This run takes in the spectacular scenery around Three Shires Head where the counties of Staffordshire, Cheshire and Derbyshire meet. A tough run but with views that will take your breath away and some remote paths that truely make this a trail run to remember.

The Route

The route starts in Clough House car park which is a decent size on the Wildboardclough road. There are a few picnic benches Cumberland Brook passes through the car park a good washing place for muddy dogs at the end of this adventure.

1. Start by exiting the car park onto the road and turning left along the road for 200 metres looking out for a footpath to your right going over a stile by a gate. Take this footpath and cross a small stream and follow the track contouring around the base of the hill, past some run down property until you pop out by a cattle grid onto a tarmac road at 1km.
2. Take the track down the hill until you meet the road again. Turn right on the road and then immediately left over the river on a path that then climbs steeply uphill through some trees. After you go over the stile at the top of the tress you will find yourself in a field, a farm building lies uphill ahead of you and a wall and a path to your right. Basically you are heading for the right of the farm building, there is a permissive path up the wall of the field and a footpath which veers off right and then back on itself to the farm. Either will do but behind the farm building is a track which you want to pick up and follow left under the woods and the hill until you pop out on a road at approximately 2.3km.
3. 

   Track to A54 from Crag Hall

   Turn right and take the road uphill for 300 metres. Where the road bends right you want to follow the track by the green footpath signing Three Shires Head. The track is rocky and unhill and pops you out on a small tarmac road at 3.1km

4. Cross directly over the road onto the moorland and follow the path bearing left at any turns until at km 3.8 ish you will come to another small back road with a building on it. Turn left and look immediately after the building for a bridleway to your right. The bridleway is sandy and rocky underfoot and slopes downhill for about a km until you see the river Dane below you to the right and com eventually out at the famous Panniers Pool of Three Shires Head. (4.9km)
5. Stop and enjoy the peace of your surroundings before starting the climb back out of the river. Don’t cross the river but keep it to your right as you follow a steep track up by the rivers edge. At about km 5.5 a path goes down towards the river to your left but you want to go through the gate and bear left uphill on a track that takes you around the edge of some fields.
6. After about 200m you will find yourself facing a farm building by a wall. Turn left and follow the stream 100m or so to the corner of a field. Pick up the track towards the farm but keep a sharp eye out for a gate into a field to your left that heads uphill towards the main road. It’s a short but sharp climb across 2 fields and over a rather excessive stile/steps onto the main A54 road. You should be at about 6km now with the bulk of the climb behind you. Phew.
7. Cross the road and look for the bridleway on the left which heads away from the road. It’s a wide rocky track with some rather special ankle twisting potential. The track makes it’s way downhill for a km until at 7.0km you will come to a juntion with a large stream running to your left and a steep gully ahead of you.
8. The paths split all over the shop here but you want to cross the river and turn back on yourself with Cumberland Brook on your left and a wide track going downhill. This is Cumberland Gap and it’s a beautiful descent down this track with the brook bubbling away on your left for over a km until you reach the road at the bottom.
9. Directly over the road towards the farm buildings and you’ll pop into the car park by the back entrance and hopefully find your vechicle awaiting you.