Episode 9 of the Peak Routes Podcast features a walk in some excellent wintery conditions. I headed to Win Hill & Hope Cross in the Snow, it was a stunning day and I had great fun creating lots of media to share. I started at the Yorkshire Bridge Inn at Ladybower in the Peak District. I then head up to the top of a windswept Win Hill and through the snow drifts to Hope Cross. I then forge may way down through the forest and back along the banks of the Ladybower reservoir.
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A walk starting at the Yorkshire Bridge Inn at Ladybower in the Peak District.I head up to the top of a windswept Win Hill and then through the snow drifts to Hope Cross. I then forge may way down through the forest and back along the banks of the Ladybower reservoir. View the blog post for this walk at Peak District – Win Hill & Hope Cross in the Snow.
Today’s walk was to be a relatively short one, I had limited time and I knew that my progress would be slowed slightly by the snow, the starting point was to be the Yorkshire Bridge Inn at Ladybower and thankfully the roads leading here were open today too. We have had a pretty heavy amount of snow in the last few days which has made a lot of roads impassable and many of the roads I used today were closed until 7am. Thankfully I managed to make it to the parking spot, getting kitted up and then get on my way without any problems.
Parkin Clough
Parkin Clough
The weather was stunning this morning, a very mixed bag with broken clouds and the odd snow shower. I made my way from the Yorkshire Bridge Inn towards Ladybower and then took the path along the dam wall. The path here had obviously seen a lot of traffic in the last few days as the snow was rather compact and it had turned pretty icy. Thankfully the fresh snow awaited me once I had crossed the dam wall and took the path that leads up Jaggers Clough. The last time I came this way was when I had Wild Camped at Wooler Knoll, walked down to meet my mate Andy at the pub and then walked back up and over to Alport Dale.
Parkin Clough
Parkin Clough Sign
The climb up through the forest at Jaggers Clough is sharp but thankfully rather short, I’m a sucker for a pine forest and it was looking nice today under a blanket of snow. The path was icy in places but nothing that would have required my crampons, the time passed quickly as I was concentrating on my footing and I reached the cross roads in what seemed like no time at all. From here it started to snow once again, I must have been the first person to come this way today as I had to cut a fresh through the artic landscape as I headed towards the tree line. The wind became much stronger as I reached the eastern flanks of Win Hill Pike to the point where huge snow drifts had formed, thankfully they were pretty manageable at this point so didn’t cause any problems.
Parkin Clough – Win Hill Plantation
Win Hill Plantation
The views from the top of Win Hill Pike were changing every 30 seconds or so, the snow was coming and going the every so often I would get a break in clouds. I don’t have a device that can measure wind speed or wind chill but it was pretty darn windy and cold up there today. I only stayed for a short while as the weather upped its game once again, the wind was whipping up the snow and the clouds were dropping a fresh covering. I headed off to continue my journey and noticed that the western edge of Win Hill Pike had turned in to one massive snow drift. The snow must have been 4-6 feet deep in places so I made sure that I stayed well clear once I had taken the a few images ☺
Win Hill Pike
Win Hill Pike
Win Hill Pike
Win Hill Pike – Trig Point
Win Hill Pike
Win Hill Pike
Win Hill Pike
As I made my way in a westerly direction I crossed sections of ice, drifts and patches where there was no sign of winter at all. The wind was whipping and swirling the snow in all directions until I eventually reached the relative cover of the Woodlands Valley Plantation. The snow at this point was around 2 feet deep, it was more suited to snow shoes today and I could picture Ray Mears in my mind as I forged my way towards Hope Cross.
Vale of Edale
Vale of Edale
Vale of Edale
Snow Drifts near Wooler Knoll
Walking near Hope Cross
The views from Hope Cross down the Vale of Edale were stunning once the snow had stopped and the cloud had broken. The sun came out to illuminate a spectacular winter wonderland and I decided that it would be the perfect time to have a spot of lunch.
Hope Cross
Hope Cross
While I was having lunch I met another couple of walkers who we from Norwich, they were staying at the Edale YHA and getting out everyday to enjoy the snowy conditions. They were the only people who I had seen so at that point and they seemed like really nice people. I spoke to them about ShareYourAdventure.com and also gave them one of the business cards that the creator Phil Sorrell supplied me with. I forgot to tell them about PeakRoutes.com though 🙂
Ladybower – Woodlands Valley
Ladybower – Woodlands Valley
After lunch I took the path from Hope Cross that heads down in to the forest, I had decided to take this route as I’d not walked this way before. On previous occasions I have headed along the roman road towards Alport and then picked up the path back to Ladybower. As my mission is to walk as many new routes in the Peak as possible I saw it as an opportunity to tick off another path.
The going was good through the forest although the path was rather tricky to follow in places due to the snow. When I came out on a freshly logged clearing I decided to ditch the path and head off piste straight down. The views along Ladybower from this angle are stunning.
Ladybower & Crook Hill
Ladybower
Ladybower
The route that runs along the southern edge of Ladybower is usually very easy, it follows a forestry track so the path is smooth and pleasant under foot. Today however the snow was around 1-2 feet deep as the accumulations hadn’t been whipped in to drifts like they had on higher ground. I pushed on through the snow while listening to the Bletchley Park Podcast.
Ladybower Sheep
I eventually made it to the point where the path swings towards the south and heads towards the dam wall. This section of path was very icy in places and I paused on a patch of snow to let a stampeding flock of sheep pass bye. I was in a world of my own gazing at views up towards Bamford Edge and I reached the road in not time at all. Al that was left then was to walk the final hundred or so metres back towards the Yorkshire Bridge Inn where my car awaited.
