Walk lead by Pat Guy, 5.5 Miles.
This is a fairly easy walk with very little uphill and only a few stiles. We walk to the other end of the town and onto a country lane for a short while. Then we join a stoney track which leads us most of the way to Hope. From Hope we pick up another stoney track alongside the river. This leads us to fields which we cross on our way back to Castleton. There are good views up to MamTor and along the valley all the way.
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Walk lead by Andrew Phillips, 6.6 Miles 1400ft Ascent.
The walk heads south out of Castleton and joins the path up to the caverns, passing Speedwell Cavern, Treak Cliff Cavern and Blue John Cavern, before heading up to the base of Mam Tor. The route may follow the road for a short distance, since ground could be very boggy. The route up Mam Tor is laid out with rough slabs, but rather steep in parts, and if the weather is fine there are good views from the summit. The route then follows the ridge via Hollins Cross and Back Tor, with steep climbs to reach Lose Hill., the final summit of the walk. We then descend past Losehill Farm and Spring House Farm towards Losehill Hall Youth Hostel and back down into Castleton.
Distance is 6.6 miles, and total ascent is 1,400 feet. Some parts of the route may be muddy if there has been rain, and there are sections which are rocky. Gaiters and poles are recommended.
Walk lead by John Gobin, 8.4 Miles 2200ft Ascent.
The first mile is a gentle climb heading north out of Castleton which leads to a steeper rather muddy ascent of 700ft up to the top of Lose hill with spectacular views over Hope Valley.
We then walk along the Great Ridge towards the top of Mam Tor with more beautiful views.
From there we will descend the south side of Mam Tor where hopefully we can have lunch.
Following refreshments we will descend a little further, cross a road and from there follow a gentle muddy ascent to the east of Slitherstone Hill and onto some farm tracks. As we start to drop back down to Castleton there is another quite muddy path down to a track/stream leading to Cave Dale and then onto the lanes of Castleton.
Good waterproof boots, gaiters and walking poles are advisable.
Walk lead by Gwyn Jones, 5.5 miles.
Starting from the village centre we work our way slowly up onto moorland at Penistone Hill. We then make our way via moorland and gravel road down to Bronte bridge. From here there is a short climb onto open land with good views over to Lower Laithe reservoir and beyond to Haworth. We descend from here to the village of Stanbury and continue to our final ascent into Haworth.
Walk lead by Peter Hitchcock, 9.5 miles, 700ft of climbing.
For our first outing of the season, we shall venture to the south of Howarth for a change, taking in parts of both the Bronte and Millenium Ways. We climb out of the car park (no toilets that I could see, so maybe check out the coach in good time) and head south straight on to the Bronte Way. It is fairly level until the village of Marsh then down across fields and a stream to an escarpment and on towards an isolated pub on the edge of the moors. Too early to stop, I’m afraid!! Then onto the moor where the fun starts: mushy bog, snow, water, anything goes till we reach an excellent ridgeline from where we gain super views of Yorkshire. Lunch here before we start our return. This section is challenging because of all the wet weather we’ve had but it improves markedly once we’re down off the moor amongst lots of daffodils and snowdrops.
At 9.5 miles and maybe 700ft of climbing it’s a mediocre ease-in to the season but the muddy conditions will make it quite arduous. Make sure you have waterproof boots, and gaiters and sticks would be a bonus. Your legs will definitely tell you its time for a beer when we finish and there are at least three 2-300 year old pubs to choose from. See you there!
