Ascent/Descent:
683/698m; Net Walking Time: ca. 7 hours
Toughness:
9 out of 10
From
Sheffield: take the 09.14 Manchester Piccadilly stopping service via the Hope
Valley (Dore & Totley 09.21, Grindleford 09.29, Hathersage 09.32, Bamford
09.36), arriving Hope at 09.40.
From
Manchester Piccadilly: take the 08.49 Sheffield stopping service via the Hope
Valley (New Mills Central 09.17, Chinley 09.23, Edale 09.32), arriving Hope at 09.38.
Return
trains from Hathersage:
xx.45/xx.46 until 19.46, then 21.47 and 23.15 towards
Sheffield (from Bamford 4 mins earlier) and xx.32 towards Manchester (Bamford
4 mins later).
From/to
London: take the 08.02 train from St. Pancras to start an hour behind the group.
Return
trains to London: xx.46 until 19.46 (change at Sheffield, just under 3 hours
total journey time).
Cheap Advance Tickets from Sheffield are now available, from £18.50 w/o a Railcard.
Cheap Advance Tickets from Sheffield are now available, from £18.50 w/o a Railcard.
“This
route at the top of the scenic Hope Valley starts with a gentle loop through
pastures between the Peak District's breath-taking limestone and gritstone
landscapes with ever-changing views to the hills around. You head for the
mysterious Mam Tor, before ascending its flank through the large landsliped
area at its foot. A variation leads to the dramatic limestone gorge of
Winnats Pass and past a couple of the show caves Castleton is famous for. A
high-level traverse of pastures-with-views loops down to Castleton through the
fascinating Cave Dale (a collapsed cave), past the Norman Castle ruins
towering above it.
After lunch you pass the fascinating Hope Cement Works, which dominate the views from any hill walk in the area, pass through Bradwell and go steeply up to Bradwell Edge. The impossibly scenic Over Dale is skirted along its rim and Abney and Offerton Moor are crossed along good paths with surround views. The descent to the Derwent River offers yet more stunning views before a riverside finish to either Hathersage or Bamford.
After lunch you pass the fascinating Hope Cement Works, which dominate the views from any hill walk in the area, pass through Bradwell and go steeply up to Bradwell Edge. The impossibly scenic Over Dale is skirted along its rim and Abney and Offerton Moor are crossed along good paths with surround views. The descent to the Derwent River offers yet more stunning views before a riverside finish to either Hathersage or Bamford.
Note: To protect ground
nesting birds, only dogs kept “…under effective control on Public Rights of
Way” are allowed on the Access Land of Abney Moor/Smelting Hill/Offerton
Moor, until at least 04/2022.”
Walk
Options:
A
late starter might want to – after 4.6 km – follow Hollowford Road for 300m into Castleton
for lunch first, before continuing the route (see route map and text).
A Variation in the morning takes you past Speedwell Cavern, the bottom of Winnats Pass dry gorge and Treak Cliff Cavern, rather than past Odin Mine and through the active landslip of Mam Tor.
A Variation of that route leads up through the dramatic dry gorge of Winnats Pass to the side of the road.
Cut out the loop through Castleton Village and past its lunch stops: cut 750m.
An out-and-back in Castleton to Peak Cavern adds 500m.
Finish the walk in Castleton and take a bus back to Hope or Sheffield or Chesterfield (14.0 km/8.7 mi).
Finish the walk in Bradwell and take a bus back to Hope or Sheffield or Chesterfield (16.9 km/10.5 mi).
An Alternative Ending leads to Bamford Bus or Train Station, this is 800m shorter.
A Variation of the Hathersage Ending crosses the Derwent on Stepping Stones and leads to Jagger’s Lane and the heart of the village. This is almost 2 km less distance and even walking on to the station from the village would still be shorter than the main walk route (but with a lot more tarmac and road noise).
A Variation in the morning takes you past Speedwell Cavern, the bottom of Winnats Pass dry gorge and Treak Cliff Cavern, rather than past Odin Mine and through the active landslip of Mam Tor.
A Variation of that route leads up through the dramatic dry gorge of Winnats Pass to the side of the road.
Cut out the loop through Castleton Village and past its lunch stops: cut 750m.
An out-and-back in Castleton to Peak Cavern adds 500m.
Finish the walk in Castleton and take a bus back to Hope or Sheffield or Chesterfield (14.0 km/8.7 mi).
Finish the walk in Bradwell and take a bus back to Hope or Sheffield or Chesterfield (16.9 km/10.5 mi).
An Alternative Ending leads to Bamford Bus or Train Station, this is 800m shorter.
A Variation of the Hathersage Ending crosses the Derwent on Stepping Stones and leads to Jagger’s Lane and the heart of the village. This is almost 2 km less distance and even walking on to the station from the village would still be shorter than the main walk route (but with a lot more tarmac and road noise).
Lunch: plenty of options in
Castleton (ca. 14 km into the walk) or in Bradwell (ca. 17 km from
the start), see the pdf for details.
Tea:
Plenty
of options in Hathersage, see the pdf for details.
For
walk directions, map, photos, height profile and gpx/kml
files click here.
T=swc.343
2 comments:
That's the trouble with BBC Weather, in a nutshell: even on the morning of the walk they show thunderstorms for the day and dark clouds for most hourly slots within the day. And then we get very low clouds in the morning, covering the surrounding hills to mid-height, rising to reveal the tops at around noon, and the clouds then breaking to leave us with a sunny afternoon. And no rain all day!
The initial 90 minutes or so were more atmospheric than scenic as we slowly ascended to the top of the valley towards Mam Tor, as the hills couldn't be seen. But then the clouds lifted just as we ascended along the closed road through Mam's fascinating landslip area to the high pasture plateau, with views in all directions. Followed by a terrific descent down Cave Dale into Castleton. Pub lunch for some, picnic for others. By now it was sunny and we crossed to Bradwell via the enigmatic Cement Works and up steeply onto the edge.
Beautiful Over Dale was next, then the crossing of Offerton Moor (all purples and yellows) with stupendous views of all hills and edges walked over the last days.
Stepping Stones across the Derwent, and into Hathersage to pick up bags.
18.46 train.
n=14 w=very-low-clouds-slowly-rising-blue-skies-pm
Thank you to Thomas for all the graft and craft he put into organising such a great trip, and for his patient good humour - Kevin
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