Cheesdon Brook runs through the valley and eventually joins Naden Brook.
Flints from the Meosolithic period have apparently been found in the valley indicating human activity from 8000 BC. These were noted as being discovered on higher ground close to water and may have been left by bands of hunters moving through the area.
In later times the people who farmed the inhospitable countryside made a living by weaving probably using wood from their own sheep, this was followed by mills during the industrial revolution. We saw a number of overgrown quarries during our walk and as early as 1580 coal mining had been granted in the area.