Doctor’s Gate, Glossop

The Roman road known as Doctor’s Gate, which crosses the high moors near Glossop, is the setting for a long-standing folk tale involving a pact with the Devil. Though the path’s origins lie in Roman engineering—once linking Melandra Castle with the surrounding settlements—it later became associated with a darker legend. The story tells of a local doctor, steeped in alchemy and forbidden knowledge, who entered into a Faustian bargain for magical secrets. The compact ended in a race at midnight across the moors. Riding black steeds, the Devil and the doctor hurtled along the track, with the latter narrowly escaping…