Hope to Hathersage or Bamford (via Castleton) walk

27.0 km (16.8 mi). Cumulative ascent/descent: 683/698m.

For a shorter or longer walk, see below Walk Options.

9 out of 10

Time: 7 hours walking time. For the whole outing, including trains, sights and meals, allow at least 13 ½ hours.

OS Landranger Map: 110 (Sheffield & Huddersfield)
OS Explorer Map: OL1 (The Peak District – Dark Peak Area)

This route at the top of the scenic Hope Valley starts with a gentle loop through pastures between the Peak District's breath-taking limestone and gritstone landscapes with ever-changing views to the hills around. You head for the mysterious Mam Tor, before ascending its flank through the large landsliped area at its foot. A variation leads to the dramatic limestone gorge of Winnats Pass and past a couple of the show caves Castleton is famous for. A high-level traverse of pastures-with-views loops down to Castleton through the fascinating Cave Dale (a collapsed cave), past the Norman Castle ruins towering above it.
After lunch you pass the fascinating Hope Cement Works, which dominate the views from any hill walk in the area, pass through Bradwell and go steeply up to Bradwell Edge. The impossibly scenic Over Dale is skirted along its rim and Abney and Offerton Moor are crossed along good paths with surround views. The descent to the Derwent River offers yet more stunning views before a riverside finish to either Hathersage or Bamford.

Note: To protect ground nesting birds, only dogs kept “…under effective control on Public Rights of Way” are allowed on the Access Land of Abney Moor/Smelting Hill/Offerton Moor, until at least 04/2022.

A late starter might want to – after 4.6 km – follow Hollowford Road for 300m into Castleton for lunch first, before continuing the route (see route map and text).
A Variation in the morning takes you past Speedwell Cavern, the bottom of Winnats Pass dry gorge and Treak Cliff Cavern, rather than past Odin Mine and through the active landslip of Mam Tor.
A Variation of that route leads up through the dramatic dry gorge of Winnats Pass to the side of the road.
Cut out the loop through Castleton Village and past its lunch stops: cut 750m.
An out-and-back in Castleton to Peak Cavern adds 500m.
Finish the walk in Castleton and take a bus back to Hope or Sheffield or Chesterfield (14.0 km/8.7 mi).
Finish the walk in Bradwell and take a bus back to Hope or Sheffield or Chesterfield (16.9 km/10.5 mi).
An Alternative Ending leads to Bamford Bus or Train Station, this is 800m shorter.
A Variation of the Hathersage Ending crosses the Derwent on Stepping Stones and leads to Jagger’s Lane and the heart of the village. This is almost 2 km less distance and even walking on to the station from the village would still be shorter than the main walk route (but with some more tarmac and road noise).
An optional loop through Hathersage village past its tea stops adds up to 1.6 km.

Hope, Bamford and Hathersage Stations are on the Hope Valley Line from Manchester to Sheffield, with a journey time of 19 to 26 mins from/to Sheffield. Sheffield is the terminus of the Midland Main Line from London St. Pancras, with up to two trains per hour (journey time from 118 mins Mon-Sat, longer on Sundays).
Hope Station, map reference SK 180 832, is 18 km south west of Sheffield, 231 km north west of Charing Cross and 169m above sea level. Bamford Station, map reference SK 207 825, is 3 km south east of Hope Station and 151m above sea level. Hathersage station, map reference SK 232 810, is 3 km south east of Bamford Station and 163m above sea level. All are in Derbyshire.

Saturday Walkers’ Club: Take a train no later than 9.00 hours.

In Castleton (13.4 km/8.3 mi to 14.1 km/8.7 mi from the start):
Castleton Fish & Chips, Dolly and Ted’s Tearooms, Peak District National Park Visitor Centre Café, Three Roofs Café, The Castle, The Bull’s Head, Castleton Maid Ice Cream, Peveril Tea Rooms, The George Inn, Rose Cottage Café, 1530 The Restaurant, Tilly’s of Castleton, Ye Olde Nag’s Head, The Baytree Tea Room & Gifts, The Rambler’s Rest, The Peak Hotel, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese.

In Bradwell (16.6 km/10.3 mi to 17.6 km/10.9 mi from the start):
Ye Olde Bowling Green Inn Smalldale Head Road, Bradwell, Hope Valley, Derbyshire S33 9JQ (01433 620 450). Open all day every day. Food served all day.
The White Hart Inn Towngate, Bradwell, Hope Valley, Derbyshire S33 9JX (01433 208 513). Open from 16.00 weekends, 17.00 weekdays.
The Shoulder of Mutton Inn Church Street, Bradwell, Hope Valley, Derbyshire S33 9HJ (01433 640 427). Open Mon-Fri from 17.00, Sat-Sun all day. Food served Wed-Fri 17.00-20.15, Sat 12.30-20.15, Sun 12.30-18.15.

