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This Week's Walks - Archive

Please see the Saturday Walker's Club This Week's Walks page.

This is an archive of walks done by the Saturday Walker's Club. You should only need to use this page if the SWC website is down.

Saturday 13 August 2016

Saturday Third Walk - The Dark Peak: Sheffield to Bamford (via Burbage Rocks & Stanage Edge)

SWC Walk 266 Sheffield to Bamford or Moscar Lodge:  From the urban centre through narrow wooded valleys to moorlands and the famous gritstone edges of the Dark Peak, then a lush descent into the Hope Valley
                  
Length: 25.5 km (15.9 mi) [shorter option: 22.6 km/14.1 mi]
Ascent/Descent: 760 m; Net Walking Time: ca. 7 ½ hours [short walk: 595 m, 6 ½ hrs]
Toughness:  10 out of 10 (short walk: 8 out of 10)

08.58 East Midland Trains’ Sheffield train  from St. Pancras International (Platforms 1-4 in the upper NW corner of the station), arrives Sheffield 10.59 (Advance tickets are selling at £19.50 at the moment). Return 19.42 from Bamford, connecting to the 20.29 from Sheffield (due to railworks on the day: change East Midlands Parkway and arrive St. Pancras 23.15), Advance tickets from Bamford are selling at £17.50 at the moment. Note: the higher cost of rail tickets is somewhat offset by the lower cost of food and drink ‘Oop North’.
Or make it a longer stay: stay in the area and do some more walking. You could either join us for a walk-check of New Walk 267 Sheffield Circular (via south westerly valleys) on Sunday [see separate posting]; or you could choose the Moscar Lodge ending of this walk, walk the extension to the Ladybower Inn, and stay there for a bit; or finish in Bamford and take a westbound train to Hope or Edale, in the heart of the Peak District, or east to Hathersage.

New Walk! We will take the opportunity to check the walk directions.
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.
An Alternative Ending follows Stanage Edge to its end and descends to a bus stop on the A 57 Manchester Road, with an optional extension to the Ladybower Reservoir and its Inn for a longer stay in the area. Options to cut out much or all of the tarmac-heavy urban walking are described. 
! As some punters are already travelling on Friday, or on an earlier Saturday train: let's meet in the main station hall (City Centre Exit), just outside the ticket barriers !

The recommended early lunch stop is The Norfolk Arms in Ringinglow (9.2 km/5.7 mi).
The recommended lunch stop is The Fox House in Longshaw (13.7 km/8.5 mi).  
The tea stop in Bamford, The Anglers Rest, is off-route and only recommended, if you are about to miss the next train (they are hourly). 
The highly recommended tea stop in Sheffield Station is The Sheffield Tap. There is also a well-stocked supermarket in the station.
For summary, map, height profile, photos, walk directions and gpx/kml files click here.

Many thanks to Stargazer and Paul A. for invaluable help during the walk research.
T=swc.266

18 comments:

Stargazer said...

and, this is the perfect time to try out this new and interesting walk, as the heather on the moorland should be in full bloom......

Thomas G said...

Update: to my knowledge, at least 12 people have booked, about half staying in Sheffield, some in Hathersage, the rest returning to The Smoke

Anonymous said...

hi Thomas i have booked for the Friday night as well as Sat. do you know if there are bus links back to sheffield city at the end of Saturday's walk please ?
cheers

Anonymous said...

am interested in this expedition.
sounds really good.
Where are people staying in Hathersage/ JFK

Thomas G said...

reg. bus back: see the pdf under 'Transport'...from Bamford there is the hourly train to Sheffield, but also a bus, from Moscar Lodge there is only a bus (last at 18.46)

Anonymous said...

managed to get ticket to Edale for £16 on 12thAugust jfk

PeteG said...

I see we have to ford a stream, so does that mean boots rather than walking shoes essential?

Thomas G said...

Boots, definitely. Because of the gritstone and some bouldery stretches. It's WILD up on them moors... The fording is a doddle.

Anonymous said...

Have to had to cancel due to illness and hoping to sell on my cheapo discount tickets ? outward journey mid morning FRIDAY and return Sunday evening. The thing is --tickets have to be used with a RAILCARD OF A CERTAIN ILK -- otherwise they won't work unfortunately.

any interest pls post here soonish. Thanks

Anonymous said...

Re the post below, how much are the tickets please and which railcard do they need to be used with, Senior or Network Railcard?

Anonymous said...

£31 total but sorry Anon they can't be used with either of those railcards

Anonymous said...

Which Railcard can they be used with?

Anonymous said...

skyisblue251@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Hope to see some of you in Hathersage Saturday evening.

jfk

DAC said...

Intend going.

Karen said...

n=18 w=dry_sunny_overcast_at_times_better than expected

The majority of the the group rendezvoused at the station (at least one popped up later in the walk.) We made our way through the suburbs of Sheffield, passing interesting graffiti, Victorian mausoleums, emerging hipster enclaves and eventually through busy parks with interesting histories. A brief pause at the Forge Dam cafe and then on to the countryside that quickly delivered steep inclines and dry stone walls. The highlight of the morning section was long meandering path through Lady Canning's Plantation. The heather was in bloom and it was simply gorgeous. A delightful three kilometers through this gorgeous landscape surrounded by purple and greens, greys and browns, and a lovely blue sky.

Lunch for most at the Fox House Inn. Service was prompt and the food was good. Everyone was well set up for an afternoon of skipping across moors and rocks. An initial steep climb, and then fairly flat, but across rocks to Cowper Stone where everyone paused to admire the views. This walker was a first-timer to the area and was beyond impressed with the landscape. (Might be a different story on a wet day...) Moving on from Cowper Stone, for a few kilometers, you could enjoy the views and the landscape without worrying about consulting directions. Keep the drop on your left and you should be OK....

Most regrouped at the recommended pub in Bamford. Some returned to London, others to other villages nearby and and 9 returned to Sheffield. Drinks at the Sheffield Tap, dinner at Pizza Express and then back to hotel rooms with a meeting-up time of 09:45 at Sheffield Station the next morning. (To be continued...)

Anonymous said...

An interesting introduction to the Peaks from the Sheffield side.a trifle challenging . However managed to recuperate by visiting Chatsworth on sunday and listening to lovely Silver Band music in the Rose Garden and wandering the Estate grounds partly in a chariot drawn by beautiful shire horses.
jfk.
For any one interested in doing this a bus goes up to Chatsworth from Sheffield every half hour and manages to jump the car parking queues and a lot of the traffic.

Thomas G said...

Memo for future postings of this walk: with elenvenses, (shortish) pub lunch and plenty of stops for admiring the views, we could have all gotten the 18.42 train from Bamford, had we wanted to.