The ‘Needs to Know’
Distance: 9.5 miles (14.9km)
Time to walk: Given the climbs this is roughly a 4.5 hour walk although, if the weather’s good & you want to take your time, it could take the best part of a day
Difficulty: Strenuous initial climb up Lose Hill & some steep descents. Generally though the ridge path is well constructed. There is some field walking which could prove muddy in wet weather. Take your time with the climb & have regular breaks to look back at the views which keep getting better & better. There are several stiles
Parking: I parked at the tourist information pay & display car park in Castleton
Postcode: S33 8WN
what3words: saunas.notices.peach
Public toilets: Toilets in the car park at the start & pubs & cafes in Hope, but then there’s nothing until arriving back at the start
Map of the route:
I’ll start by making a bold claim…on a fine day this is one of the best ridge walks you’ll ever do in England & on a par with some in the Lake District. Indeed this walk was voted No.10 in Britain’s 100 Favourite Walks
Note the comment “on a fine day”. To experience this walk at its best you have to do it in good weather to experience the spectacular views. You also don’t want high winds. The ridge isn’t narrow so you won’t get blown off it, but it would make the walk less enjoyable
Castleton is approximately two hours drive from Northamptonshire so it’s easy to watch the weather forecast & say “tomorrow we’re off!” A word of warning though as on a fine summer’s weekend the ridge does get very busy. I was lucky to walk it in glorious October sunshine midweek & had most of it to myself
Let’s Walk!
1. This walk starts in the lovely Derbyshire village of Castleton, quiet when we were there, but very busy in the summer months. We parked in the Pay & Display next to the excellent Tourist Information Centre
Castleton lies in the High Peak district of Derbyshire at the western end of the Hope Valley on the Peakshole Water, a tributary of the River Noe. The village is situated between the areas known as the Dark Peak to the north & the White Peak to the south. It was mentioned as Pechesers in the Domesday Book where “Arnbiorn & Hundingr held the land of William Peverel’s castle in Castleton”.The village later prospered from lead mining
2. The Information Office is excellent & there’s weather forecasts & lots of advice here. Turn left into the main street & follow it through the village
Look up the street to the right to spy Peverel Castle which you’ll descend past at the end of the walk
3. Carry on through the village. There’s plenty of watering holes along here. I stayed at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese & my stay was superb with a lovely room (No. 3)
The area is known for ‘Blue John’ (also known as Derbyshire Spar) a semi-precious mineral, a form of fluorite with bands of a purple blue or yellowish colour. In the UK it’s found only at Blue John Cavern & Treak Cliff Cavern in Castleton. During the 19th century, it was mined for its ornamental value, & mining still continues on a small scale
4. Walk round the bends & out of the village. Don’t forget to keep turning round as sometimes the best views are behind…
Look for a signpost on the right by a large tree showing a footpath to Hope down a walled lane
This is already fabulous walking with great scenery all around
Across to the right’s Hope Valley Cement Works which can be seen from lots of the walk
5. The path follows one of several small rivers that flow through the valley. Continue through a gate into a grassy field, stop, & do a 360 degree turn – the surroundings are stunning
Pass over a couple more stiles & then & over some ‘wall steps’
6. Through the gaps in the trees on the left you keep getting views of the challenge that lies ahead, so take your time on this stretch as there’s more exertions to come!
On this walk you never know what you’re going to come across next. In this case it’s the railway that serves the works, & as if on cue…
7. Carefully cross the track & climb up the other side passing through another field & along the edge of some woods
8. At the end of the track exit the gate & turn left down the lane towards the village of Hope…
On the left, hidden amongst the undergrowth’s a circular walled structure which you could easily walk past without spotting. This is the Hope Pinfold which probably dates from medieval times & by the 16th century most villages would probably have had one. Unfortunately relatively few remain today with many having fallen into disrepair or been dismantled
Pinfolds were originally built to hold animals which had been found straying from their owner’s land or grazing on the common without common rights. The animals were driven into the pinfold & kept there at the expense of the owner until a fine was paid. It was only on payment of a fine to the Pinder, who was an officer of the Lord of the Manor, that the animals were released
Forcibly breaking into the pinfold to release the animals was an offence punishable by a fine &/or imprisonment. Sometimes, for a small fee, the Pinfolds would be used by drovers to pen their animals overnight whilst on route to the market
9. Walk up to the crossroads past St Peter’s Church to the junction
Hope lies at the point where Peakshole Water flows into the River Noe. To the north, Win Hill & Lose Hill stand either side of the Noe. Traces of a Roman fort were found just to the east. The village is also known for its well dressing ceremony
If you fancy stocking up for the walk then we can highly recommend the Hope Chest Deli which is a little treasure chest. They’ll make up excellent filled rolls etc for you
10. Walk up the alleyway alongside the Deli & climb the steps at the end. You’re finally heading towards Lose Hill & the start of the Ridge & the way is well signposted
The alley exits into a housing close, passing the Hope Clinic. There’s no chance of getting lost as it’s a straight line path
11. Walk across the next road & now it’s finally grass under your feet…
Ahead you get a good view of your first challenge… Lose Hill. Suggested explanations for the name of Lose Hill include that it derives from the Old English “hlose” meaning pigsties, or that it may be a corruption of “loose” as in ‘free land’. It doesn’t look much of a climb from here, but looks are deceiving!
