Date: Sunday 26th May
Route: Hope circular via Castleton, Mam Tor and Lose Hill
Distance: 9.5 miles
The second walk that we tried over the weekend from the "Day Walks in the Peak District" book was a varied and popular circular walk from the village of Hope, immortalised in song by the legendary John Shuttleworth ("she lives in Hope..."), and taking in a riverside path, a steep and narrow gorge, open countryside and a ridge crossing three summits with fantastic views.
The walk starts off in green meadows along the river, arriving shortly in the village of Castleton, the home of the Blue John mines and the imposing Peveril Castle, which looms over Cave Dale, a punishing gorge, which ascends slowly but surely until you glance backwards and realise how much you have climbed. Once out of the gorge you follow a well-trodden and busy path across the hillside and alongside fields to cross two roads and climb up to Mam Tor, the site of an Iron Age hill fort and a great viewpoint (you can also drive to the car park, if you would prefer to be what one of our fellow walkers referred to disparagingly as the "high heels and handbag brigade").
Once at the top of the hill, a clear and mainly paved path descends and climbs again to the summits of Hollins Cross, the ultra-steep Back Tor and the rounder Lose Hill, with different wide-reaching views revealing themselves at each stage of the ridge. Finally, the path heads back downhill, through multiple fields, stiles and meadows and back into the village of Hope.
This walk is deservedly popular and highly recommended - the occasional steep climbs are more than compensated for by the great countryside.
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