Winnats to Ward's Piece

Above: The narrow limestone ridge known as Elbow Ridge, Winnats Pass

Above: Back Tor, a familiar landmark on the Great Ridge

MY first visit to Castleton, situated at the head of the Hope valley,was on a school trip many years ago. We explored the caves, mines, castle, Winnats Pass and Mam Tor, and I left with a treasured piece of Blue John, which I still have. During the intervening years, I’ve walked and climbed on numerous occasions in the Castleton area, yet still get that same feeling of excitement I had when I first visited the area as a schoolboy. It’s that sort of place. Castleton lies on the northern edge of the White Peak, and with its shops, pubs and show caves is a very popular day trip destination from the surrounding towns and cities. Despite its popularity, especially on warm sunny weekends, once you leave the village and head for the surrounding hills, you soon leave the crowds behind. This fascinating circular walk seeks out Castleton’s caves and mines, visits Winnats Pass and then traverses the Mam Tor-Lose Hill ridge, usually known as the Great Ridge. The ridge acts as a geological divide between the dark Kinder grits and shales to the north and the white limestone scenery to the south. Although you can start from Castleton, I’ve opted to start from the much quieter village of Hope, just a mile and half to the east.

1   From Hope, head south down a narrow lane for about 300 yards, to where a signed footpath leads off right. Follow the path through pastureland and across a railway line to arrive at the main A625 road on the edge of Castleton, an excellent example of a medieval village. The village is a delightful cluster of old stone cottages that invite exploration. Castleton is also well known for its famous Garlanding Ceremony, held annually on Oak Apple Day at the end of May, and thought to be the remnant of a pagan ceremony welcoming the spring.

2   Walk along the village main street with its numerous pubs and shops to eventually arrive at a lane leading left to Peak Cavern via Goosehill Bridge. Follow the track up towards the cave entrance, paying a visit to Peak Cavern if
you wish by continuing along a path beside Peakshole Water. Described in 1683 by Thomas Hobbes as one of the Seven Wonders of the Peak, Peak Cavern is a must and its approach along a deep gorge must be one of the most magnificent cave entrances in Britain. It was known in ancient times as the ‘Devil’s Arse’, a name that in recent times has been re-instated. The place has a fascinating history, and for more than 400 years a group of rope makers lived in a small village just inside the cave.The Normans built a castle on a very defensive rocky ridge above the cave ravine, overlooking the narrow defile of Cave Dale to the east. Remnants of this once impressive fortification, identified with William Peveril, William the Conqueror’s son, still stand and, if time permits, the castle is well worth a visit.

3  If you’ve visited the cave, now retrace your steps and follow a signed footpath for Winnats Pass along the upper edge of a series of walled pastures below the grassy slopes of Cow Low and Long Cliff, eventually arriving at the foot of the pass. The Winnats, literally ‘wind gates’, is an impressive limestone pass, down which a steep road leads to Castleton. Geologists believe that the craggy trench was formed 350 million years ago in the Carboniferous period and was once an undersea channel through the coral reefs. At the foot of the pass on the left is another of Castleton’s show caves, the Speedwell Cavern, reached by an underground canal boat trip.

4  You now have a choice of routes. The easiest and most direct way is to climb a path alongside the steep road to the top of the pass, before branching right along a path for Winnats Head Farm. For adventurous walkers, the most challenging way is to follow the grassy skyline ridge over Treak Cliff on the northern flanks of the gorge. From the rim path, you can look down on several impressive limestone ridges - Elbow Ridge and the aptly named Matterhorn Ridge.Treak Cliff is famous for its deposits of the precious mineral known as Blue John, a semi-precious purple, blue, white and yellow banded fluorspar which has been worked for centuries to produce spectacular pieces of jewellery and other decorative items, some of which are to be found in Chatsworth House. The third option is to head north via a footpath through pastures alongside the old Mam Tor road, whose upper section collapsed in 1977.This way you can seek out Treak Cliff Cavern and then climb up to the Blue John Cavern before heading south for Winnats Head Farm. The choice is yours.

5   From the rear of Winnats Head Farm take the footpath west, with fine views of Mam Tor on your right, and cross the B6061 road to Windy Knoll, where bones of brown bear, wolf and hyena have been excavated. Go straight across the A625 road and climb a footpath to reach Mam Nick, the summit of the narrow hill road to Edale. Mam Tor (517m/1,695ft), owned by the National Trust, is ascended up a constructed path to the OS column at the paved summit. Despite its popularity the top is an impressive place, a spot to linger for a while and admire the views, especially across the Edale Valley to Kinder Scout. It is Mam Tor’s crumbling east face that gives rise to the name ‘Shivering Mountain’, and that has been responsible for the dune-like pastures on its lower slopes. The hill is still unstable, as the broken sections of Telford’s turnpike road below the face testify. Mam Tor’s hill fort, the largest in the Peak District, supposedly overlaps the Bronze and Iron Ages.There is no better defensive position in the area and it is worth exploring the well-preserved double trench enclosing about 16 acres/6.5ha of the summit.

6   From Mam Tor, the Great Ridge sweeps round in a graceful curve towards craggy Back Tor, its disintegrating north-west face mirroring that of Mam Tor. Between the two hills, the ridge dips to the memorial topograph at Hollins Cross. Before the church was built at Edale (it was consecrated in 1633), the pass was the high point on the ‘coffin route’ from Edale to Castleton church. Continue along the paved footpath then climb steeply up Back Tor, whose craggy profile gives the Great Ridge such distinction when seen from Kinder Scout. From the few remaining trees at the top of Back Tor it’ s only a short distance to Lose Hill (476m/1,563ft), its upper slopes known as Ward’s Piece. G.H.B. ‘Bert’ Ward (1876-1957), the pioneer ‘King of Ramblers’, founded the Sheffield Clarion Ramblers in 1900, claimed as the first active working-class rambling club in Britain. In 1926,Ward also founded the Sheffield and District Federation of the Ramblers’ Association and was instrumental in the formation of the Sheffield and Peak District Branch of the CPRE. Two thousand walkers joined Bert Ward on the summit of Lose Hill on a fine April day in 1945 to see him being handed the deeds of 54 acres/22 hectares of that hill’s summit in appreciation of his life’s work, known as Ward’s Piece ever since. At the same ceremony, he in turn presented the deeds to the National Trust. A stone viewing pillar dedicated to Ward now marks the summit of Lose Hill.

7   On a summer’s evening the summit of Lose Hill is a lovely spot to rest and enjoy the views across the Edale valley to Win Hill, with the silvery trail of the River Noe meandering below its southern slopes. It’s all downhill now on good footpaths south-east via Losehill Farm, then through walled pastures to join the Edale road just above the lane down to Killhill Bridge. Turn right along the road back to Hope.

FACT FILE Start/Finish: Hope car park GR: SK171834 Distance/Time: 8 miles (13km)/5 hours Grading: Easy walking on good paths with a few steep ascents. Map: OS 1:25,000 Outdoor Leisure sheet 1 Dark Peak Area and Harvey 1:25,000 Superwalker, Dark Peak. Refreshments: Various cafes and pubs in Castleton and The Cheshire Cheese, The Old Hall Inn, The Poachers Arms and Woodroffe Arms, Hope. Public Transport: Trains from Manchester and Sheffield to Hope. Buses to Hope from surrounding conurbations. Contact Traveline Tel: 0870 608 2608. Tourist Information: Castleton TIC, Tel: 01433 620679