Five Nights/Five Walks: Two walks north of the Hope Valley, from Ladybower Inn
or Derwent Dams and two in the Hope Valley, with the last one in Sheffield.
Stay in Sheffield or in Hathersage or at
the Ladybower Inn/Yorkshire Bridge Inn with buses connecting
Hope Valley and Ladybower (although the buses will not connect well with walk starts
and finishes in all cases)
Why five walks? By arriving
on the Thursday and leaving on the Tuesday, this insulates against any scheduled
railway track works over the Easter Weekend, i.e. accommodation can be booked
now. [The two walks using the Hope Valley line can also be done by using buses,
without much additional travel time, should the line be closed.]
Order of Walks – As per usual,
this is largely defined by public transport availability and frequency, plus
wanting the most flexible walk with the best connections on departure date, so
people can break off when they want.
Draft Schedule based on
current train and bus timings:
25.0 km (15.5 mi), with 862/869m ascent/descent,
8/10.
Hope Valley Line both ways (hourly service).
A green valley out of Hathersage, gritstone edges, the
Ladybower Reservoir, some moorland.
With only a few ways to shorten the walk, but with the
post lunch shortcut even making some sense as the bit cut out is also the start
of the next day’s walk. Pub lunch.
25.8 km (16.0 mi), with 850m ascent/descent, 8/10.
Line 257 to/from Ashopton, Ladybower Inn (out at 09.00
in the morning, return on xx.52 – last at 18.52).
Famous gritstone formations on Derwent Edge high
above the Derwent Reservoirs, wooded Bradfield Dale with its reservoirs and
folly tower. Back across moorland. With eight different ways to cut the effort!
Pub lunch.
25.8 km (16.0 mi), with 850m ascent/descent, 8/10
to 10/10 (depending
on weather and route finding).
Line 257C to/from Derwent Dams, Fairholmes (out at 08.25
in the morning, return on 15.29, 17.29 or 19.29).
Loneliest and wildest of the fully written up SWC
walks: across the moor, largely without paths. Picnic
lunch.
26.9 km (16.7 mi), with 715m ascent/descent, 8/10.
Bus as above for the other Sunday walk, but route can
be significantly shortened by starting from or finishing at Fairholmes (same as
the main Sunday walk).
A grassy ridge to Britain’s longest inland landslip.
Descend to skirt the famous Derwent Reservoirs. Many other Walk Options,
including alternative finishes at the Yorkshire Bridge Inn bus stop or at
Bamford railway station. Picnic lunch.
27.0 km (16.8 mi), with 728/742m ascent/descent, 8/10.
Hope Valley Line both ways (hourly service).
Pastures with views, Mam Tor's landslip area, Cave
Dale, Castleton, Hope Cement Works, a large upland moor and a scenic descent. Many
Walk Options, but only buses from Castleton or Bradfield offer significant
shortcuts. Pub lunch.
From 15.0 km (9.4 mi) with 325/259m ascent/descent to 27.8
km (17.3 mi), with 664/618m ascent/descent, 8/10.
Buses or Hope Valley Line for shortcuts and at the end
on the full walk. Pub lunch.
The ultimate bluebell walk! Some wooded valleys in Sheffield (with a lot of wild garlic as well).
I quote from my walk report on 03/05/2019: “This walk was posted as 'Bluebells in
Sheffield', more in hope than expectation, but boy, did we get bluebells! From
the General Cemetery onwards, the cemetery itself, every park and wood had
them, there were no 5 minutes without patches, full slopes or valley bottoms of
bluebells. Confidently the most I have seen in a day's walking, ever. Generally,
a little past the best, slightly paler than full coloured, but still taller and
fuller than in the South. In the Porter Valley, the blues were outnumbered
though by wild garlic, unbelievable as that may sound.”
We will be a bit earlier in the bluebell season
than in 2019, so they should be in very good nick.
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