Win Hill from Hope Village

Difficulty : EasyDuration : 3.5 HrsDistance : 9 Km

Full route description for this walk

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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