Derbyshire

In the past Derbyshire has for me has mostly meant short walks in the Matlock and Matlock Bath area, plus a modest hike from Edale to Castleton and back via Hollins Cross in the company of a nephew, and involving roughly 200m of ascent in both directions. Time to put that right.
12 Tue 7th Apr 2009: Hope - Bamford via West Ladybower
Distance: 11½m, Climb: 1170 ft
A most enjoyable spring stroll with clear paths throughout. Leaving Hope station a path leads north to Aston and then climbs west of north to traverse the western flank of Win Hill giving open views along the Hope Valley. A steep descent through woodland took me down to Haggwater bridge across the Ashop. This valley is narrow, so climbing recommences immediately. Reaching Lockerbrook farm, I followed a path east towards the plantation that flanks the reservoirs. Entering the plantations it is downhill all the way, with several tracks in the lower reaches. I chose to emerge by the dam at the south end of the Derwent Reservoir - the middle one of the three that form a chain along this valley. Time constraints now made it sensible to return to the railway by a fast route, so after pausing for an ice-cream at the information centre, I followed the road down the west side of Ladybower Reservoir, crossed the viaduct, and took the main road down to Bamford.
13 Sat 18th Apr 2009: Bamford - East Ladybower and back
Distance: 15m, Climb: 1270 ft
Deciding I wanted to spend time on the heights to the East of Ladybower Reservoir, I covered the ground between Bamford and the Ashopton Viaduct at either end of my walk by following the main road. At the end of the viaduct a track leads east past some houses. Doubling back to avoid emerging from the woods a path now leads upwards, and bends towards the north, eventually leaving the woodland to climb more steeply to Whinstone Lee Tor. Leaving this in a north-easterly direction a path took me onto the edge of the exposed edge of the escarpment and past several interesting rock outcrops named on my OS map as Wheel Stones, White Tor, Salt Cellar, Dovestone Tor, Cakes of Bread and Black Tor (the high point of the walk at 538m), before beginning my descent over Lost Lad. The route overlooks the Derwent Valley, but a combination of woodland and the valley's shape render the reservoirs along it invisible.
Rather than descending by the most direct route to the valley floor I followed paths that took me in a more southerly direction, reaching the water at Wellhead, and then following the reservoir side track back to the viaduct.
Overall an outing worthy of a repeat.
14 Fri 1st May 2009: Grindleford - Eyam - Hope
Distance: 12½m, Climb: 1780 ft
This walk provided me with another excellent day out, even though I had to juggle with both the OS Peak District maps for coverage.
I prefer my walks to start gently so that I am properly warmed up before any significant climbing takes place, so this is ideal - a stroll down from Grindleford Station to the village it serves, then a path which first climbs and then descends gently to lead to a crossing of the Derwent by Froggatt Bridge. A few hundred metres of riverside path and then strike out westwards and upwards towards Eyam.
The path through Knouchley Farm and past some ponds leads to a right ange bend in New Road, a path from which leads up to some woods, within which I suspect the route might be quite muddy in wet weather. Emerging from the woods the path leads down to Eyam, though I naturally took the short diversion to see the Riley graves.
After passing almost through the village by its main street I struck offroad north and up past the Plague Stones towards Highcliffe. After a few minutes on minor roads I was able to go cross country again, making my way through Big Moor Plantation and following a path which led round a steep sided valley before descending sharply to Stoke Ford. Just before the descent started in earnest I crossed a stone wall by means of a stone ladder, one of whose steps formed an excellent bench on which I enjoyed my sandwiches whilst savouring the delightful view below.
From stoke Ford it was time to climb again, onto Abney Moor, past disused quarries before making a stepp and in places muddy descent to Bradwell where I made use of a local hostelry before making my way along the road to Hope Station.
15 Sat May 9th 2009: New Mills - Hayfield - Kinder Scout - Castleton - Hope
Distance: 18½m, Climb: 2300 ft
A Saturday walk, which meant that I was able to have the company of Alex for the day. The first section was along the old railway from new Mills to Hayfield, providing me with the gentle introduction to proceedings I prefer, and allowing Alex to demonstrate his superior knowledge of the names of flora and fauna, trees and birds in this case. Indeed the railway path was a pleasant stroll on its own.
However we were after a more strenuous workout. The Snake Path took us up onto the moors, passed close to a shooting cabin and descended gently almost to the level of the Kinder Reservoir at its north end. The climb up William Clough to the Pennine Way was sufficiently steep to be a scramble in places, and the initial stretch of this path was quite steep too as we turned eastwards on it. It was also quite windy, so we were happy to find shelter amongst some rocks for a refreshment break.
We turned south at Kinder Downfall, where there was considerable spray from the Kinder as it plunged downwards, and followed the escarpment as it looked down on the reservoir 1000 feet below, though in truth the scenery on Kinder Scout is pretty boring in other directions. Where the Pennine Way turns east leading to Jacobs Ladder and Edale we continued straight on. Unfortunately the path and conditions deteriorated together, and it was raining as we crossed the extensive boggy area around Brown hill towards Lord's Seat, and our decision to cut the corner here resulted in some steep scrambling through heather. We decided not to follow the ridge onto Mam Tor, but descended to Castleton via the old road now closed to wheeled transport because of a landslip.
The weather became more civilised as we reached civilisation, but we took time for a pint and to dry out a little before continuing on to Hope Station, making use of a signposted path for most of this last section.