Deep Dale
Deep Dale is a short steep-sided gorge near Buxton, Derbyshire, in the Peak District of England. It is distinct from another Deep Dale, near Sheldon, to the east.

The dale is cut into a plateau of farmland and lies just south west of the hamlet of King Sterndale. The head of the valley is called Back Dale and there is a side valley called Horseshoe Dale. Wye Dale is at the foot of the valley to the north. The valley is dry over the summer but has a winterbourne stream, fed by the Deepdale Side Resurgence spring and another spring by Thirst House Cave further up the valley. The stream runs into the River Wye.

Thirst House Cave's name is derived from Th'Hurst House as it was earlier called Hob Hurst House, named after a goblin believed to live in the cave (not to be confused with Hob Hurst's House prehistoric burial mound on Beeley Moor). The cave is long. Local men Micah Salt and Robert Milletts excavated the cave in the 1880s and 1890s, after boys found a bear's skull in the cave. They discovered Roman artefacts, including bronze jewellery, enamelled brooches, pottery fragments, coins and an iron and bone knife. Many of these objects are on display in the Buxton Museum.Deep Dale and Topley Pike is a protected nature reserve, which is overseen by the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust. The reserve contains whitebeam, yew, ash and hazel trees and limestone fern on the lower scree slopes, with bilberry, cowberry and wild flowers on the steep upper slopes, including bloody crane's bill, clustered bellflower, rock rose and Nottingham catchfly. Without sheep grazing, the native grasses of meadow oat and carnation sedge flourish. The limestone cliffs are an attractive habitat for kestrels and jackdaws. Topley Pike and Deep Dale is also a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

The Buxton to Chelmorton section of the Midshires Way long-distance footpath runs across Deep Dale. The Priest's Way path runs through the valley floor of Deep Dale and Horseshoe Dale. The Peak District Boundary Walk route comes down Deep Dale and along Wye Dale before heading north at Chee Dale.

The crags of carboniferous limestone in Deep Dale are popular with rock climbers. There are four buttresses along the valley with many climbing routes.Topley Pike Quarry is a large limestone quarry at the north west end of Deep Dale. It was opened in 1907 by Messrs. Newton Chambers & Co. and is currently operated by Tarmac Roadstone Holdings Ltd. A drystone wall runs along the length of the floor of the dale and marks the boundary between the mining rights of Buxton Mining Liberty and the Combined Liberty of Taddington, Flagg, Monyash and Upper Haddon.

Access into the deep gorge is limited. Wye Dale car park (over the A6 road at the north end of Deep Dale) is the easiest place for visitors to walk from. There are four other entry points over stiles into the dale and its nature reserve from neighbouring dales (Chelmorton, King Sterndale, Horseshoe Dale and Brierlow Dale), although these have steep slopes.

The footpath through the lower section of Deep Dale is closed from 2017 until 2025 for natural restoration, following the removal of a large spoil tip (waste from the quarry). A diversion is in place to the east.
Q971223
Buxton
LOC
Q23098
Derbyshire
LOC
Q1330811
Peak District
LOC
Q2290148
Sheldon
LOC
Q1853519
King Sterndale
LOC
Q96419681
Wye Dale
UNK
Q8026426
winterbourne stream
Concept
Q7337975
River Wye
LOC
Q5874611
Hob Hurst's House
LOC
Q100464173
Micah Salt
PER
Q2277
Roman
LOC
Q5003273
Buxton Museum
LOC
Q179049
nature reserve
Concept
Q5261712
Derbyshire Wildlife Trust
ORG
Q4244649
whitebeam
Concept
Q27355
yew
Concept
Q128887
ash
Concept
Q145889
hazel
Concept
Q2092520
limestone fern
Concept
Q60708120
bilberry
Concept
Q93235
cowberry
Concept
Q158387
bloody crane's bill
Concept
Q158045
clustered bellflower
Concept
Q156282
rock rose
Concept
Q157950
Nottingham catchfly
Concept
Q159268
meadow oat
Concept
Q126235
carnation sedge
Concept
Q26490
kestrels
Concept
Q25345384
jackdaws
Concept
Q422211
Site of Special Scientific Interest
LOC
Q1953754
Chelmorton
LOC
Q6843013
Midshires Way
LOC
Q97359148
Peak District Boundary Walk
UNK
Q5038050
carboniferous limestone
LOC
Q23757
limestone
Concept
Q188040
quarry
Concept
Q1811987
Taddington
LOC
Q2800210
Flagg
LOC
Q2261370
Monyash
LOC
Q4649590
A6 road
LOC
Q89299235
Deep Dale
LOC
Q89299235
Deep Dale
LOC
Q89299235
Deep Dale
LOC
Q89299235
Deep Dale
LOC
Q89299235
Deep Dale
LOC
Q89299235
Deep Dale
LOC
Q89299235
Deep Dale
LOC
Q89299235
Deep Dale
LOC
Q89299235
Deep Dale
LOC
Q89299235
Deep Dale
LOC
Q89299235
Deep Dale
LOC
1880-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1880
DATE
1890-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1890
DATE
1907-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1907
DATE
2017-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2017
DATE
2025-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2025
DATE
+6^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
6
NUMBER
located in the administrative territorial entity
item operated
heritage designation
location