| Walk: | Lose Hill , Back Tor, Hollins Cross, Mam Tor , Oxlow Rake, Limestone way, Cavedale, Peveril Castle | ||
| Start Point: | Castleton car park | Grid Reference: | SK 150 830 |
| Distance: | 10.3 miles | Ascent: | 2,450 feet |
| Time: | 6 hours | ||
| Weather: | Dry, sunny, cloud above summits, excellent visibility . Cold wind on ridge. | ||
| Comments: | Mam Tor or “Mother Hill” has long been
occupied by Humans and is one of the oldest (and Highest) Iron age
forts in Britain, dating back some 3,500 years and sitting at an
altitude of 1,700ft. The Mam Tor ridge divides the Hope and Edale
valleys and offers some excellent views along it length. 8 walkers
took part as we started out from Castleton to head up to Lose Hill
at the Eastern end of the ridge. From there we turned West to the
steep sided knoll of Back Tor before traversing further along to
Hollins cross and finally Mam Tor summit. The climb up to Mam Tor
provided an excellent view of the former Stockport to Sheffield road
(the A625 which was swept away by a landslide in 1974 and has never
re-opened to traffic since that date. The road passes the former
Odin mine and is now a permanent reminder of why Mam Tor is also
known as “The Shivering mountain” due to the frequent landslips of
shale after each heavy rain. Descending Mam Tor we headed across the road and continued across the moor to Conies dale before swinging round Ox Low hill up Oxlow Rake to join the Limestone way. Our final descent into Castleton was via the delightful steep valley of Cavedale where we were afforded excellent views of the 11th century Peveril Castle which guards the entrance to Cave Dale before returning to the car park in Castleton. |
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Scroll down to see photos of the walk
Mam Tor, our main objective, can be seen across the fields from near the start of the walk
Landslips have gouged a great hole in the side of the tor
By the left 'Quick March'!
You can't hide behind the trees in Winter!
The group heads up Lose Hill . . .
and Sheila thinks the topograph is the perfect place for a photo
From Lose Hill we can follow the ridge to Back Tor and Mam Tor . . .
but quickly find a wall to shelter us from the wind for our morning break
We find an artistic cairn on Back Tor . . .
and admire the view across the Edale Valley . . .
and over some interesting 'hummocky bumps'
A trio of photographers (the third one is behind the camera!)
There is quite a drop at this side of Back Tor . . .
which you can see clearly from this angle
The former Stockport to Sheffield road swept away in 1974
Hollins Cross marks a meeting of pathways from all directions
A group photo to celebrate our arrival at Mam Tor . . .
which is encircled by plaques . . .
to remind us of its Iron age period
The road from Edale and Kinder snakes up from the valley
Windy Knoll quarry provides some shelter for lunch
A 'gathering of troops' at Oxlow Rake
Heading down Cave Dale . . .
where we are walking on the roof of a gigantic cave, Peak Cavern . . .
the ground below us being full of limestone caves
The Normans used the natural steepness of the valley sides for defence - check out the garderobe (Norman Toilet)
There are lots of places to explore in Castleton (perhaps we'll do that on our next visit!)