In Hathersage:
The Plough Inn Leadmill Bridge, Hathersage, Hope Valley, Derbyshire S32 1BA (01433 650 319). Open Mon-Sat 11.30-23.00 and 12.00-22.30 Sunday. Last food orders: 21.30 Mon-Sat and 20.00 Sun. The Plough is located 230m off route, 1.3 km from the end of the walk.
The David Mellor Design Museum Café Leadmill, Hathersage, Hope Valley, Derbyshire S32 1BA (01433 650 220). Last orders at 16.30.
The Little John Hotel Station Road, Hathersage, Hope Valley, Derbyshire S32 1DD (01433 650 225).
The George Hotel Hathersage, Hope Valley, Derbyshire S32 1BB (01433 650 436).
Bank House Bar & Restaurant Main Road,Hathersage, Hope Valley, Derbyshire S32 1BB (01433 449 060).
The Scotsman’s Pack School Lane, Hathersage, Hope Valley, Derbyshire S32 1BZ (01433 650 253). A ‘Scotchman’ or ‘Scotsman’ is a name given to a pedlar, not necessarily from Scotland, which is how the inn derived its name.

In Bamford:
Tastebuds Café at the Hope Valley Garden Centre. Open daily to 16.00 in summer.

The Hope Valley
The Hope Valley is a wide valley running East-West along the boundary between the gritstone moors and edges of the 'Dark Peak' and the limestone outcrops and deep cut dales of the 'White Peak'. It is a rural area centred on the village of Hope, but although it appears to be a single valley, the name of the river changes several times. The head of the valley lies at Castleton below Mam Tor, once the home of Iron Age people. From here, the Peakshole Water flows out of Peak Cavern to Hope, where it enters the lower reaches of the River Noe, which has risen on Kinder Scout near Edale. The Noe then flows to Bamford, where it enters the River Derwent, which has travelled about 15 km from Bleaklow and is a tributary of the River Trent.
The valley is now technically the Derwent Valley, but the term "Hope Valley" is still used as the Derwent flows through Hathersage and Grindleford. Other streams in the area include the Burbage Brook.
The area is a popular tourist destination, particularly as the Hope Valley Line railway from Sheffield to Manchester runs through it.
From earlier times there are traces of a Roman fort at Brough, just to the east of Hope. Its Roman name Navio was later replaced with the Old English word for fort, Brough. It is thought that the fort was probably built to protect Roman lead-mining interests in the Peak District.
Later, the parish of Hope covered two thirds of the Royal Hunting Forest of north Derbyshire.

The Peak District (National Park)
The Peak District is an upland area at the southernmost end of the Pennines.
The Peak District National Park is one of the UK’s most popular and is located within the boundaries of five counties (Derbys., Ches., Staffs., Yorks. and Greater Manchester). Founded in 1951, it was the first national Park in England. The Park spans an area of around 1,440 km² (550 mi²) and – despite its name – its terrain consists mainly of rolling hills, farmland, moorland and some gritstone escarpments (the "edges"). It is however significantly higher than much of the terrain in the surrounding area.
The Peak District is formed almost exclusively from sedimentary rocks dating from the Carboniferous period. They comprise the Carboniferous Limestone, the overlying Gritstone and finally the Coal Measures, though the latter occur only on the extreme margins of the area. In addition there are infrequent outcrops of igneous rocks including lavas, tuffs and volcanic vent agglomerates.
The northern Dark Peak (whose geology is gritstone) is one of the most famous landmarks in the Peak District National Park, known for its exposed and isolated tracts of moorland, as well as its expansive rolling plateau which is covered by cotton grass bogs and heather moorlands. The soil of the area is composed of moorland peat which provides the perfect environment for the plant life in the area. The areas to the flanks of the high moorland host numerous copses which are composed of Oak and Birch.
The southern White Peak (whose geology is mainly limestone) is another distinctive area within the park due to its gently sloping Limestone plateau, crisscrossed by the Limestone Dales. The Dales provide the areas’ drainage and vary in steepness throughout the area.

River Noe
The River Noe is a tributary of the River Derwent. It flows approximately 19 km (12 mi) from its source, the confluence of two streams running off Kinder Scout, east through Edale and then southeast through the village of Hope. The river flows into the River Derwent a kilometre south of Bamford. The entire length of the river is closely followed by the Hope Valley railway line. The portion of the river downstream of Hope, along with the valley of the River Noe's main tributary, Peakshole Water, is known as the Hope Valley.

Hope Cement Works
Hope Cement Works are a dominant feature of the landscape in the Hope Valley and can be seen from most hill walks in the area. Founded in 1919 (planning had begun as early as 1910 but WWI delayed the build), the Works have been built strategically placed between existing sources for two of the main components needed for cement production: a hill formed of very pure and dry limestone, known to have limestone to a level of 500m below ground, on the one side, and a large clayfield (basically decomposed shale and alluvial deposit) on the other. Owned by Blue Circle until the turn of the millennium, subsequent owner Lafarge had to demerge the business when joining its UK operations with Anglo American’s Tarmac UK and sold it to ArcelorMittal, who later sold it to Breedon Cement. Hope Cement Works now is the largest cement manufacturing operation in the UK and a major contributor to the local economy, employing 165 people.
The plant was electrically powered from the outset, and is now using power supplied from the National Grid, and it was also linked to the Hope Valley Line by a 3.2 km single track railway from the start. Annual production capacity is about 1.5 million tonnes of cement (approximately 0.05% of the world’s cement production). https://www.cementkilns.co.uk/cement_kiln_hope.html

