Castleton

CASTLETON, PEAK CAVERN, SPEEDWELL CAVERN, TREAK CLIFF CAVERN, BLUE JOHN CAVERN, MAM TOR, BARKER BROW, LOSE HILL, HIGH PARK HALL, MEAD FARM, THE CHESHIRE CHEESE AT HOPE, WOODROFFE ARMS, HOPE PINFOLD, PEAKSHOLE WATER, THE CHESHIRE CHEESE AT CASTLETON

Distance: 7-8 miles.

Difficulty: Moderate to strenuous.

Weather: Warm with cool breeze, sunshine and cloud.

Walkers: Micky Barrett, Peter Beal, Alastair Cairns, Mark Gibby, Alan Hart, Chris Owen and George Whaites.

Separate walker and cyclist: Colin Davison.

Apologies: Tom Cunliffe (in Anglesey), George Dearsley (in Turkey), Lawrie Fairman ( awaiting knee operation), Hughie Hardiman (domestic duties), Steve Kemp (awaiting op), Jock Rooney (Isle of Man), Julian Ross (Vietnam hols)

Leader: Beal. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Main road through Castleton near Peak Cavern.

Starting time: 9.53am. Finishing time: 2.21pm.

First of all may I apologise to those Wednesday Wanderers who misheard last week’s plans and thought we were going to begin this walk with four taverns in the first hour. This would have been a splendid and highly popular idea, but we actually passed the entrances to four caverns.

Although short in length this was one of our most strenuous routes and fortunately came with options for the less ambitious to skirt the shoulders of the summits of Mam Tor, Barker Brow  and Lose Hill. After the summer heatwave, a cooling breeze was most welcome as we enjoyed the spectacular views from the hilltops across Hope Valley.

The walk was also memorable because I believe we might have broken the record paid for a pint of cask bitter, being charged £3-85 for Swift Nick at the Cheshire Cheese in Hope. This was soon followed by the second highest-priced pint at the next pub, the Cheshire Cheese in Castleton, where we paid £3-70 for pints of Peter Rabbit. It is some comfort to know we are doing our bit in keeping Britain’s country pubs in business.

The location of two pubs called The Cheshire Cheese in Derbyshire has an interesting background. In bygone days farmers from Cheshire used to bring their dairy produce through the Hope Valley to sell in Sheffield. Landlords wishing to give them a welcome overnight stop called their inns The Cheshire Cheese to also indicate they would accept cheese in payment for accommodation. In the 20th Century there was another pub called The Cheshire Cheese in Bamford, four miles out of Hope on the way to Sheffield.

From the road we entered The Peak Cavern car park on our right with its charming sign “This Way To The Devil’s Arse.” Beyond the cavern entrance we turned right up Goose Hill (2mins) and followed the lane as it became a footpath. Where it crossed the road at The Speedwell Cavern (18mins) we followed a public footpath sign on the right and continued to climb until we reached the entrance to Treak Cliff Tavern (27mins)

Incidentally, for those of a curious disposition, the nickname Devil’s Arse was first published in 1586 by Gervaise of Tilbury, and mentioned two centuries later by Daniel Defoe in his travel guide. The name is believed to come from the flatulent noises emanating from below when flood water drains.

Peak Cavern was once reputed to be a haven for bandits when Cock Laurel, leader of the Rogues, joined forces with Giles Hather, king of the gipsies. It was also one of the last homes in Britain for troglodytes, who lived in the cave entrance making rope in the early 20th Century.

In 1959 the cavern was the scene of a tragedy when Neil Moss, a 20-year-old university student, became jammed in a passage 1,000 feet from the entrance. Many rescue attempts failed and when he died his father ordered that the passage be sealed with concrete so no others lost their lives trying to retrieve the body.

On a happier note, the cavern now hosts underground musical concerts, featuring modern bands which have included such luminaries as Jarvis Cocker.

Ouside Treak Cliff Cavern we read a plaque  informing us that 330 million years ago this was a warm tropical sea whose dead inhabitants had piled up to form the hill on which we stood.

We walked behind the cavern entrance and continued through a wooden gate (38mins). We forked left uphill and walked through another wooden gate towards The Blue John Mine.

This was named after the semi-precious mineral, a form of fluorite, which was mined throughout the 19th Century for its ornamental value and is sold in the gift shops of Castleton to this day. Blue John is purplish blue and yellow in colour so its name could have come from the French bleu jaune. As Cornish miners worked in Derbyshire’s lead mines in the 1740s, it could also have emanated from the Cornish word bleujenn.

Beyond the mine entrance we turned right (42mins) and reached a road where we turned left uphill (43mins). At a wooden public footpath sign we turned right towards Mam Tor Summit (47mins). When we reached a wooden public footpath sign and a wooden gate (57mins) the main party headed up towards the Trig Point while George and your diarist headed left to skirt the summit.

We walked along a road before turning right up a track by the side of a bus stop (59mins). We reached the far side of Mam Tor just as our five comrades descended and joined us at a broken wall where the paths met for Pietime (71mins) accompanied by port and damson gin, supplied and lovingly created by Chris.

Continuing our journey we went through a wooden gate (80mins) and proceeded to Hollins Cross (85mins) and its memorial stone. From here the path ascended again towards Barker Brow. While four of us chose the right shoulder of Barker Brow and Lose Hill beyond it (99mins), the three youngsters, Micky, Alastair and Mark took the high road to glory.

The following describes we lesser mortals’ journey as we entered a wood on the way down to Hope through a broken wooden stile (103mins). We exited via another wooden stile (112mins) and observed a pair of kestrel hunting for prey below us. It was a rare opportunity to see the attractive ruddy feathers and black wingtips on their backs.

We crossed three more wooden stiles  (121, 123 and 124 mins) before turning right at a cairn and heading steadily downhill. We went through a wooden gate (139mins) and crossed a wooden stile (144mins) before swinging left downhill. This brought us to a road where we turned right (149mins) passing High Park Hall and Mead Farm on our right before reaching The Cheshire Cheese at Hope (155mins)

Colin, who had roared up in his car to meet us before our start in Castleton, was awaiting our arrival. We enjoyed pints of Swift Nick in the beer garden despite its eye-watering price of £3-85 a pint. We bade farewell to our comrade as he drove away with his bike on the back of his car, and turned right out of the pub.

The road became Bowden Lane (158mins) and as we reached the main road it had become Edale Road (162mins). We turned right and immediately left at The Woodroffe Arms into Pindale Road (163mins). This soon brought us to Hope Pinfold for lunch (165mins). A sign giving the terms for which lost cattle were impounded here and the price for redeeming them appeared to be centuries old but in fact applied until 1947.

Resuming we continued up the road passing a St John Ambulance station before turning right at a public footpath sign on our right with Eccles Lane on our left (165mins). We went through two wooden gates (170 and 172mins) before crossing a quarry railway (175mins). A stone step stile (179mins), a kissing gate (180mins), a stone step stile (181mins) and a wooden stile with a yellow arrow (182mins) brought us to the left bank of Peakshole Water.

A wooden gate (188mins) led us to a main road where we turned left towards Castleton (193mins), reaching The Cheshire Cheese on our left (196mins). Pints of Peter Rabbit cask bitter cost £3-70. Suitably refreshed, we turned left out of the pub and walked through the centre of Castleton to return to our cars for the homeward journey (204mins)

Next week’s walk will start at 9.30am from the rear car park of The Unicorn at Dean Row, Handforth, where we hope to see our wounded comrade Lawrie. We expect to rach The Admiral Rodney in Prestbury for a livener around noon before returning to The Unicorn at 2pm.

Happy wandering !