Yorkshire Bridge, Thornhill, Hope, and Castleton

The train journey to Sheffield was fine, but the bus journey out to the Peak District certainly wasn't. It began with an argument with the bus driver who claimed that my disabled person's travel pass wasn't valid for travel until 09:30. I've been using it for sixteen years, so I know it is; passes for disabled people are enhanced in South Yorkshire. I was going to read to him the exact eligibilty criteria from a leaflet that I always keep in my wallet but he wasn't interested. I told I'm going to get on the bus and if he thinks I'm commiting a crime to go ahead and call the police. He didn't though of course. Interestingly as the journey progressed he refused to let on several children using passes...he obvious didn't know what he was doing.

The journey got worse though; I'd forgotten that the A57 road at Rivelin is closed and traffic going towards Manchester has to go on a diversion partially along the Hope Valley. This caused long traffic delays, and the two sets of roadworks made them even longer. 

I got off the bus at Yorkshirte Bridge and walked down to the River Derwent and then join the Thornhill Trail. The light was good for photographing the carved wooden animals along the Trail.

I reached Thornhill and then headed west across the fields to Hope.

I took the easy path from Hope to Castleton, walking alongside the River Noe. The bus station at Castleton has been recently modernised, but there aren't any timetables yet so I didn't know when the next bus was due (I can't get the internet on my mobile phone) and so I had to just sit and wait...for 45 minutes.

Ladybower Inn, Thornhill, Brough, and Hope

I caught the first available bus going out to the Peak District from Sheffield this morning and travelled to the Ladybower Inn.  I started by walking along the road and across the viaduct.

I continued down a quite steep path, another short stretch of paved road and then I climbed up to the Thornhill Trail. Along the trail there is a series of wooden carvings of wild animals that no longer live in this part of the country.

When I reached Thornhill I searched for, and found, a short section of footpath I'd not previously used...and there was another just a bit further on at Brough. The first path leads down to the main Hope Valley road, which I needed to walk along for a few hundred yards and then take the footpath across the fields to Hope, where I had enough time to pop in to The Old Hall Tearooms for a pot of tea and a sausage roll.

Ladybower Inn, Fairholmes, Bamford, and Hathersage

I caught the bus from Sheffield to the Ladybower Inn and immediately crossed over the road to reach the footpath that goes behind the pub, heading up onto the moors. After a short distance I took a lower level path that I'd probably not used before and so didn't get up too high, just high enough to enjoy the views of the reservoir.

It wasn't long though until I started the real climb up through the woods at the back of the houses at Ashopton going towards  Whinstone Lee Tor  and then briefly walking along Derwent Edge.

I came back down to the track which runs alongside the eastern shore of Ladybower Reservoir and continued heading north for the Derwent Dam and Fairholmes Visitor Centre.

Although there aren't any in the photograph below, there were a lot of daffodils in bloom down in he bottom of the valley; entire fields of them in places.

My direction was still heading north as I walked along the other bank, the western bank, of Derwent Reservoir, the next reservoir up the valley. I  made my way up through the pine forest, now walking southwards towards Lockerbrook Outdoor Centre. A couple of hundred yards beyond there I turned left, and then left again, going down Hagg Side to reach the western bank of Ladybower Reservoir this time, with good views [when there were no trees in the way] of where I'd been walking a few hours earlier.

I crossed over Ashopton Viaduct and used the road to get to the Thornhill Trail, which I followed all the way to the bus stop at Bamford Station. There was forty five minutes until the next bus was due and so I walked the extra mile and a half to Hathersage.

Today's route, twelve miles:

Fairholmes, Shatton, and Brough

After a quick visit to the toilets and the information centre at Fairholmes I set off walking back down the track along the water's edge until I reached the footpath going uphill through the woods in the direction of the twin peaks of Crook Hill.

It was a bit murky at the start of the walk but then brightened up for a couple of hours before turning quite dark again.

I've not climbed the two summits of Crook Hill before and it was easy enough for me to do today. I found a nice sheltered spot to eat my sandwiches and enjoy the view at the top, but there wasn't much wind today...even up here.

I walked down to the road, passed over Ashopton Viaduct and then soon picked up the Thornhill Trail along the old railway track bed. The farmer at Crookhill Farm was making a lot of noise rounding up his sheep as I passed, swearing at them, slamming gates shut, barking orders to his dog and whacking everything he could reach with his shepherd's crook....I kept a safe distance behind.

I took a bit of time, and about a dozen attempts to get the perfect classic low level Labybower Reservoir photograph featuring Ashopton Viaduct, the houses bathed in sunlight and the twin peaks of Crook Hill in the distance.

Of course there were some lovely views along the stretch I'd just walked, less so the next section heading westwards through Shatton to Brough. I arrived at the Travellers' Rest pub with plenty of time for a cup of tea, which was expensive, and my stool uncomfortable...but at least I was sitting right next to the crackling log fire.