The weather looked promising, I felt full of energy, my batteries (iPhone & Body) were charged & I had been planning this particular route in my head for months. Nothing too strenuous but it does take in some of the Peak Districts greatest sights. The start/end point for this little wander is at Ashopton Viaduct at Ladybower and the first port of call is Crook Hill, It’s a simple little walk up from the banks of Ladybower via Crook Hill Farm. You then join the path across Bridge-End Pasture which heads via a bridleway to Lockerbrook Heights.
The next part of the walk is fantastic, the route over Rowlee Pasture to the tops above Alport Dale. There are plenty of great wildcamping spots along here so I will definitely be returning with my tent at some point in the not too distant future. You then make your way along the eastern edge of Alport Dale where you come to a great view-point at SK142917 (Lat 53.42086, Long -1.78898), you can look back southward to the Alport Castle Rocks and you also have fantastic view of Kinder Scout and Win Hill in the distance. It was at this point where I decided to take a short break and eat some lunch while enjoying the view.
The next part of the walk takes you north-east and back down to Howden Reservoir. Today the heather was a magnificent shade of purple as far as the eye could see, the Grouse were running around and I hadn’t seen a soul in hours. It felt great to get up in the moors and to be away from “Civilisation”, it still amazes me that even in a small place like the Peak District you can walk for hours and not encounter another human.
The drop down to Howden through the forest is another nice part of this route, I even spotted some deer in the depths of the Pine Trees but sadly didn’t get my camera out in time before they had disappeared from view. Once you are back down to the road it is a short 30minute walk until you reach the slippery stones at Howden Bridge. This seems to be a very popular spot with cyclists who have rented bikes down at Derwent cycle hire shop. It is the very top of the 3 Reservoirs so this is the point where the main cycle track turns back and you can carry on along the opposite side of the water. I however, headed eastwards and up the footpath towards Margery Hill.
The climb out of the valley and up to Margery Hill is a nice and gentle experience, there is one part early on where you climb steeply and it Zig Zags a little but it is reassuringly short. The views once again at this point are fantastic. Northwards you have the vast expanse of moorland towards Howden Moors and Midhope Moors, then southwards along to Derwent Edge which looks fantastic from this point. As you reach the top of the climb you can see down to Sheffield in the east and up towards Leeds in the North East. On a clear day like today you can see for miles.
Margery Hill was my second rest stop where I had some more food and relaxed for a short while, it was rather windy today but the sunshine was beaming down so it was nice to relax for a while at the summit trig/cairn. The next point of call is Featherbed Moss and it was after this point where the route gets a little tricky. There is no distinct route over to Back Tor, the hills drop down between Featherbed Moss and Back Tor so you can choose your own route. As it had already been a long day I choose to head towards the east and try not to loose too much elevation. You can alternatively just got straight for it and head down the steep banks to Abbey Brook and then slog back up the hill. I chose the slightly longer but less thigh thrashing option and went off piste across the moors.
Once at Back Tor the route is very simple, Straight along Derwent Edge to Dovestone Tor via the fantastic rock formations at The Cakes of Bread and then its only a short walk to White Tor before the descent begins. I took the opportunity to take a panoramic shot of LadyBower near Whinstone Lee Tor at
53.38089, -1.70547 as this has got to be one of the best view points in the Peak District in my opinion. If you don’t fancy doing the huge route you could always walk up from Ashopton Viaduct as its only takes around 30minutes.
From Whinestone Lee Tor I headed down hill and passed what must have been a group of around 50 Japanese Tourists heading up to the view-point that I had just left, it must be very popular with tour companies but i’m not overly sure where they had parked their fleet of busses of vehicles. After a nice stroll down the hill through the forest I was back down at the at Ashopton Viaduct. It had been another fantastic day out in the Peak District Hills and this has got to be one of my favourite routes. It has everything one would need from a good walk. Some nice accent (around 1,400m), plenty of fantastic views and more than a few spots where you can experience a feeling of isolation or wilderness. In a few weeks time I will be back to plot out a slightly smaller route which will take in a few of the same spots..... You can now find the route in question here....
Peak District - Ladybower Loop - Small Version
