Alone Beneath The Sky: Lose Hill & Mam Tor 23/10/16

9.7 miles, from Bradwell, via Hope, Lose Hill, Back Tor, Barker Bank, Hollin's Cross,
Mam Tor, the Old Road, Castleton & the Cement Works.

No real need for a super early start on our Sunday stroll, Dr G might need to dash out so he can cycle solo across the Dark Peak and back, but the rest of us can take a more natural pace as we organise The Girls for a trek over the best (and only?) ridge walk in the Peak District, which will be my first proper hill walk in more than two years, so here's hoping that I'm in better condition for it than I was when we assailed Pendle Hill in 2014. Out of Lillegarth cottage on the edge of Bradwell after 9.45am, and descend the Smalldale lane, pass Ye Olde Bowling Green inn and take in our surroundings of old cottages and rural retreats before meeting the more workaday houses around the green on Gore Lane, it seems that Bradwell might be the largest settlement in the Hope Valley whilst also being one of the least known. We meet the Main Road towards Brough (not that one), and soon find the quieter lane beyond the Samuel Fox in to take the shortest route towards Hope, between the former workings that have become angling ponds and the vast pits associated to the Castleton Cement works, which will be a constant feature on this day's horizon. Spying the hills that will be our targets for the day is fun, whilst trying to not draw The Girls' attention to them so they might not get dispirited, and as the descent comes on towards Hope we get the bold shape of Win Hill and the spire of St Peter's church to draw the attention in the autumnal sunshine. Meet the village, and drop the predictable 'To Live in Hope is to Live in Derbyshire' joke, and this looks like another village worthy of more attention in the future, wearing a darker face than Castleton as we move our way across the White Peak - Dark Peak divide. Hit Edale Road to head for the upper branch of the Hope Valley, and it's going to feature just a bit too much road walking as we head off among the farmsteads and cottages hanging above the River Noe, Passing under the bridge of the Cement works railway branch and note that the Cheshire Cheese inn is an unusually popular pub name in these parts.

General happiness comes with leaving the road and meeting the lane up to the Losehill Hotel and Spa, and once we meet Townhead farm, our ascent onto Lose Hill can start properly, beginning in a tree lined groove that offers shelter and some fine views over the dark moors beyond Win Hill and up into Edale, a fine place to recharge before preparing for the big push up to the first summit of the day. It might be only 476m up, with a total ascent of only 300m from the valley bottom, but it offers a pretty dramatic profile which looks more challenging than it is, and the difficulty will mostly come from the wind, blowing in cold from the north-east, so fortitude is set for the walk up the grassy path on the south-eastern edge of the hill, taking the tail with Elder Niece, whilst Younger Niece leads with My Sister. It's a story of evolving views on the way up, looking back into Limestone country and the Hope Valley, and looking forward to see the vast Gritstone moors of the Dark Peak revealing themselves, along with the ridge over to Mam Tor appearing, to give us the full flavour of today's walking territory. Pause before the big push up to the top and see that The Girls have found their enthusiasm for the last 100m as we pound the stone steps up to the top and finally get that feeling of exhilaration that only comes with altitude as the Hope Valley spreads out 300m below you, and soon enough we're upon the compass rose at the top of Lose Hill, offering one of the best views in the Peaks. It's not a place to linger with the wind coming on though, and the view over the Dark Peak and Edale is one that will continue on as we drop from the summit and head out onto the ridge walk, where a bit of shade can be gained and the sun can start to reheat our bodies, and I think we are all pleased that from the start of today, our first summit was attained in only 95 minutes of walking time. Following the long dry stone wall give this a nit of a Hadrian's Wall feel, but I don't think any of that trail managed to feel this dramatic, and after looking over the vistas on both side on the way off Lose Hill, our track goes up again, as the wall crumbles and the path degenerates somewhat as we meet the popular picnic spot and vantage point on Back Tor, as good a place for an early lunch as any.

