The Great Ridge between Mam Tor and Lose Hill

Saturday 17th June 2017

Six years ago I went with a group of guys from my church, Life Church Wigston, to North Wales where we climbed Snowdon. Unfortunately this was not the start of regular walks for the men of the church and instead it was not until last June that we attempted something similar. This time we stayed a little closer to home in going to the Peak District, and this time not everyone was up for a walk. After parking in Castleton half the men disappeared into the nearby caves or shops while the other half donned their walking boots and set off through the village towards Cave Dale. The temperature had been climbing throughout the previous week so that by the weekend the weather was possibly the hottest of the whole summer, or at least it felt like it. The temperature rose inexorably during the course of the day, but when we started it was still quite agreeable so that the short, sharp climb through the dramatic valley of Cave Dale was not as exhausting as it could have been. This is a stunning valley that was created when a cave collapsed revealing some stunning limestone features on the steep slopes of the valley.

I had never walked through this ravine before, which is surely a shocking omission considering how much walking I’ve done in this area over the years, so I must thank the person who decided on this walk as he astonishingly managed to take me to places that I had not previously visited. At the top of the valley where the steep gradient finally eases we all stopped for a much needed rest despite not having walked very far. When I am walking on my own I rarely stop, and only really for my lunch, but since I was now walking with guys who are not as used to walking as I am, frequent rests were to be the norm. The path continued to climb albeit gradually taking us onto Bradwell Moor where buttercups decorated the grassy floor underneath dazzling blue skies. On reaching a junction of paths we turned right onto a farmer’s track that took us round towards the north, and Mam Tor. With this imposing hill in our sights we made our way along the track past a farmer rounding up some rams and eventually reached the road at the top of Winnat’s Pass.

At this point, around lunchtime, with some clouds passing overhead, our thoughts turned to food so we stopped at what looked to me like a small, disused quarry, but which is only marked on maps as Windy Knoll. After eating we set off once more towards Mam Tor and almost immediately started climbing with the gradient soon getting very steep as we slogged up a paved path in the hot weather all the way up to the summit of Mam Tor. Despite hazy skies, the views in all directions were stunning with the high plateau of Kinder Scout spread out to our north and Castleton nestling in the valley to the south, but it was in our onward direction that my eye was attracted, east along the Great Ridge. This ridge marks an important divide between the Dark Peak in the north and the White Peak to the south, gritstone on one side and limestone on the other. After resting for a while at the top of Mam Tor we set off along this great ridge basking in the hot weather.

Slowly we made our way along the ridge gradually descending until we reached the hill pass marked by Hollins Cross where we started to climb once more above Barker Bank. By now most of us were beginning to wilt in the heat (and burn from the sun), so we did not fancy the prospect of the steep climb ahead up Back Tor. All except one person wanted to bypass Back Tor and Lose Hill by taking a path that keeps to the contours along the southern slopes of the hill. The exception was either a lot fitter or a lot stupider than the rest as I almost ran up Back Tor so by the time I reached the top the heat was pouring off me, but I paused only long enough to take a long drink of water before continuing along the ridge to climb to the top of Lose Hill where after tapping the view finder I set off down the other side of the hill. By the time I reached the first fence the rest of the guys were already passing by on the other side and I was able to join them as they began their descent.

This walk had been based on one from the www.britishwalks.org website, but not only had we done the walk in the opposite direction I had suggested that we extend the walk into the village of Hope. However, when we reached Losehill Farm everyone was feeling so tired we didn’t take the turning towards Hope, but followed the access road down to Spring House Farm. This was not actually the prescribed route which crosses a number of fields to Riding House Farm, but we were all so tired, including me, that we didn’t care. Turning right at Spring House Farm we followed the track past Losehill Hall eventually reaching Hollowford Road just after passing a Training & Conference Centre. Castleton was now just a short distance away where everyone headed for the nearest pub to take some much needed liquid refreshment. I had been talking about walking all the way back to our accommodation, at Bushy Heath Farm, on far side of Bradwell Moor, however this would have meant climbing Cave Dale again and in this heat I just didn’t have the energy.

On paper this was a easy walk for me, but during the afternoon the heat had got to unbearable levels and I had probably worn myself out by rushing up Back Tor. Despite the heat it was great to do this walk along the Great Ridge with a great bunch of guys. I have walked between Mam Tor and Lose Hill many times over the years having first done the ridge with my father while I was at University, and it was great to be back and enjoy the fabulous views in stunning weather with some of the men from my church. I hope we have the opportunity to do similar walks in the future.