Dog Friendly Mills & Martyrs Pooch Pilgrimage
The Mother Church, Tideswell’s Cathedral of the Peak
A one-day circular 6.5-mile (11 km) modern pooch pilgrimage through the stunning Derbyshire Peak District, from Tideswell’s ‘Cathedral of the Peak’ around three Benefice churches for up to twelve pilgrims of any or no faith and their canine companions.
Date: Saturday 26th August 2026- National Dog Day
Contact us for other available dates
Pace: Moderate, around 2 miles per hour.
Price: £39.50 inclusive
Pilgrim Guide: Faye Smith
About the Walk
Our 21st-century pilgrimages were launched in the beautiful Peak District- now the base of Hope Walking- in the Autumn of 2025, and are a wonderful way to discover the hidden history of the area. You will learn about nature, your journey companions and get a chance to experience some pilgrim practices along the way.
The vision of a previous vicar to link the Mother Church with her four dog-friendly Daughter Churches at Cressbrook, Litton, Millers Dale and Wormhill, this Parish Pilgrimage created by a church member and keen walker is a safe and beautiful route through the Peaks, showcasing some of the country’s most glorious countryside. There are no stiles, but as farmers move livestock around, there are always sheep and the possibility of cows in fields, so all dogs must be kept on a short lead.
On this Mills and Martyrs pilgrimage, we are walking around three of these fascinating buildings to discover their forgotten stories from the buried head of Glossop’s almost-saint to Litton Mill’s cruelly-treated orphan boy who inspired Charles Dickens.
Pilgrims set out from Cressbrook Church
Walk itinerary
We assemble at 10am to begin our pilgrimage at Tideswell church, an inclusive C of E church. Building started in 1320 during the medieval period, but construction of the Gothic Mother church took eighty years due to the Black Death. Your guide will share stories of the church’s connection with the Elizabethan Padley Martyrs and the tragic treatment of the Litton orphan child millworkers, some of whom are buried in the churchyard. Tideswell’s minister and dog lover, Revd Fiona will send us off with an optional pilgrim and canine blessing whenever her duties allow.
We set our intentions for the day, then make our way through the village and between houses for beautiful views of the church, then across quiet roads to Christ Church in the 17th century former lead mining village of Litton, built in the 1920s. It is also famous as the birthplace of prominent Non-Conformist William Bagshaw, The Apostle of the Peak. The post office and community shop is usually open for any forgotten refreshments! Your pilgrim guide will share the terrible tales of the treatment of orphaned workhouse children- ‘young, poor, easily replaced and anonymous’, who were brought from urban centres like London to work at nearby Litton and Cressbrook Mills, a practise described as ‘a shameful stain on British history’. At any given time up to the First World War, there were around twenty water mills working along the Wye Valley between Ashwood Dale and Bakewell
Litton Mill, once site of the horrific treatment or orphan apprentices
After a look at the picture-postcard village, we journey on to St John the Evangelist Cressbrook, where “a mission church with two bells seating 150” was enlarged in 1902 by Mary Worthington of ‘The Big House’, Cressbrook Hall.
We drop down into beautiful limestone Cressbrook Dale, in spring home to a stunning array of wildflowers, cowslips and orchids. The Dale is a National Nature Reserve where we walk by the river which powered Arkwright’s water wheel-powered frame which revolutionised the cotton spinning industry and earned him the name ‘Father of the Industrial Revolution’. Passing Ravenstor, now a Youth Hostel, we hear about the valley’s connection with great Victorian philanthropist, Alderman J G Graves of nearby Sheffield. Reaching our third Daughter Church at Millers Dale, we are two thirds of the way through our pilgrimage. The square towered St. Anne’s Church dated 1879 on the clock tower was designed to serve as both school and place of worship by the Vicar of Tideswell, Rev. Samuel Andrew. Sadly this church is now permanently closed, but pilgrims can admire it’s architecture and holy spring nearby, none the less.
The River Wye which powered the mills in the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution
Miller’s Dale gets its name from the abundance of water-mills that once flourished here, and there was probably a mill here at the time of the Norman Conquest. This beautiful dale was controversially transformed forever in mid-Victorian times by the coming of the railway in 1863 as a very important railway junction, where passengers for Buxton joined or left trains between London and Manchester on the old Midland Railway. Indeed, as Ruskin famously wrote:
“That valley where you might expect to catch sight of Pan, Apollo and the Muses, is now desecrated in order that a Buxton fool may be able to find himself in Bakewell at the end of twelve minutes, and vice-versa”.
We climb a short distance behind the church to the disused railway track- a casualty of the Beeching cuts in the 60s- where we find the old station house, now a thriving cafe with picnic tables and loss on the former platform to eat the packed lunch we bring.
Feel restored as you become deeply immersed in the wonder of nature’s beauty
Refreshed in body, mind and spirit, we return to St Anne’s where we ascend a track back to the peaceful haven of Tideswell once again, where tea and cake await us pilgrims at the various village cafes- a Mount Joy moment indeed!
We say farewell to our journey companions and depart revived and restored with some special pilgrim practices to bring peace and comfort into our everyday lives.
Walk Summary
Date: Saturday August 26th- National Dog Day
Description: 1-day modern pilgrimage walk starting 10.00 am, concluding around 3.00 pm open to all plus dogs.
Grade: Easy
Price: £39.50 per person, includes all church donations, badge, Pilgrim journal, hot drink and guiding.
*Please bring your own lunch and drink.
Walk guide: Faye Smith
Payment: Full payment on booking please to secure minimum numbers of 6 persons- no bookings will be taken after 48 hours before the event. All monies will be returned in full should minimum numbers not be reached 48 hours before the event, or should the pilgrimage be cancelled by your guide due to dangerous weather conditions. We walk even in the wet!
What’s included:
Hot drinks at start
Services of pilgrim guide throughout your walk
Pilgrim journal and walk guide
Donations to churches
Pilgrim badge on completion
What to bring: Please bring water and a packed lunch. Dress for the weather, stout footwear and walking poles may be useful. Cash may be useful for refreshments and there are toilets at the start of the walk and along the way.
Travelling to the route start:
We always recommend the greenest option of public transport where possible.
By train: The nearest train station is Sheffield, 3 miles away from the route start. The TM 65 Travel Bus offers five journeys a day- three on Sundays, departing from the Interchange opposite the railway station.
By car: Satnav postcode to the church is SK17 8PE. Free parking is available on the roadside. Please park safely and considerately.
Customer review
Highly recommend Hope Walking. I attended the Mills and Martyrs Pilgrimage starting in the village of Tideswell. a thoroughly enjoyable and thought provoking experience. Faye is the perfect guide for these walks which are professional yet warm and welcoming. Wonderful to meet and get to know people or simply to enjoy some time in the privacy of my own thoughts and reflections.
COLIN
Fabulous pilgrimage circuit in the peak district starting and ending at St John's the baptist at Tideswell.
I knew absolutely no one there at the start of the day. Finished with some great friends.
Thanks Faye, looking forward to next time
CHRISTINA
Why not start your journey today?