It's a pretty excellent view from up here, albeit a chilly one, and only once we've finished our sandwiches can we meet the rough and sharply descending path to the west, revealing that the rocks we sat atop were actually at the summit of a crag with a sheer face dropping a considerable distance down into Edale. It looks like we're onto the more popular section of the path now, attracting the tourist who choose to only assail Mam Tor, and opportunities to trainspot in Edale are lost as the path drops to the shaded side of Barker Bank and attention falls back into the Hope Valley, checking out the clefts in the Limestone around Castleton, of which Winnat's Pass is the best and admiring the apron of debris that has spread out from the 3,000+ year old landslip that has spread out from Mam Tor. As the path drops down to Hollin's Cross, the lowest part of the ridge and the shortcut across it, The Girls realise that we are going to aim for the top of Mam Tor and aren't too impressed by the idea, but the ascent of around 130m is long and pretty easy going, so once the suggestion of it being done at a fell run pace is made, progress is predictably speedy. The view back is excellent and the hard push is the last part of the climb, naturally, rising up through the ramparts of a late Bronze age fort that encircles the summit plateau, but soon enough we are at the top, 517m up as the sun comes out, but it's windy as all hell and pretty crowded too, so after admiring the view to Rushup Edge, the highest and actually least interesting part of the ridge, we beat retreat having done the whole ridge top in 75 minutes. The quickest way off the top is next to the huge gouge landslip, caused by weak shales failing to support the harder sandstones above, and it's still an active debris flow too, with the name of Mother Hill making a lot more sense when its various children (or calves?) are encountered up close. Perhaps not the best place for a running descent, with a sharp drop off to our left, but all the ladies in our walking party are faster descenders than I am, still more circumspect than I need to be as we head down in the direction of Blue John Cavern, some 100m down from the top, but the path won't let us get close to their tea room as it drop us midway down the debris flow, for some careful steps to be made before joining the slightly more secure going of the old turnpike road through the Hope Valley from Sheffield to Chapel-en-le-Frith.

The story of this road, snaking its way over the debris field and over the hill is pretty funny, clearly a viable and easily maintainable route in the days of packhorses and slow moving carts, but inadequate in the days of motor vehicles, and the evidence of resurfacing and rebuild attempts from throughout the 20th century are in evidence along its broken length, the top half having suffered particularly badly. The shattered and broken surface, eventually abandoned in 1979 is a fine illustration of the fact that Mother Nature will eventually indifferently destroy everything Man has created, and even the lower stretches are more of a rollercoaster than they ever could have been when the road was open, and from there we cross the Dark Peak boundary again, moving into the Limestone lands as the consolidated road heads down towards Castleton, providing little more than access to and parking for the nearby complexes of caverns. No trips to Treak Cliff or Speedwell for us though, we'll watch the paragliding and the sunny vista of the Hope Valley as we make for the end of the A6187 as it reaches its end below Winnat's Pass, one of the few A roads to literally give up, and also to avoid the temptations of Peak Cavern and Peveril Castle as we march on into Castleton, the limestone village that has far more attractions than it honestly needs. Tourist traffic means that finding a place for tea and cake is a challenge, eventually ending up in the Causeway Tearoom to enjoy refreshment for almost an hour before moving on, passing St Edmunds and the Market Place again, as we ascend away from the village on Pindale Lane, getting a last look at Mam Tor and its ridge as attention moved forwards, to the passage through the Castleton Cement Works, its conveyors and tracks crisscrossing the bridleway in what would otherwise be a leafy sort of idyll. Attention also wanders to the horizon to ponder Stanage Edge and Shatton Moor for future days, distant for me, but potentially very soon for everyone else, before we strike the return to Bradwell, rising across fields with far-too-curious cows in them before meeting the lane that runs in behind Lillegarth cottage for a 3.20pm closing of the circle. Altogether excellent timing, allowing time for a shower and a brew before the dash back to Hope station so I might be able to ride the rails homeward, extremely happy to have had some time out and away with My Sister and her Family and rather disappointed by the realization that I will be back at work in less than 16 hours time.

5,000 Miles Cumulative Total: 2542.2 miles
2016 Total: 527.8 miles
Up Country Total: 2315.4 miles
Solo Total: 2286.9 miles