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How To Do Thor’s Cave Walk! An Easy Walk In The Peak District.

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Thor’s Cave is a fantastic walk in the Peak District! Thor’s Cave walk is a fairly easy and short walk. It’s exciting, especially for children because of its mystical name and very cool location, because Thor’s Cave is not a normal cave on ground level or below ground. It is actually up high at the top of a hill!

Thor’s Cave is a natural cavern set in Limestone Crag located in the South of the Peak District.

Thor’s Cave is located in the Southern part of the Peak District close to Derby, Nottingham and Stoke-on-Trent. Although I visited from Manchester and it was still well worth the drive.

In this Peak District blog, I’ll tell you how to get to Thor’s Cave plus information on Thor’s Cave parking and the Thor’s Cave walking routes you can take.

Thor’s Cave Walk

Thor's Cave Walk
Keep reading for how to do Thor’s Cave Walk!

Quick Info for Thor’s Cave Walk

Difficulty Level: Relatively easy. The walk starts off flat and inclines at the end to the cave.

Average Time Needed: 30 minutes to walk there and 30 minutes back. Plus at least 30 minutes in and around the cave so 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours in total.

Suitable for Children: Yes, the walk is suitable for children although there are steps at the end. Care must be taken inside the cave as it is very slippy and can be dangerous, more on that below.

Suitable for Wheelchairs / Pushchairs: No

Parking Location: In and nearby the Village of Wetton, more details below.

Accessible by Public Transport: Buses run into the village of Wetton but buses seem to be limited. Leek is the closest town for good bus connections.

Thor's Cave Walk, Thor's Cave View
Look at this view from Thor’s Cave!

Thors Cave Parking

There is no exact car park for Thor’s Cave and wherever you park will require a walk to the cave.

There are a few places to park for Thor’s Cave and it will depend on which Thor’s Cave walking route you take as to which place you park as I have given 2 walking routes below.

Route 1 requires you to park in the village of Wetton where there are 2 car parks:

1 – Wetton Village Car Park next to The Old Vicarage Country House B&B, Postcode: DE6 2AF. Parking location here.

2 – Wetton Village Car Park along Carr Lane Parking location here.

Thor's Cave Walk, Thor's Cave Parking
Thor’s Cave Parking at a lay-by between Wetton and Wetton Mill.

Route 2 requires you to park along Leek Road between Wetton and Wetton Mill:

1 – Lay-by car park along Leek Road where it meets the Manifold River: Parking location here.

Note – I found Google Maps to be useless in this area and didn’t have any parking locations or footpaths on the map. Instead, I used Maps.me which I’ve used for years and there is much more detail on it to help you do Thors cave walk.

Thor’s Cave Walk Route

There 2 main routes you can take to get to Thor’s Cave.

Route 1 – Thor’s Cave Walk from Wetton

To start off one of the best walks in the Peak District, use one of the car parks in Wetton village I have given above and take Thor’s Lane footpath from the village close to where School Lane and Leek Road meet.

This is a fairly flat country lane that descends into the forest right at the end. After about 30 minutes Thor’s Lane will take you straight to Thors Cave along a small footpath.

Thor's Cave Walk, Thor's Cave footpath
The end of the footpath near the entrance to Thor’s Cave.
Thor's Cave Walk, Thor's Cave Entrance
Thor’s Cave Entrance

When you leave Thor’s Cave to go back to the car park, you can make this is into a Thor’s Cave circular walk by taking the steps that you’ll see down into woodland.

Thor's Cave Walk, Thor's Cave Footpath Steps
Take these steps down from Thor’s Cave.

After a few minutes, the path will split, take the path going right and this will take you down a footpath parallel to Thor’s Lane that you took up and will end at the same place along Leek Road.

Route 2 – Thor’s Cave Walk along River Manifold

This is the way I walked to Thor’s Cave and I really enjoyed it. We parked along Leek Road where the road meets River Manifold and took an easy and flat footpath along the river which makes up part of the Manifold Way.

The Manifold Way runs 8 miles in total through the Peak District and is made up of a traffic-free path good for walking and cycling. Thor’s Cave is one of the Manifold Valley walks you can do!

