bum haha!

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  10. Such vivid greens! I find your photo of the gate at Dale Farm beautifully framed, with the blue sky, wall, old gate, and tree branches.

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    1. Thank you so much Ruth, I appreciate your kind comments and glad you enjoyed the post

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  11. Beautiful photos! It looks very similar to Normandie.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yes with the open green fields and rolling countryside it could easily be France 🙂 Thanks so much for reading, glad you enjoyed the photos.

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  12. You certainly visit the most beautiful places, dear Hannah! It sounds like a wonderful hike, and the pictures you’ve included lend credence to such impressions. Incidentally, my hike today included a cave, also. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Aw thank you Phil, so kind of you to say. Oh amazing, I think a cave always adds something a bit fun and different to a walk 🙂

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  13. What a pretty walk! Such lovely photos of the area. I had to chuckle as your blog reminded me of a walk I tried to do outside the city of Bath when I was there and got totally lost and ended up walking through a golf course to the university grounds where I hopped on a bus and headed back to town. Maybe next time I’ll complete it haha

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    1. Aw thank you Linda, I’m so glad you liked the photos. Haha oh no, that sounds a nightmare – it’s too easy to get lost on walks that’s for sure!

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  14. We didn’t get down that way, but it looks very pretty. But where were the sheep?!

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    1. It’s a beautiful area of England for walking – Actually I didn’t see many sheep; that must be a first for an English walk!

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  15. This is so pretty and green! Plus, caves are always a fun bonus!

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    1. Aw thanks Diana, glad you enjoyed following along 🙂

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  16. Looks like such a beautiful hike! I love the homemade jam box, it is so cute and I’m sure it is delicious! Doing this hike during lambing season must be so cute too! Thanks for sharing this lovely itinerary!

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    1. So glad you enjoyed it 🙂 Seeing the newborn lambs was just the cutest! Have a wonderful weekend Juliette

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  17. The green hillsides and the lambs!!

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    1. So beautiful aren’t they 🙂

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  18. It’s great to go back to a place (where you have been before) and there are still some hiking trails you have not done before! And the scenery looks stunning – love the walk up to the cave! Hmm, climbing and scrambling – sounds familiar 😁. Great shots of the caves – always fun to explore. And what a lovely walk back through the farm fields … this should be a great day out in nature!

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    1. I agree, I think you could return multiple times and walk completely different routes every time given the area is so big there’s always something to see. Oh the joys of climbing and scrambling, with my husband moaning through every second about how awful it is haha! 🙂 But it was a lovely day out in nature, and I can’t wait to do more walks over this summer.

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  19. […] Museum. At Easter, we had a weekend away in Staffordshire at The Tawny Hotel, enjoying a walk in The Peak District. I had solo trips to Windsor, and then to York in May, visiting Whitby, Rievaulx, Ripon and […]

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  20. […] You can read my guide to the walk at Thor’s Cave HERE […]

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About the author

Hi! My name is Hannah, I’m a travel blogger from the UK who fits travel around a full time (and full on) job. In this blog I share my adventures around the world and hopefully help you to find some inspiration for destinations, things to do or places to stay. Thanks for stopping by – stay safe and happy travelling.

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