Mam Tor
Mam Tor is a 517m hill, whose name means "mother hill", so called because frequent landslips on its eastern face have resulted in a multitude of "mini-hills" beneath it. These landslips, which are caused by unstable lower layers of shale, also give the hill its alternative name of “Shivering Mountain”.
Mam Tor is on the southern edge of the Dark Peak (sandstones) and overlooks the White Peak (limestones), including the notable dry gorge of Winnats Pass. The summit of Mam Tor is encircled by a late Bronze Age and early Iron Age univallate hill fort, occupied from around 1200 BC. The earliest remaining features are two Bronze Age burial mounds, one just below the summit and the other on the summit itself.
The most notable feature of Mam Tor is the still active landslide which invades its southeast side almost to the summit, and interrupts the ramparts of the hillfort. This rotational landslide began roughly 4,000 years ago. The toe is a debris flow. The landslide is due to weak shales underlying sandstones. Current mean annual movement is up to 0.25 metres, depending on levels of rainfall.

Castleton
Castleton is one of the most beautifully-situated villages in the White Peak, on the cusp of the Peak District's breathtaking limestone and gritstone landscapes. It lies at the top of the scenic Hope Valley and in the lee of mysterious Mam Tor. It also has the dramatic limestone gorge of Winnats Pass in walking distance, as well as the fascinating Cave Dale and a Norman Castle ruins towering above it. In addition, there are four former lead mines open for visitors as show caves, with Peak Cavern having the largest natural cave mouth in Europe (Peakshole Water rushes out of it), nowadays used for special events including concerts, while Speedwell Cavern offers an underground boat ride.

Limestone Way
The Limestone Way is a 74.7 km (46.4 miles) waymarked long-distance footpath in Derbyshire. It runs through the limestone scenery in the heart of the White Peak area of the Peak District, from Castleton south through Peak Forest, Miller’s Dale, Monyash, Youlgreave, Matlock, Parwich, Tissington, Thorpe, Lower Ellastone and finishing in the Dove valley at Rocester over the county boundary in Staffordshire. It originally ran only to Matlock, but was diverted to its current, longer route to join up with the Staffordshire Way.

White to Dark
The White to Dark Way is a 43 km (27 mi) waymarked multi-day path from the White Peak to the Dark Peak developed in 2012 by TrailZilla and Country Walking Magazine. It claims to be the first major walking trail dedicated to linking the Peak District’s two 'halves', across terrain ranging from meadows, woods and farmland to wild moorland and gritstone edges, going from Bakewell to Hope. The route includes Monsal Head, Cressbrook Dale, Litton, Eyam, Stanage Edge and Win Hill. https://www.livefortheoutdoors.com/whitetodark

Derwent River
The Derwent is a Derbyshire river of 106 km/66 mi length and is a tributary of the River Trent, which it joins south of Derby. Its waters ultimately reach the North Sea via the Humber Estuary. For half its course the river flows through the Peak District and for most of the first 10 km it forms the border to South Yorkshire. In the lower reaches between Matlock and Derby it was one of the cradles of the Industrial Revolution, providing power to the first industrial scale cotton mills. Today it provides a water supply to several surrounding cities, and its steeply sided valley is an important communications corridor through the uplands of the Peak District.

Derwent Valley Heritage Way
The Derwent Valley Heritage Way (DVHW) is a 88 km (55 mi) waymarked Long Distance Path along the Derwent Valley from Ladybower Reservoir via Chatsworth, the Derbyshire Dales area, and through the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site to Derwent Mouth where it flows into the Trent.

Hathersage
Hathersage is overlooked by the ringed cliffs of Stanage and Millstone edges and the ancient iron-age hill fort of Carl Wark, and the distictive Higger Tor can be seen through a break in the cliffs, standing on Burbage Moor. The origins of the name are disputed, although it is generally accepted that the second half derives from the Old English word ecg meaning "edge", although there is little to suggest it is to mean “heather’s edge”.
The area has been occupied since at least Mesolithic times and has remains of a Romano British settlement. Later the area became an important source of pins, needles and brass buttons as well as of building stones and millstones. In 1990, the cutler David Mellor opened the award-winning Round Building on the site of a former gasometer as a cutlery factory. In 2007, an extension was opened as a design museum.
A number of local landmarks are associated with Robin Hood "of Locksley" (there is a Loxley over the moors near Sheffield) and one of the graves in Hathersage is claimed to be Little John’s.
In 1845, Charlotte Brontë stayed at the Hathersage vicarage, visiting a friend, whose brother was the vicar, while she was writing Jane Eyre. Many of the locations mentioned in her novel match places in Hathersage.
Hathersage boasts a public heated outdoor swimming pool.