Bamford, Shatton, Bradwell, and Castleton

I caught the bus to Bamford Railway Station, the location I finished my walk on Friday. I crossed the road and walked down the lane to Shatton and then took a path that goes at the back of the village 

The next path goes right alongside the unclassified road that goes to Brough. It's obviously not a busy road but it would be quite dangerous if I'd encountered any traffic; it's a narrow sunken lane with steep embankments either side and poor visibility.

Fortunately I didn't have to deal with these horses; I would have been quite apprehensive being in such close contact with the animals.

I climbed up to Elmore Hill Farm and then dropped down into Bradwell. 

I then headed west and called at the quarry viewing platform before continuing across Old Moor to the top of  Winnats Pass.

I finished the walk by going down Winnats Pass into Castleton.

I've never seen it so busy in this area: hundreds of people were climbing up to the summit of Mam Tor and then walking along the Great Ridge, naturally hundreds of cars were also parked on all the approach roads and traffic jams were forming both uphill and downhill  through the pass. 

When I reached Castleton there were two small groups of loud drunken women and a lot of people seemed to be visiting with their dogs.

Hathersage, Bamford, Shatton, and Offerton

I got off the bus in the centre of Hathersage and walked to the western edge of the village to take a path heading north for just over a mile. I then turned to the left and walked down Hurstclough Lane, an ancient sunken lane.

I took the footpath that cuts across Sickleholme Golf Course, and then the road going down to Bamford Station. I crossed the main Hope Valley trunk road and continued up the lane towards Shatton, but only briefly entered the village. 

The route to the hamlet of Offerton was gently uphill along a broad track and then I passed through a variety of terrain to reach Leadmill Bridge and the path across the field back to Hathersage. Part of the route beyond Offerton is a narrow metalled road and along there two separate Landrover safaris passed me - they would have had some difficult driving ahead of them though.

I was only tortured by the smell of fish and chips for ten minutes as I waited for my bus in the village.

Bamford, Thornhill, Aston, and Hope

I got off the bus at Bamford Railway Station and walked down the road for a few minutes until I reached a footpath just beyond Hope Valley Garden Centre which took me under the railway bridge and on towards Thornhill.

The bus to Bamford kept good time despite what seemed to be an entire junior school, both the pupils and their teachers, boarding on Ecclesall Road and getting off at Hathersage...they also got on the same bus as I was travelling on, on the return journey.

I left Thornhill by the Aston road, but after not very far there was a footpath in the fields either side of the lane, running parallel to the road. I took the one to the left hoping for better views; none of my photographs was any good though. It's good that these footpaths are here because in sections the road is a dangerous 'sunken lane' or 'hollow-way or holloway' - there's nowhere to get out of the way of passing traffic. I needed to walk along this short stretch...fortunately the road isn't very busy.

The footpath leading up towards Win Hill began right next to the garden of first house I approached in Aston. This was one of the few paths in the Hope Valley that I haven't previously walked along. 

I didn't quite climb all the way to the summit of Win Hill; I skirted the eastern and northern flanks, but the summit was always clearly in sight.

I descended to Hope taking  the steep grassy slope down to Twitchill Farm.

I didn't visit the tea rooms, although if I'd known the bus would be twenty minutes late there would have been enough time for a pot of tea and some cake.

Finally, more photographs of wildflowers and tree blossom that I took on the walk; I'm hoping I haven't misidentified anything.

Red Campion

Cow Parsley

Hawthorn Blossom

Vetch

Bluebell - it's getting towards the end of the bluebell flowering season now

Gorse - there's an old English country saying that states that 'the only time that gorse doesn't flower is when kissing goes out of fashion'...gorse flowers during every month of the year in England.