Hathersage Rail Station to Edale via river crossing at Hathersage to the southern embankment of the River Derwent. Turned west along the river to 'The Stepping Stones' and then due south to ascend to Offerton, Offerton Edge, Smelting Hill, Abney Moor, Robin Hood's Cross, Bradwell Hills and Bradwell Edge. Then descended to Brough/Navio Roman Fort, Hope, Castleton. Then re-ascending to Hollin's Cross , over the Great Ridge, and then the descent to Edale, finishing at the Penny Pot Cafe.
Total Time: 6 hours 22 minutes; Total Distance: 18.1km (21.2km with additional walking time in Castleton and Edale).
Still in the April cold snap. Temperature at start at Hathersage was -1C with a 'Feels Like' of -3C. The constant wind on the open moorland and hills between Hathersage and Edale kept that feels like below freezing all day. Compared weather forecasts from the Met Office and 'AccuWeather' and found AccuWeather to be more accurate on this day. Will continue to compare them over time.
Route Planning was conducted using both the OS OL1 and OL 24 maps for the overview, then detailed route planning on OS Maps computer based software. Carried both the OS 1:25,000 maps with me, and printed A4 size details from the OS software. Did not need to use the compass at all on this route as the visibility was excellent, and the familiar geographic features made following the maps easy with the visual cues from the land features.
The primary goal of this walk was to cover territory I had not covered on previous walks, and to gain a great overview of the surrounding territory to the more common 'beauty spot' walks. This route, on a clear day like today, provided an excellent perspective on the hills and edges from Hathersage to Edale. Stanage Edge, Bamford Edge, the Kinder Plateau, Win Hill, Lose Hill, Back Tor, Mam Tor, Rushup Edge, Hope Valley, Edale Valley, River Derwent, River Noe, these commonly walked area were all in view throughout the walk, which ran to the south of these common geographic features.
Area :
Dark Peak
Is situated between Sheffield and Manchester. The underlying rock is Millstone grit which is often exposed at the edge of the higher peat bogs for which the area is famous.
