Hope to Castleton

The Peak District National Park in Derbyshire holds many great photographic treats from the bleak flats of Kinder Scout to the craggy terrain at Alport Castles. It has cloughs, peaks, dales and forest plantations. All easily accessible from often free car parks. One of my favourite walks is a round walk starting from Hope which entails the high viewpoints from Mam Tor and the picturesque village of Castleton.

Hope is a small village situated on the A625 from Sheffield. If you're coming from the South you'd head for Buxton and take the A6 out. The village is at the base of Lose Hill - a 476m peak with some great views over Derwent, Shatton, Bradwell, Edale and Castleton, oh and the Cement Factory.

The climb is gentle and not too taxing. You park in the village a few hundred yards on the left after the right turn off for Edale. Cross the road and go left and then cut through the housing estate heading for the school. Within minutes you're on the path which gets very boggy in the wet season (all year then!).

The path takes you over the railway track for the cement factory and you'll often see heavy carriages that offer potential photo opportunities. From there you head upwards to Lose Hill farm.

The first view you'll see is from Round Plantation. On the horizon with Mam Tor to the right, Winnats Pass in the middle and Cave Dale on the left. You'd also be able to see the houses in Castleton with a good pair of binoculars. To get the panoramic sweep take a series of individual shots by swivelling your body on the spot, Then use a program such as Photoshop Elements or PhotoSuite IV to automatically stitch them together.
The day I walked was overcast and very uninteresting lighting. As there's no real focal point the shots can lack impact unless there's good lighting. The panoramic below is a good record shot and when enlarged you can play spot the farm!

Apart from the rolling hills photography in this area is more about recording your walk as the inspirational shots can be lacking. If you're lucky enough to find sheep grazing you can use them as a foreground focal point giving depth to your photograph.

When you reach the peak of Lose Hill it has a fancy trig point which has carved out contours on the brass plate. You can use this to identify the horizon's peaks with the help of your map.

One of the more interesting areas is Bak Tor, which you see to your right as you descend on the path towards Hollins Cross. It's worth waiting until a walker is in the view to add scale to the magnificent view.
This area is quite steep and a walking stick may be required for those with troublesome knees. Another graphical shot you can take is of the paths with deep ruts worn down by the constant erosion from walkers. In dry conditions these provide bright lines against the dark grass and from a low viewpoint can be very dramatic.

Hollins Cross is not, as you may expect a location with a cross. I believe it was so named because it's the meeting point of six paths ascending from both sides of the ridge including routes from Castleton, Edale, Lose Hill and Mam Tor. The paths around here have been renovated and a huge amount of work has gone into providing stone paving to make it easier for walkers and protect the countryside from further erosion. The route takes you up and around the Mam Tor ridge to the highest point at 1695 feet. The views of the surround ridges is stunning, but you don't get a good view of Mam Tor from here (unless you throw yourself off the edge as many of the paragliders do). The best views of the outcrop is when you descend the hill, turn left and follow the A625 to the B6061.

Our route will now take us across Windy Knoll and on the track past Rowter Farm on the left. We then take a left turn, with the farm still in view, and a gradual decline towards Cave Dale.

About halfway down on the left is a derelict barn and a perfect stop for loads of photographs. Again Infrared will be useful here. Although it's not on the marked path it's easy to get to and has lots of interesting opportunities. There's a couple of large stone gate posts that have fallen sideways, An old tree that's fallen over to provide lots of texture potential and, of course, the building with a healthy tree nearby.

Once you have exhausted the barn photography you have a stunning view ahead. To get to this you should follow the path past the barn and then keep to the path, which means you have to take a sharp right at Cow Low back up to Hurd Low and then pick up the path with a sharp left back down into the Dale (it's clearly marked on the map). It's possible to take a short cut and miss this, but the hill is steep and you need sturdy boots with a good grip.

As the dale becomes deeper there's loads of scope for dramatic shots. Lone trees jut out of the rocks, which can be silhouetted on bright days. Shoot close ups of rocks for texture, sheep grazing, walkers ascending and, not forgetting Peveril Castle, standing high on the limestone face (this can be seen below in the distance).

Because of the steep sides to this dale, much is often in shade, so choose your viewpoint carefully and watch the camera exposure meter. Also take care on the way down. The path is often more like a stream and even in summer can be slippery and uncomfortable if you don't have footwear with sturdy soles.

At the entrance to this dale you have a short walk that opens out into Castleton village. A very picturesque location with gift shops, pubs and restaurants where you can stop for lunch or an evening meal. The village looks beautiful at Christmas with al the decorations and has regular events such as Morris dancing to add to your photographic opportunities. When you're ready to complete your walk you need to follow the A625 out of Castleton for about 1/4 of a mile and take the track on the right which takes you along the valley, over a railway bridge and to a road which you take turning left back to Hope. The total walk is around 10 miles and takes in some superb open scenery and one I try to do each year.

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Hope to Castleton Images

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