Friday: Thirty-three Poly Ramblers arrived at the beautiful village of Castleton situated at the head of the Hope Valley in the heart of the Peak District National Park. Eleven members booked into YHA Losehill Hall a fully refurbished gothic mansion set in twenty-seven acres of parkland. We managed to create havoc as we all converged at the same time. We were impressed by the amenities, large dining area and self-catering kitchen.

Two groups of Poly Ramblers braved the rain to complete an Orientation Walk of Castleton. The village is surrounded by hillsides including Mam Tor (the shivering mountain) The village is popular for its show caves many shops and cafes. We particularly enjoyed a visit to Cave Dale a dry limestone valley rising gently before becoming steeper culminating in a fine viewpoint down the dale taking in Peveril Castle.

Soaking wet we finished the walk with Poly Ramblers enjoying an evening meal at the many local pubs.

Saturday: The weather had deteriorated resulting with a prediction of high winds and rain from Storm Amy. I made the decision to divert to our back up walk on the programme rather than attempt a climb up Mam Tor!

The Hikers and Middle walkers took the bus to Hope Station to begin our circular walk along country lanes, grassy footpaths, and moorland before descending back into the village of Hope.
We began our walk in reasonable weather over open fields with sheep and llamas grazing. We continued up a lane up to Edge farm. We stopped to admire the wonderful views from the top before making our way through woods leading on to a path between two dry stone walls eventually emerging on to open moorland.
On a sunny day we would have had magnificent views over Lose Hill and the Hope valley to include the iconic cement works. We were now battling with rising gusts of wind and heavy rain. We cut short our walk before reaching Hope Cross, a medieval marker standing at the crossroads of ancient packhorse routes through the Peak District.

Luckily, the wet and sodden Poly Ramblers managed to get buses back to Castleton to dry off before our group dinner at the Peak Hotel that evening.

Meanwhile the Strollers set off from Castleton on a circular walk along the north side of the Peakshole river valley. We soon reached the youth hostel where we had some refreshments and a respite from the rain. We continued past the stables of Spring House Farm and then through fields with a view of the distinctive cement works chimney on the far side of the valley. We soon reached the walk’s halfway point at the village of Hope where we dried out in front of a roaring fire at the Old Inn pub. After partaking of food and drinks, a collective decision was taken to abandon the second half of the walk and return by bus to Castleton.

Sunday: The weather had improved but high winds prevented us from a walk along Rushup Edge. The Hikers and Middle Walkers reverted to our back up walk around the Vale of Edale. We walked through the beautiful village of Edale to the start of the Pennine Way outside the Old Nags Head pub. For a trail that goes over wild moorland, bogs, and hills the Pennine way starts sedately. We walked around the base of a hill and along a wide and easy-going path, with lovely views to admire.

A decision was then to continue our route to the foot of Jacobs Ladder. Jacobs Ladder is a set of stone steps cut into the hillside ascending onto the Kinder plateau. We reached the foot of the ladder and stood on the ancient bridge gazing up at the one of the longest ascents in the Peak District, before retracing our steps to meet with the rest of the group at our lunch stop at a local farm.
After lunch we continued our walk across fields and through the hamlets of Ollerbrook Booth, Upper Booth, and Barber Booth. We extended our walk over moorland and around the foot of Rushup Edge. We finished with a stop at the station café or a drink at the Nags Head pub.

The Strollers joined the others on their bus to Edale but we stayed on until it nearly reached the summit of Mam Tor. Because of the strong winds, we decided not to do the final climb. Therefore, we descended a steep path to a car park and then along a road to the Blue John Cavern, where we had some refreshments. There we were joined by Cathie’s son and grandson for the remainder of the walk back to Castleton, mainly picking our way along the old road which is closed to vehicles because of numerous landslips.

Monday
Our final walk of the weekend was a low-level walk above Castleton’s medieval field system with views of the Winnats Pass and the Great Ridge. Hikers, Middle Walkers and Strollers joined together for a ramble initially through the pretty back streets of the village. We followed an attractive millstream to the Peak Cavern entrance, commonly known as the Devil’s Arse! We continued along a stony path, then past the Speedwell Cavern and down through fields to the road which took us back to the village. A pleasant sunny end to an enjoyable trip despite the inclement weather of the first two days.

Hilary and Danny.
Photos by Nita, Jackie, Patricia, Julia, Hilary, Stephen, Jo