Ordnance Survey Trig Points are a great way to add a bit of purpose to a walk. Especially if there are kids involved. Most high points across Great Britain will have a trig point or a cairn placed on top. Kids like to use these points as a marker and an achievement which spurs them on to walk a little bit easier, and further!
Shining Tor is a great example of a kid friendly walk, with a marker to reach. Rather than a circular route, this is a straight there and straight back walk.
Parking is at Pym Chair car park (Postcode SK23 7RF (Google Maps) ///dinosaur.cushy.rust (What3Words Address). The roads up to this point are a little bit steep and narrow, so be aware! As this car park is set high up in the hills already, it makes the walk perfect for little legs as there is not much of an ascent to deal with.
Walk out of the entrance of the car park towards the sign explaining the meaning behind Pym Chair.
Pym Chair at the head of the Goyt Valley
Head left from here, over the cattle grid and up the road for about 200 metres until you see a gate leading up the hill on your right. If you don’t want to walk on the road, there is a worn path to the left. There is a gap in the wall opposite the gate you need to access.
This short ascent leads up to a marked viewpoint on the map. It allows you to take in the views around you, looking down into Goyt Valley itself. The ground is a little uneven, but a worn out path leads the way straight ahead.
Big views of the Goyt Valley on this Shining Tor Walk
After about 10 minutes of walking, a stony path appears and this is followed all the way to Shining Tor. Nice and simple, easy to navigate. Our children ran on ahead and we didn’t speak to them again until we reached the trig! They were happy to hop along for a giant game of ‘The Grass is Lava’!
Shining Tor Walk – open views and lots of space to run and play!
Perfect picnic stop at the trig point with 2 benches with lots of flat ground (weather permitting!)The Trig Point at Shining Tor with amazing Views!
On a good weather day this Shining Tor Walk rewards you with amazing views of the Cheshire & Derbyshire Peak District landscape, the famous Cat and Fiddle road passing below, and the Matterhorn of the Peak District, Shutlingsloe, on the horizon.
The linear Shining Tor walk is 2 miles each way, so 4 miles altogether. The views reach out across Goyt Valley where you can see across to Shuttlingsloe and down to Errwood Reservoir. This is one area of the South West Peak where you truly feel like you are in the middle of nowhere. After a drive through open moorland and a singular long winding road, you are quite removed from nearby towns.
This Shining Tor Walk is perfect for a starter for small children, or even as a short stroll to watch the sunset.
An Ordinary Family of 5
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