Friday Walk - Sheffield to Ladybower Inn or Bamford [Ladybower Trip]

Length: 29.7 km (18.4 mi) [shorter versions possible, see below]

Ascent/Descent: 935/768m; Net Walking Time: ca. 7 ½ hours

Toughness: 10 out of 10

Take the 09.02 Sheffield train from St. Pancras I’nal, arrives Sheffield 11.01.
Return bus to Sheffield: 18.45 (line 275), calls Hollow Meadows, adjacent to Moscar Lodge at 18.47.

Return bus to Sheffield: 18.23 (line 276), calls Hollow Meadows, adjacent to Moscar Lodge at 18.25.

Update: the last bus out of the Ladybower/Moscar Lodge area is now the 17.00 hours line 275 from Ladybower Inn (16.58 Moscar Lodge) to Bamford Station or Hathersage (connecting buses to Sheffield), so anyone staying in Sheffield and not wanting to use a taxi to Bamford Station at the end, should walk the Bamford Ending of the walk.

Return trains to Sheffield from Bamford: xx.42 to 20.42, then 21.41, 22.28, 23.11.

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.

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 PorterValley 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.
Our Alternative Ending today follows Stanage Edge to its end and descends to a bus stop by Moscar Lodge on the A57 Manchester Road and then continues to the Ladybower Reservoir and its Inn for a longer stay in the area.

Walk Options:

Buses at the start (from Sheffield Interchange) can cut the route by up to 6.2 km, see the pdf for details.

Finish the walk along its normal route in Bamford at the train station (25.5 km/15.9 mi with 760/663m ascent/descent, 9/10).

An Alternative Start from Grindleford Station (up Padley Gorge to The Fox House Inn) cuts 10.1 km/6.3 mi.
You can shorten the walk around lunch at The Fox House Inn, cutting 2.9 km/1.8 mi and 165m ascent/descent (lunch would need to be in Ringinglow, or a picnic), this is rated 8/10.
To terminate the walk after lunch at the recommended lunch stop The Fox House Inn, take Buses 271/272 to Sheffield or Bamford stations (hourly during the day).
An Alternative Route between the Fox House Inn and Burbage Bridge, via Carl Wark and Higger Tor, is described.

Finish at Moscar Lodge bus stop on the A57: 24.7 km/15.4 mi [you’d have to hitch-hike to Ladybower or Sheffield though, as there are no late afternoon buses on weekdays].

Elenvenses/Lunch:

Forge Dam Café (Forge Dam, Sheffield, 7.0 km/4.4 mi, open 09.30-17.00);  
The Norfolk Arms  (Ringinglow, 9.2 km/5.7 mi, open all day, food served all day);
The Fox House Inn (Longshaw, 13.7 km/8.5 mi, open 12.00-23.00, food served 12.00-22.00).

Tea Bamford Ending: The Anglers Rest Bamford (open all day, fish & chips from 17.00).

Tea Ladybower Ending: The Ladybower Inn  Ashopton, Hope Valley (open all day, food all day).

For walk directions, map, photos, height profile and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.266.c