Length:
25.5 km (15.9 mi) [shorter or longer walk possible, see below]
Ascent/Descent:
645/548 m
Net
Walking Time: ca. 6 ¾ hours
Toughness:
7 out of 10
Meet at Sheffield Train Station (City Centre Exit) at 10.10.
From the Hope Valley stations, the train arrives at 10.05.
From London, take the 08.03
Sheffield train from St. Pancras International, arriving Sheffield
at 10.01. [Or take a later train and play catch-up, tickets
will be cheaper.]
Return trains up the Hope Valley depart on xx.36/(.35).
Return trains down the Hope Valley to Sheffield: xx.42 to 19.42, then 21.41, 22.28, 23.12. The last one with a
connection to London is the 19.42!
This walk leads from the centre of one of the most
populous British cities through gradually less urban areas into excellent wild
walking country (think ancient woodlands, tumbling streams and panoramic views)
on to the rugged moorlands and dramatically sculpted gritstone outcrops (or
‘edges’) of the Peak District’s iconic Dark Peak area. All in the one day, on
the same walk, just two hours from London.
Escape from Sheffield’s City Centre, first along streets and through the
atmospheric landscaped Victorian General Cemetery, then the
woodlands of the municipal Endcliffe Park and the narrow wooded Porter Valley to
moorlands at the edge of the Peak District for lunch
at one of two pubs.
Continue through the Dark Peak area along
the Yorkshire/Derbyshire boundary, characterised by rugged, desolate moorland,
and the otherworldly gritstone ‘edges’, once extensively quarried for their
rough, coarse stone. From Burbage Rocks to the famous Stanage Edge, the route covers a unique
landscape, the greatest possible contrast to the start of the walk, before a
scenic descent through lush scenery into the Hope Valley to Bamford Station.
Walk
Options
(see the webpage or the pdf for details):
An Alternative Start from Grindleford (up Padley Gorge to The Fox House Inn) cuts 10.1 km/6.3 mi.
A
Shortcut on the moors is possible, and there are also plenty of bus
routes that can cut off bits of the walk.
An
Alternative Route from the Fox House Inn to Burbage Bridge leads over Carl
Wark and Higger Tor.
An Alternative Ending at Moscar Lodge (bus stop) on the A57 Manchester
Road follows Stanage Edge to its end for a bus back to Sheffield (Line 257 at
16.13/17.13/18.13).
Elenvenses and Lunch: Forge Dam Café at the Carr Forge Dam (7.0 km/4.4 mi into the walk); The Norfolk Arms in Ringinglow (9.2 km/5.7 mi into the walk, food all day); The Fox House Inn at Longshaw (13.7 km/8.5 mi into the walk,
food all day).
1 comment:
14 at the station, incl. 1 up from London for the day, 1 taking a bus shortcut to pick up the route at the Forge Dam, 1 joining from his hotel en route, 1 starting from the alternative start point at Grindleford and meeting us at the lunch pub, ie n=17. One of those ran most of the route.
It was a day for layering of clothes, as it was w=sunny-with-occasional-clouds-and-fierce-wind-on-the-tops. A couple of diversions were needed in the Victorian Cemetery and at Firge Dam, both for refurbishment works (Friends of the Porter Valley have finally raised enough funds to clear the Dam of decades of silt buildup). The parks and the Porter Valley had some bluebells (not quite at their best), still some celandines and loads of wood anemones in very good condition. Also swathes of wild garlic, some in flower.
2 took the across Burbage Moor shortcut, the rest reached the Fox House Inn at 13.15 and most ate there. Some picnickers joined us and we commenced together, only for half then taking the route over Carl Wark and Higger Tor instead of the norm route.
Views from the edges were fantastic today and plenty of rock climbers were to be admired, but the cold wind kept moving us on so to avoid getting too cold. In Bamford, half went to the Anglers Rest, the others got the 17.42 train.
Post a Comment