LOSE HILL TO MAM TOR HIKE

A splendid circular hike from the campsite, up Lose Hill then a glorious ridge walk along to Mam Tor and down along the grassy trails passing Blue John Cavern, Treak Cliff Cavern, Speedwell Cavern and Peak Cavern. We didn't visit any, I've been down them in my youth. I love the Blue John jewellery they make from the mined rock, very pretty. 
We arrived in Castleton and the idea was to get the bus back the 2 miles to Hope, but as we didn't find the bus stop we legged it, a peaceful walk back along the fields, we finished up walking about 9 miles. A wonderful walk!

LOSE HILL SUMMIT

LOSE HILL PANORAMA

LOSE HILL LOOKING OVER CASTLETON

FABULOUS RIDGE WALK TOWARDS MAM TOR

LOOKING BACK TO LOSE HILL

MAM TOR AT THE END OF THE RIDGE

MAM TOR SUMMIT

INFO ABOUT MAM TOR

THE SKYLINE HILLS ARE THE TOPS WE WALKED ACROSS

ENTRANCE TO PEAK CAVERN IN CASTLETON

PEAK CAVERN ENTRANCE

KINDER SCOUT HIKE

Forecast looked good so we drove the short distance to Edale and started up the Pennine Way to do Kinder Scout, The Peak District's highest hill at 2090 feet. More like a huge mound of peat and strange shaped rocks, quite marvelous!
We climbed into and out of the top of Grindsbrook Clough, a rocky, pretty gully. The summit was easy and flat, we passed strange shapes and finally reached Kinderlow and the trig point. This is not the summit of Kinder Scout but just 3 metres less and the true summit has nothing special to commemorate it. On the way there the weather took a turn for the worse and mist came down, we almost missed our trail but suddenly it lifted after we'd put our waterproofs on! Of course, the sun came out then!
The easy walk back down Jacobs Ladder (paved stones) led us back to Edale.
A fabulous 8 mile hike - loved it! 

EDALE CHURCH - ONLY GOT ONE BELL!

GRINDSBROOK CLOUGH

TOP OF GRINDSBROOK CLOUGH

SOMEONE'S GOT A SENSE OF HUMOUR !

THIS ROCK LOOKS AS IF ITS BEEN SLICED

BY THE TIME ROY GOT HIS GEAR ON IT HAD STOPPED RAINING!

IS HE POINTING TO TELL ME HE'S FOUND THE TRAIL?

NO HE'S TELLING ME WHICH WAY TO COME DOWN!

LUNCH SPOT, COVERED IN SHEEP DROPPINGS!

KINDERLOW SUMMIT

LOVE THIS HUGE ROCK AREA - LOOKS AS IF A GIANT HAS HIT A FLAT ROCK WITH A SLEDGEHAMMER

SOFT FEATURE ON CAMERA!

POTTERING IN THE PEAK DISTRICT

Weather has changed but no good waiting for the weather in England so we've come to Hope in the Peak District for 5 nights, stopping at Laneside Farm Campsite.
The last time I was in this area was when I was a teenager and I'm sure we stayed here then. It has changed dramatically.
We had a short walk the first day climbing up to Win Hill from the campsite and returning via Hope for Roy's obligatory ice cream! Rain was forecast but we were back at the van before it arrived.
A pretty walk, through some woods then up on to the open moor, full of sweet smelling heather, gorse and bracken, beautiful!

LADYBOWER RESERVOIR 

WIN HILL SUMMIT

WIN HILL SUMMIT PANORAMAS

MAM TOR AND LOSE HILL

HOPE CHURCH

The rain stopped and we drove the short distance to Bradwell to see some well dressings

The origins of the tradition are obscure. It has been speculated that it began as a pagan custom of offering thanks to gods for a reliable water supply; other suggested explanations include villagers celebrating the purity of their water supply after surviving the Black Death in 1348, or alternatively celebrating their water's constancy during a prolonged drought in 1615. The practice of well dressing using clay boards at Tissington is not recorded before 1818, however, and the earliest record for the wells being adorned by simple garlands occurs in 1758

BRADWELL CHURCH