| The trek starts in the Dark Peak village of Hope.
Hope is a very old settlement, in fact the villages
church and priest were mentioned in the 1086 Doomesday
survey. The village is situated in the centre of the
Hope Valley that carries the waters of the River Noe.
Its neighbouring village of Castleton with a much larger
number of drinking holes and tourist shops takes the
brunt of the tourist attack of the summer months making
Hope just slightly more peaceful. There is a main pay
and display car park in the village with average prices.
River Noe
|
Railway Bridge
|
From the village centre the Edale Road heads off north
towards the Edale Valley. Follow the Edale Road for
around 400 metres until you see a road that leads of
to the right. This road will lead you to Killhill Bridge
as it crosse the River Noe. Pass a building on the right,
then when you see the cemetery turn right past the front
of it and pass the entrance. Go through the Hope Valley
Railway bridge and follow the path as it bends off to
the right, after half a kilometre and passing Farfield
Farm you will reach a minor road. Turn left along the
minor road heading uphill. After a bend to the right
a steep road appears on the left, sometimes signposted
Win Hill, take this road as it heads uphill past King's
Haigh and eventually reaching Edge Farm.
Ascent Path
|
Winhill Pike
|
At Edge Farm turn left and head through the gate onto
the track that hugs the small wood to the left side.
You'll pass an old derelict farm building before the
track turns muddy and steep. It will then eventually
flatten out again as it reaches the point where the
paths cross above Twitchill Farm. From here looking
right you will see a stile at the top of this small
field, head uphill and over the stile as it leads out
onto the heather moorland. The rough path now heads
quite steeply up the shoulder of Win Hill. After a while
the summit of Winhill Pike will come into view and the
path will flatten out onto the top of the ridge. The
path will reach the ridge track and a short walk east
will now take you to the foot of Winhill Pike where
a path goes round the easy way to the right or fun can
be had on the small scramble up the west side of the
pike, both ways reaching the summits trig point and
Win Hill's highest point at 462M/1518FT.
Ladybower Reservoir
|
Cement Works
|
The views from Win Hill are excellent. To the west
you have the Snake Pass road passing the west shores
of Ladybower Reservoir as it then climbs and snakes
its way through the gap between the obvious flat but
lofty plateaus of Kinder and Bleaklow. To the north
is the Derwent Edge hanging over Ladybower and the other
reservoirs of the Upper Derwent Valley, the rocky outcrops
on Derwent Edge and the Wheel Stones are easily identified
on the skyline. To the east the prehistoric gritstone
edges of Bamford Edge and the more impressive and lengthy
Stanage Edge in the distance. To the south in the distance
is the White Peak, the views are spoilt somewhat by
the huge ugly cement works that scar the landscape above
Hope. Turning to the south west will however remind
you of the beauty this area possesses in the Great Ridge
that stretches from Mam Tor to Lose Hill that line the
south side of the tranquil Edale Valley.
Win Hill and Lose Hill across the valley are said to
have been named after an ancient Saxon battle. The battle
took place in 626. Rivals King Edwin of Northumbria
and King Cuicholm of Wessex took there forces to the
hills, Edwin on what is now known as Win Hill and Cuicholm
on what is now known as Lose Hill. When battle commenced
Cuicholm's greater numbers were too over powering for
Edwin and Edwin ordered his troops to retreat. Sensing
victory Cuicholm's men surged forwards, only to be crushed
by boulders sent down the hill by Edwins men. The hill
that Edwins men fought from therefore known as Win Hill
and hill that Cuicholm's men who lost the battle chose
is now known as Lose Hill.
Winhill Pike
|
Descending Win Hill
|
Head from the summit in an easterly direction going
back on yourself along the ridge track. Head east for
a mile along the top of the ridge on the obvious track
through the heather moorland until you reach the forestry
plantation. Go through the gate on the right that enters
the forest then after about 20 metres turn left and
head directly west into the depth of the forest until
you reach a bizarre and huge mound of grass. This is
the strange bump of Wooler Knoll at 382M/1253FT a mysterious
looking hill of very bumpy and thick grass. The hill
does look odd sat as it does but this is really quite
misleading as it only looks odd because it is completely
surrounded by huge planted forestry trees, you can imagine
that before we planted the forest it was just a small
nobble on the ridge like many others seen in the area.
Follow your footsteps back to the path and through the
gate back on to the ridge track.
Woller Knoll
|
Lose Hill
|
The track crossing here goes left or east back to Win
Hill or right or west to the ancient guide post of Hope
Cross. A path does however go straight ahead in a southern
direction and heads downhill through the fields. The
path is steep but obvious and will eventually meet the
track that runs almost parallel lower on the hill. Continue
left along the track as it turns more into a minor road
with hedgerows eventually reaching Fullwood Stile Farm.
The footpath heads out of the other side of the farm
and the farmer has excellent signs throughout to lead
you safely and thoughtfully through the farm onto the
fields at the other side. Cross the field now heading
towards Hope until you reach The Homestead then follow
the minor road from there under the railway and back
past the cemetery and over Killhill Bridge into Hope.
|
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Duration
: 3.5 Hrs