Across to the left you also get your first real view of the highest point you’ll reach today…Mam Tor
12. Climb the stile onto a much narrower path that eventually emerges at a footbridge across the railway line…
13. Cross the final road you’ll see for quite some time & walk through a back yard
Rejoin the narrow path as it now begins to climb, passing over a couple of stiles into an open grass field
Lose Hill doesn’t look particularly steep from here, but don’t be deceived as you can’t actually see the top as it’s hidden behind. Cross the next stile & now climb higher & higher keeping the stone wall on your left
And…as you climb, keep stopping to look back as this is spectacular English countryside
14. At the end of the wall go through the gate & take the left path around the covering. It’s at this stage that the climb begins to get steeper so take your time & have regular rests to enjoy the view – don’t forget we’ve still got a long way to go
Go through the gate & join the man-made stone path to the summit of Lose Hill. The steps actually make the climb easier
15. And finally there it is…the summit point of Lose Hill, which means that the hardest part of this walk is done!
16. If the weather’s good sit around & enjoy the views. To the right now’s the beautiful Edale Valley. Edale is the name given both to the valley between Mam Tor, Lose Hill & Kinder Scout & to its main settlement. As well as the main village, there are several small farming hamlets strung out along the valley – Barber Booth, Ollerbrook Booth & Nether Booth
Edale is also the start of the Pennine Way, England’s first & most famous long-distance footpath
17. Okay…are you ready for one of the best 2 mile stretches of walking in England? The good news is that you can see the path clearly laid out before you…
It’s hard from photos to show just how stunning this path is
18. The path is quite undulating, but nothing too difficult & with all hill-walking there’s plenty of cairns. You can just make out the Cement Works in Hope Valley below
It’s time for another short steep climb now to the top of Back Tor. The climb isn’t as hard from this direction as it is from the other, but take your time. At the top step out (if you dare) onto the slab overhanging Edale
We can best describe Back Tor as a ‘spectacular bump’ as the approach from this angle is gentle. After crossing the top the descent is quite steep, so take your time especially if the limestone is wet
Looking back you can see the slope better & the drop from the slab!
19. Pass through the gate & now start your descent towards Hollins Cross before beginning the ascent to Mam Tour. Just look how good this walk is…
Look across to the left below the mass of Mam Tor to see the broken old road…
This section of the road was first constructed in 1819 by the Sheffield Turnpike Company using spoil from the nearby Odin Mine. It replaced a much earlier, ancient packhorse route, running through Winnats Pass. Also known locally as “The New Road”, the new section was set at an easier gradient than the earlier Winnats Pass route & crossed the Mam Tor landslip
As a result of further movement, major road works were required in 1912, 1933, 1946, 1952 & 1966. On the last occasion, the road was closed for 6 weeks. In 1974 large parts of the Mam Tor section collapsed during a massive landslip. Additional road works were carried out regularly but wet years led to further landslips. Finally, the Mam Tor section of the road was abandoned in 1979 & thereafter, traffic was routed through Winnats Pass to rejoin the A625 at Windy Knoll. Today it’s a magnet for mountain bikers
20. Pass the small round marker of Hollins Cross, the lowest point on the ridge, It was also the traditional route from Castleton to Edale. Coffins from Edale were taken over Hollins Cross to Hope church until a church was constructed in Edale, leading to the nickname of the “coffin road” for this route. Hollins Cross is named for an actual cross which was raised here. This had disappeared by 1905
So this being the lowest point there’s only one way to the top of Mam Tor & that’s up!
21. After Lose Hill though Mam Tor is a breeze as the path’s so good & the views from the top are simply amazing…
Mam Tor stands 1,696 feet high. It’s name means “mother hill”, so called because frequent landslips on its eastern face have resulted in a multitude of ‘mini-hills’ beneath it. These landslips, which are caused by unstable lower layers of shale, also give the hill its alternative name of the ‘Shivering Mountain’
I sat down just off the top out of the breeze for lunch overlooking Edale
22. Lunch over it’s time to head back down to Castletown & there are a number of routes available. For a start though just carry straight in the direction you approached the summit, heading down to the road on the stepped path…
From the gate leading out onto the road you can clearly see the direction the walk now heads in…straight ahead across 2 roads & then ahead again towards the trees in the picture below
23. Go through the gate & head in the direction in the picture above. At the stone wall go through another gate, cross the road & a footpath sign slightly to the left shows you up a gravel track…
At the end of the gravel track exit onto another road through a gate. Cross over the road & walk down the hard lane towards the farm
This is a long track but keep on it past the farm & cross the stone stile
24. Eventually you’ll come to a T junction. Bear left & continue for a short distance to a junction of paths…
Turn left through the gate in the picture above & follow the grassy track as it swings slightly right down the hill to arrive at another junction with a signpost – take the right path
25. This path now descends & passes through two metal gates before starting to enter the area known as Cave Dale…
Shortly the path splits & your route is the right one with the harder surface
26. The path now becomes steeper & much of it is on loose rock so take your time as this can become slippery after rainfall, but the views are superb…
Take your time & soon you’ll see Peveril Castle beginning to appear ahead of you…
Peveril Castle, also known as Castleton Castle or Peak Castle, is a ruined 11th century building. It was the main settlement of the feudal barony of William Peverel & was founded some time between the Norman Conquest of 1066 & its first recorded mention in the Domesday Survey of 1086
27. Eventually you’ll leave the Dale through a gate & enter Castleton once more. The Green ahead of you contains 2 war memorials, one of which is shaped as a very impressive Celtic Cross
Walk round & down the hill to arrive at the main street once more
So that’s it – what a stunner. If you’re going to do just one of our ‘Walks outside Northamptonshire’ then make it this one
The other thing that struck us about this walk was the friendliness of the other walkers we met on the ridge & the range of ages. Maybe it’s because we all just like walking, but more likely it’s because walking the ridge just leaves you with a great big smile on your face – it’s a happy place
Go Walk!