Thor's Cave Walk, Manifold Way Footpath
Start of the walk along the River Manifold and Manifold Way.

I loved this walk because at various points along the path you could see the opening of the Cave which looked really impressive, if you do route 1 from Wetton you’ll come to Thor’s Cave from behind and won’t see this.

This route is therefore a good way to get children excited for what they are about to see!

Thor's Cave Walk, Thor's Cave from Footpath
It was great to keep seeing glimpses of the Cave above from the path on this Thor’s Cave Walk.

After about 15 minutes the pathway splits and there is a small bridge across the river, take this bridge and enter into the woodland following the path all the way up and towards the left.

After another 15 minutes and some steps, you might be a bit out of breath but you will have reached Thor’s Cave in the Peak District!

Thor's Cave Walk, Thor's Cave Bridge
Take this small bridge,
Thor's Cave Walk, Thor's Cave Woodland footpath
And continue through the woodland up these steps to Thor’s Cave.

Things To Do At Thor’s Cave

Thor’s Cave is free to enter and always open. It is not a ticketed attraction in the Peak District unlike other caves in the Peak District like Speedwell Cavern.

When you arrive you can climb up the rocks into the cave and explore inside. It isn’t that big but it does go surprisingly far back.

Thor's Cave Walk, Thor's Cave Viewpoint
Thor's Cave Walk, Inside Thor's Cave
Inside Thor’s Cave.

Thor’s Cave photos are really fantastic because the opening of the cave with the view of the fields in front makes an incredible photo.

Your photos will probably come out quite dark, especially if you have a photo of yourself at the entrance to the cave, but if you edit them afterwards it will make them lighter and better to share online!

Thor's Cave Walk, Ellie Quinn
I did have to edit this photo alot in Lightroom as the original was very dark!

One thing you have to be really careful of in Thor’s Cave is how slippy it is. A lot of the rocks are very shiny and therefore very slippery and this can be incredibly dangerous.

Make sure you wear shoes with a good grip, look where you walk and tell children to do the same.

On weekends Thor’s Cave can get busy and the more people that are in the cave, the less room there will be to walk on the stone and the more likely you’ll have to walk on a slippery piece so going on weekdays or earlier or later in the day will be safer.

The best time to visit Thor’s Cave is at sunset for really good photos and an impressive sunset view, the caves will most likely be quieter at this time too.

Thor's Cave Walk, Thor's Cave Entrance View

Walk to Top of Thors Cave

After you have visited inside Thor’s Cave I really recommend taking the footpath behind it and climbing up the hill to the top.

It is tiring as it is a steep hill but it isn’t that far and the view from the top of Thor’s Cave across the Peak District and Manifold Valley is impressive!

Thor's Cave Walk, View from top of Thor's Cave
The view from the top of Thor’s Cave!

Places Near Thor’s Cave

Afterwards, for more things to do near Thor’s Cave you could go to Wetton Mill which is the start of many more walks along the Manifold Valley or you could visit Wetton Mill Tea Rooms for some food and a drink.

Thor’s Cave FAQ

Is Thor’s Cave Open?

Yes, Thor’s Cave is always open. It is not a ticketed attraction in the Peak District and therefore it is always open.

How long is Thor’s Cave Walk?

It’s 30-45 minutes from the car park to the cave and back again, therefore it is about 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours in total

Is Thor’s Cave hard to walk?

No, Thor’s Cave is a fairly easy walk in the Peak District. A good level of fitness is needed as the path inclines at the end with a few steps so it is not flat all the way, but compared to many other Peak District walks and climbs, it is easy and short.

Is Thor’s Cave a good walk?

Yes! It’s a great walk for children in the Peak District especially because it’s exciting and easy to get to! And it’s a great walk for adults, especially those who love photography because of the amazing view from Thor’s Cave!

I hope you enjoy your Thor’s Cave Walk!


Holly

Monday 6th of September 2021

This looks awesome. I'll be heading to the peak district soon and this is definitely on my list! Thanks, Ellie.

TheWanderingQuinn

Tuesday 7th of September 2021

Great to hear! :)