Ladybower & Bamford Edge
Thanks for stopping bye to read, view and listen to my exploits today. The YouTube video in this post was recorded and edited using my iPhone. A podcast version of this route will be available very soon on the Podcast page of the site, it will also be available from iTunes and many other podcast arching services via FeedBurner. Stay tuned.
I’m having a great run at the moment it seems when it comes to walking weather, I had checked the advanced forecast and selected Thursday the 13th of December to have a wander this week. When the day finally arrived I still hadn’t chosen where I was going to walk, I quickly checked my Dark Peak Combi Map on ShareYourAdventure.com and had a look what gaps need filling in. I decided to go for a walk I have done before but I haven’t tracked it while Social Hiking. I got all my cold weather gear ready, set up my map on ShareYourAdventure.com, loaded the car, made coffee and off I went.
A frosty start in Edale
When I arrived in Edale I was met by a beautiful winter scene, hoar frost, valley fog, and the sun piercing through the clouds into the valley. I managed to grab a parking space next to the school, put my boots on and then went over to the Old Nag’s Head to film a snippet of video for a short film I had planned to make during my walk today.
I had been planning on making this short movie for some time, one of those projects that I dream up in my head while at work and then take a while to get around to actually doing. sadly, a lot of my projects are still on the “to do” list but this one has made it through to completion 🙂
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The views were stunning down in to the Vale of Edale as I climbed up towards Ringing Roger. The cloud was slowly dispersing and the sun was peeping out from behind Mam Tor to fill the valley with light.
Vale of Edale
Kinder Scout – Grindsbrook
Moors for the Future – Workers Tools
I spotted a couple of guys who were working on the footpath on behalf of Moors For The Future. They have been doing some great conservation work over the last few years, not only have they been building or repairing paths, they have been planting various things to help keep the moors in good condition. You can really see how the vegetation they have planted is taking hold and protecting the bare peat.
Ringing Roger on Kinder Scout
Moors for the Future – Bags of Rocks
Moors for the Future path work on Kinder Scout
Ringing Roger on Kinder Scout
The final part of the video was filmed up on Ringing Roger itself, I had envisaged myself looking out over a valley at the crescendo of the movie and this was a great spot to choose. The views from Ringing Roger are stunning as you look down to Edale and up Grindsbrook. The cloud was lingering at around 600 metres today so I had to go for a slightly higher shooting angle. The video itself was only really ever supposed to be a bit of fun, i’m hoping that a few more serious walking route videos will follow soon.
Kinder Scout Upper Tor
These 2 Bambuser Videos were being broadcast live while I was stood up there on Ringing Roger. The first one ends abruptly as I received a phone call, the second one ends after 9 minutes as my phone decided to switch off :-).
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As I walked across towards Crookstone Knoll I witnessed a fantastic sight when looking down towards Hope Valley. The fog was rolling up the valley, it looked stunning as it was framed by Win Hill and Lose Hill. I recorded the AudioBoo above while I was stood there totally amazed 🙂
Looking down Jaggers Clough
Crookstone Moor
Crookstone Moor – PeakRoutes Logo Sign
I always like visiting Crookstone Moor, The sign post there has got to be one of my favourites now. I have kind of adopted it as the logo for PeakRoutes which means I look at it a lot now days, Its always nice to physically go back there and see it in person.
Roman Road to Hope Cross
Great Ridge looking from Bridleway near Hope Cross
I’m not sure which farm owns the land up here but they really do not want you to stray off the path. They have done everything than can to keep you “Off My Land” here. The Bridleway down to Edale and the Old Roman Road down to Hope is rather hemmed in.
Looking up Jaggers Clough
Jaggers Clough River Crossing
Jaggers Clough Bridleway
Win Hill and the Vale of Edale
Lose Hill looking frosty
By this part of my walk the skies were totally clear and the sun was streaming down in to the valley, Lose Hill looked impressive with its icy northern flanks and I even snapped one of the many trains running through the valley.
Bridleway from Hope Cross to Edale
It had been a great walk again today, infact every walk in the Peak District is great regardless of the weather. I would go out if it was chucking it down, I need to get my walking fix or all is not well with the world 🙂
Grindslow Knoll & Grindsbrook from Edale
I finished off the day by going for a pint of 1577 at the Old Nag’s Head. It was lovely and warm in there which felt very welcoming after being out in the sub zero temperatures all day. I got chatting with the lady behind the bar about history and she very kindly fetched a book for me to read. It was her copy of the History of Edale and it had a great wealth of information to soak in about the area. I have added it to my list of reading material to locate in the library the next time I go.
Edale – Old Nag’s Head
I headed back to the car after I had finished reading and drinking. I scraped the ice from the windows and then begun to drive home. I spotted a chap who was trying to thumb a lift at the entrance to the main car park in the village. I thought.. what the heck, i’ll give him a lift. I’ve never picked up a hitchhiker before and he turned out to be a thoroughly nice chap. He was a fell runner who had been out on Kinder researching routes for an upcoming fell race in January. I gave him a lift to Hathersage and we chatted about running, the Peak, the Lakes, Scotland and Snowdonia.
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I’m hoping to be out again towards the end of next week, I shall bring you another bucket load of images, video and audio for you to sample. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read, watch, listen or just look 🙂
Peak District Routes 