From the car park exit, walk down Hawkhill Road to Church Street, where you will turn left and continue for a short distance to a small road on your right, by a private parking area. Go down here, then turn left along a walled lane. Beyond a gate can be seen the limestone arches of Cucklet Delf. Services were held here by the Rev. Mompesson during the height of the Plague when the church was closed.

Retrace your steps to Church Street and continue to the centre of Eyam, looking out of the stocks on the village green; Eyam Hall stands opposite. The Hall was built in 1676 by the Wright family. Pass the Sheep Roast to reach the row of Plague Cottages, where the virus is believed to have started to spread. Beside the cottages stands the 13th century parish church of St.Laurence; spend a few moments wandering around the churchyard; here can be found the tomb chest of Hrs. Mompesson and other reminders of the plaque of 1665-67. A Particularly fine Saxon cross here tells us that there has been Christian worship in Eyam since the 9th century.

From the church continue along Church Street to the junction, bear left to the Miner's Arms and look for the bull ring which lies beneath the metal plate, before the pub. The dreadful practise of bull-baiting was abolished in 1835, but not without protest from 'enthusiasts' of the activity and the butchers, who argued that it tenderised the meat. The Miner's Arms is 'reputed to be one of the most haunted in the village and has seen many strange events' (it says on the plaque). The Inn has been dated to 1630.

From the Miner's Arms, walk along the Grindleford road until a farm road can be seen on your left; follow this road towards the farm then turn right along the track which brings you to the Riley Graves, a circular walled enclosure on the open hillside. The enclosure contains the simple graves of a father, his three sons and three daughters, who died in August 1666. It fell to the wife and mother of the Hancock family to bury her loved ones, in the field known as Righ Lea. The Riley House farm nearby was also struck by the plague; seven members of the resident Talbot family were struck down in July 1666, and were buried in the orchard.

Pass the Riley Graves and continue along the little lane to a wood. Go through a gate to your right and descend through the trees to a path on your left; this brings you to the Gindleford road.

Turn right at the road and walk up it to the bend, where you will see a walled path; follow this all the way to the village of Stoney Middleton. You pass trough and a thermal stream - believed to have been used in Roman times - before the church of St.Martin is reached; note the octagonal nave and perpendicular tower.

This is The Nook, a quiet haven from the busy A623. From the church, go up the road - The Bank - passing Lennon's Boot Manufacturers (once a corn mill) and turn right as the small road curves left to the A623, by a phone box. Ascend the lane - Mill Lane - and continue ahead beyond the grassy bank.

The footpath to Eyam is well signposted; pass a large boulder (a boundary stone used during the plague) and cross the fields, with stiles guiding you to Lydgate and Lydgate Graves, the final resting place of George Darby and his daughter Mary. Continue along the lane to Eyam, emerging at a point opposie the bull ring; return to the car park via Church Street to Hawkhill Road.