The Edge of the White and Dark Peak

The Hope Valley is an east - west route through the Peak District. It links Sheffield with Chapel-en-le-Frith. The road passes through some of the Peak Districts best scenery and through several attractive villages. You first pass the Fox House, Longshaw estate and the Burbage valley. The car park at Surprise view gives easy access to the Moorland above Hathersage. From Hathersage itself, you enter the Hope Valley to reach Castleton via the eponymous Hope. Castleton is a visitor hot-spot since it is the centre of the Blue John industry. Here, you have several caverns to visit. The original main road has been destroyed by a landslip, your exit to the Hope Valley is via the steep and narrow road through Winnatts Pass. From Winnatts, you drop gently down to Chapel which gives access to New Mills, Stockport and Manchester.

Hope Valley - Dividing the Two Peaks

The Hope Valley in the Peak District marks the dividing line between the White Peak and the Dark Peak. The White Peak is so called because the geology is based on limestone which gives the rock outcrops a whitish grey appearance. The Dark peak geology is that of the hard sandstone known as gritstone which is a much darker rock. The local stone houses reflect the underlying geology. They have warm brown colours where the gritstone has been used and grey where limestone was the building material. If you park by the Blue John mine at the top of the old road, you can take in the size of the Hope Valley in one grand vista. The valley is a broad 'U' shape and extensively farmed. The main towns are Castleton and Hope.

The rocks of the White Peak are older than those of the Dark Peak. When you visit the southern side of Hope Valley, the rocks you are walking over are limestone. These were laid down in a shallow, warm sea. When you visit the north side of the valley, the rocks under your feet were laid down in a large river delta. This represents the silting up of the warm sea as mountains to the north were eroded.



The Village of Hope

Hope gives its name to the whole valley. It lies half way along, at the confluence of the River Noe and Peakshole Water. The skyline of Hope is dominated by the cement works. It  is a popular place with tourists as it has a nice church, tea shops, souvenir shops and outdoor shops. It is also a popular place to start several walks and bike rides, especially to Win Hill and along the floor of the Hope Valley.

Image: Hope, the village giving Hope Valley its name.

The Great Ridge

On the left, as you look down the valley from the remnants of the old road, stands the only real ridge of the Peak District, running from Mam Tor to Lose Hill. OK, there are Chrome and Parkhouse hills but they are on a much smaller scale. This ridge gives a very popular walk, easily accessible and so has worn badly. In response to this, the Peak District National Park authority have paved a lot of it, nevertheless, it is still a worthwhile outing. Even if you go no further than the summit of Mam Tor, with its hill fort, you experience extensive views in all directions. To the north, the brooding mass of Kinder Scout, to the west, the moorlands of the High Peak, to the east the Hope valley and to the south the limestone plateau of the White Peak.

Image: The ridge from Mam Tor on the north side of the Hope Valley.

The ridge from Mam Tor on the north side of the Hope Valley.

Hope Valley Riches

The riches come from the mining of Blue John. The village of Castleton lies at the head of the Hope Valley. Peveril Castle stands high above the town, perched on the limestone plateau above the Devil's Arse. It dates back to Norman times and is ruined. The Devil's Arse is actually a cavern, close to Castleton. It has a massive entrance which was large enough for ropemaking to take place.

The area is well known for the mining of Blue John, a mineral that is unique to the Peak District. The mines are now show caves, although some Blue John is still mined. It is a semi-precious stone that is used in jewellery making. Larger pieces of the mineral have been carved into larger objects such as bowls and vases. Some of these are extremely valuable.

The Landslide

The hill at the head of Hope Valley is Mam Tor. This has the local nickname of the shivering mountain. The reason for that is that has quite a number of shale beds outcropping on the eastern flank. This makes the face on that side unstable. The whole of this face is gradually slipping downwards under the inexorable pull of gravity, into the Hope Valley below.

