Stuart Learmouth Memorial Undulator
A classic BM fell race with a challenging mix of fells, trails and lanes.
When?
Date: Sunday 27th September 2026 at 11am.
Where?
Stoney Wood up from the Lime Kiln pub, DE4 4FR on Cromford Road in Wirksworth.
Registration
Enter in advance only for £10. Online entries from January. Entries close 6pm Friday 25th September. The race is open to anyone aged over 18 on the 31st Dec of the year of the race. Please bring your own cup for water, we’re trying to reduce waste and single use plastic.
Please note: i) No refunds will be made. ii) No entries on the day. iii) No substitution of entrants’ names.
For more details please contact [email protected].
The Route
The route is challenging, there are steep bits, flat bits, rocky bits and fast bits, road bits, grass bits, trail bits and scary bits. Everywhere you will see mother nature, attempting to recover from the industrial predations of the last few centuries, hampered and tampered with by man.The race is a fell race (not a trail race) run under FRA licence. When you enter you agree that you have read the FRA requirements for runners at their website here and have the skills equipment and fitness to participate in this event.The route starts in Stoney Wood, land reclaimed from Stonecroft Quarry planted with trees and now an important green space near the heart of Wirksworth. The start is narrow and very steep as it climbs to the stardisc at the top of the quarry.After a brief respite the route crosses the old Middle Peak Quarry and circles the quarry boundary, climbing all the time until coming out onto pastureland. The route crosses a number of fields, heading towards Middleton Top and the historic winding house at the top of the Middleton Incline of the Cromford and High Peak Railway.After crossing the B5035, the route continues in an upward fashion, crosses the High Peak Trail and opens out onto open farmland. This is the first time that you’re not climbing since the start and we’ve broken through 1000ft, that’s a climb of about 440ft in a shade under 2 miles (or 135m in the first 3km for the metricated).In front of you now are the wind turbines around Ryder Point Quarry. There’s a quick drop down to a road crossing and then a very steep climb up to the track joining the Ryder Point Quarry and Brassington Moor Quarry. This time you’ve reached 1180ft above sea level. There’s another drop and now another very steep climb up to the trig point on Harborough Rocks, an outcrop of dolomitic limestone popular with climbers, and you’re at the top. Nearly halfway and you’re standing about 1230 ft above sea level with fantastic scenery in all directions.The next challenge is getting down. If you know where you’re going, there is an almost direct route, through the crags and boulders, down to the High Peak Trail. If you don’t, then follow the flags gently!Once off the rocks, the next 2 miles are generally down, the first is along the High Peak Trail, the former track bed of the Cromford and High Peak Railway, so it is pancake flat. The second takes you off the trail and onto Carsington Pastures, alongside the Carsington windfarm and then very steeply down into the village of Carsington itself. All the way, you will have views of Carsington Water, a man made reservoir opened in 1992 and now a popular sailing venue.All that climbing has gone and we are back down, pretty much where we started, travelling along the Carsington to Hopton village road, passing Hopton Hall before leaving the road and heading back up towards Middleton Top on the last major climb. Over 6 miles gone at the bottom, 7 gone by the time you turn at Middleton and head for home.The last mile and a bit are all downhill straight through Middle Peak Quarry and then skirting the edge of Stoney Wood before dropping down again to the finish line.As a FRA fell race we are not allowed to provide a GPX of the course.