Edahat one

Verified Slow Way

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Walked from Hathersage to Edale on a cold winter day, foggy and hard frozen in the Hope valley but sunny and warm enough to make the mud slippery above the cloud inversions, and still sunny in the Edale valley. Almost a great route, but I have a couple of minor quibbles about plotting and route selection.

Leaving Hathersage station, we head down Station Road (pavement on right/west side), and take what seems to me a rather pointless detour using a field path that returns us to the road above the Derwent bridge. We cross the road and follow the riverside path right. Note that in Goose Nest Wood the path has been diverted a little up the hill for safety reasons and this involves a few steps (not the only ones on this route). The riverside path is pretty but can get muddy at times. Beyond the crossroads where the other path into Hathersage crosses stepping stones (best avoided when the river is high), a steep section of river bank forces us uphill, and this section is a little rough and involves more steps. As soon as we are back at river level we turn sharp left uphill on a farm track.

This track leads to a T junction of lanes where we turn right, following the good track most of the way into Shatton and taking a shortcut across fields (and stiles) to Shatton Lane. Here we turn right then left past the ford and up the hill. At the top of the first rise we take the field path left up more steps that follows the road, with more stiles, and leading onto a lane which also runs parallel to the road. Where the lane rejoins the road, the GPX suggests we turn right along a non-existent path along the right edge of the field. The actual route is as per the right of way line on the OS map, and goes straight on initially then right across the field to a stile. Here the route (which is barely a path) continues below a steep grass bank, and what would be the easiest line is hindered by the barbed wire fence on the right and is a little slippery when frozen. Lower down the path is better and clearer, but when reaching the road at Brough it is necessary to climb a slightly awkward stone stile. It would be easier and shorter just to stay on the farm track, which is also a right of way!

We turn left up Westfield Road then take the path right through the Roman fort site. Note that the footbridge beyond the fort is damaged, and a sign says that the footpath is closed, but there is no barrier to using the bridge so I ignored the sign. The path continues easily to emerge on Eccles Lane, where we go right down the hill and right again along Pindale Lane which leads us into the centre of Hope, where there are pubs and shops.

We cross the main road and go left a few meters and take the signposted path right, which leads past a housing estate and past the cement works railway to head up Lose Hill (two thirds of the way up I finally emerged from the mist into sunshine with glorious cloud inversions). The upper sections of the path are steeper and can be slippery when wet, particularly in descent. We take the contouring path left (a new experience for me, as I have always included the top of Lose Hill when using this path in the past), which leads through a small wood to rejoin the ridge path below Barker Bank, Here I lost concentration on navigation, and went off route, going straight down the far side below Back Tor. What I should have done is to follow the contouring path straight on below Barker Bank and crossed the ridge at Hollins Cross to take the path down from there, so strictly speaking I did not complete the route. In any case, it might be better to use the bridleway via Greenbank here to avoid the road walking at the end, and I might yet submit an alternative version that does this and avoids the other minor niggles.

All in all though, this is a fine walk with beautiful views, and one which almost deserves a five star review.

This route is for keen and experienced walkers due to the hill climbs, up Hollins Hill and back Tor, as a group we found this a challenge overall, particularly on leg muscles and breathing.
Also as we did this in October it was cold on the top, we would therefore advise layer's of clothing.
Enjoyable as a group with a reasonable level of fitness, age and stamina.
After Back Tor the walk is very enjoyable and mainly on grass paths or level gravel, so easier to navigate.
we would walk it again and felt it is safe is you have a reasonable level of fitness, age and stamina. There are access issues so we would not recommend for wheelchair or pushchair users.

Nothing to add to previous detailed reviews other than to say it is a beautiful and varied walk. I also accessed it by train from Hathersage to Edale and walked back.

This a great walk with a mixture of hill and lowland walking. We fully agree with the previous reviews description of the walk and have little to add. We have included a number of photos to illustrate the nature of the paths, terrain and obstacles, we counted over 50 stiles or gates. We travelled to Edale by train which takes about 10 min and goes usually on the hour.

Excellent and varied route with great views, just over 10 miles / 16 km and involving 1150 feet / 350 metres ascent - so a substantial day's walk. Starts from Edale - NB that the car parks are very popular and fill up early, so you may need to use one of the overspill car parks that some local farmers open up (or get the train to Edale Station of course). There's a short section of road walking until you get to the turn-off up to Hollins Cross - uphill, steep in places, but a very clear and straightforward path. Then there's a busy section along the 'Great Ridge' (Mam Tor - Hollins Cross - Lose Hill) before our route takes us contouring to the right of Lose Hill but still with great views southwards into the Hope Valley and across to Hope and Castleton. Mostly wicket gates on this section, and easy well graded grass or gravel path, quite wide, after the first rough and heavily used rocky path which is currently being resurfaced with stone slabs. (If you decide to stay on the main ridge walk to Lose Hill, be aware this is one of the busiest routes in the Peak District and there are always lots of walkers here. There are spectacular 360-degree views from the top of Lose Hill though.) Then the route takes us down a mainly grassy path on a delightful route into Hope. There are pubs, cafes and a couple of food shops if you want to break your walk here. The main Hathersage - Castleton road here is busy but there are obvious crossing points, before we take a minor road away from the traffic past the church and a pinfold, slightly uphill, then turn left onto a grassy track. This takes us first to Brough (and a very short section of pavement before crossing the road and picking up the path again), and then to Shatton. From here the proposed route follows tracks parallel to and above the river and some hundreds of yards from it. Apart from in bad weather though when the ground can get muddy, the route alongside the river (clearly marked and frequently used) is more picturesque and in my and our friends' view much to be preferred. The path emerges onto the Hathersage to Grindleford road a couple of hundred yards from the Plough, one of the nicest (and most popular) pubs in the area. We chose this time to stop there, but the proposed route takes a series of minor paths from near the Plough into Hathersage, where there are several more pubs and a number of cafes and tea rooms. The latter section of the walk from Hope onwards is undulating but much lower and more sheltered than the first section via Hollins Cross to Hope, but there are good views all the way of the north side of the Hope Valley and some of the edges, notably Bamford Edge and Stanage, with Millstone Edge and others visible further to the right.

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