The main road was constructed on this face of Mam Tor, however, the land is constantly in slow but continued movement. It needed repairing every few years. The authorities finally gave up on it in the late 1970s and decided to let it slide into oblivion as it was impossible to prevent it without spending a small fortune. For the amount of traffic it just wasn't worth doing. Shale is a friable rock which is poorly consolidated, so before the days of tarmac, it was easy to maintain as you just needed to do a bit of digging to sort out the parts that has slipped away. With a tarmac road, it's a whole different ballgame ...

At the bottom end of the old road, just before you come to the part that is no longer passable, you can see the remains of the Odin mine. Don't be fooled, the cave that you see is not the mine. We say stay out of the mine and caves unless you are with a specialist guide (or are an experienced caver of course), the inside of the cave is like being in a giant's throat, but with mud instead of saliva! It's horrible, it's slippery and it's filthy.

The Alternative Route out of Hope Valley

I remember my Dad taking us to Castleton in the 1960s. Instead of using the main road beneath Mam Tor, The Shivering Mountain, we went up Winnatts Pass instead. At the time it was a narrow minor road and much more exciting than the main road. To a youngster, the sides of Winnatts Pass seemed Alpine in scale! Following the decision to let the original road do what it wanted, Winnatts Pass was then resurfaced and widened. OK, it is still a tad narrow but it is well maintained and allows you to drive out of the top end of the Hope Valley.

Image: view of Peak District attraction Speedwell Cavern at the foot of Winnatts Pass.

Speedwell Cavern Car Park at the foot of Winnatts Pass.

Geologically the area is very interesting and important. It is one of those rare places where you can find the rocks and reefs of an ancient sea bed preserved more or less as it was when it was under the sea. The reason Winnatts Pass is stable is because it is on limestone which gives a solid base. The pass itself is thought to have been carved out at the time the limestone was deposited rather than by more recent erosional activity. Please see the geology section of this site for more information.

Picturesque Railway Line

There is a stretch of railway line running through the valley. It is part of the Sheffield to Manchester route. The line pops out of the Totley Tunnel at Grindleford, then curves round through the Edale valley before going through the Cowburn tunnel after Edale.

The Romans

The Romans have left their mark on the Hope Valley area. About a mile away from Hope itself lies the earthworks of their fort, Navio. This is sited at Brough and is thought to be a base used to protect Roman lead mining interests in the Peak District.

Walks in the Hope Valley.

There are long walks and short strolls to be had from both Hope and Castleton. From Castleton, you can take a stroll up and back down Cavedale (in wet conditions the rocks can be quite slippery) below Peveril Castle. Please note that there are some road sections which will be very busy with traffic at Peak times. Also there is rough ground to cover so bear in mind the mobility of your party.

The Cavedale walk can be extended to make a complete circuit that comes back down the old Mam Tor road or even over the summit of Mam Tor and back down to Castleton via Hollins Cross. Or head up to Hollins Cross from Castleton and wander along the ridge between the Hope Valley and the Edale Valley enjoying the extensive views over the Derbyshire countryside.

From Hope you can trundle along to Navio and back along country lanes. Or head up to Hope Cross and back via the western slopes of Win Hill.

Hope Valley Walking Guides

Walks North Peak District: Including Castleton, Edale and the Upper Derwent Valley (Hallewell Pocket Walking Guides): Including Casteton, Edale and the Upper Derwent Valley

Walks Around Castleton (Dalesman Walks Around)

Family Walks Around Bakewell and Castleton (Family Walks S.)

Walkers Map Central Peak District

Mountain Biking

I reckon the mountain biking around the Hope Valley is almost as good as it is round New Mills and that area. OK, it crosses into the Edale valley and the Derwent Valley but there are plenty of bridleways to ride. Please be aware that the wide path along the top of the Mam Tor ridge only legal to ride in a few places. Rushup Edge is a bridleway and there is an interesting circuit that loops round to descend Jacob's Ladder into Edale. Please use the bridleway and not the footpath of Jacob's Ladder.

Dark Peak Mountain Biking Guides

Peak District Mountain Biking: Dark Peak Trails

Mountain Bike Guide Derbyshire & the Peak District 2009

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